Cris CyborgMatt Davies/PxImages/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Cris Cyborg’s legend grew even larger on Saturday with the legendary fighter adding the PFL Women’s Featherweight Superfight Championship in the co-main event on a PFL pay-per-view card from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Cyborg claimed the early lead in a first round that had good moments for both fighters. However, Cyborg landed a strong takedown early and landed a head kick that rocked her opponent and had Pacheco in trouble.
Plenty of opponents have folded when Cyborg starts landing cleanly but that wasn’t Pacheco’s MO. She continued to fire and opened up two nasty cuts over each one of the Bellator champion’s eyes.
Pacheco turned the tide in the third round. She threw her strikes with more confidence, opened the cuts on Cyborg’s eyes and took her opponent down to log some control time.
She took that momentum into the fourth round and seemingly won it with more volume than Cyborg had to offer. The close round set up a critical fifth-round with the feel that it could have been two apiece.
Ultimately it was Cyborg who was able to dig deep and score enough points in the fifth and final round to pick up the decision win.
The victory gives Cyborg world titles in five different organizations. From Strikeforce to Invicta to the UFC and PFL, she has proven herself against the best competition in the world and will go down as one of the greatest fighters ever.
The Brazilian was last seen in a cage defending her Bellator championship against Cat Zingano, but the PFL’s acquisition of the rival promotion opened the door for Cyborg to capture another championship in another promotion.
After nearly 20 years of being dominant in MMA, Cyborg took a brief detour into boxing, earning two knockout wins in the ring in 2024. Her career record in the sweet science now stands at 4-0.
It gave the 39-year-old some new things to work for as she looks to stay sharp.
“It was something different that I would usually do in MMA. In boxing there is a lot to learn and helped me improve on my footwork, striking, avoiding a strike, and a lot of other things. I’m ready and feel great going into this fight,” she told reporters.
PFL primarily runs a seasonal tournament format that Pacheco has dominated in recent years. The 30-year-old was the 2022 lightweight champion and the 2023 featherweight champion, setting up this showdown for the organization’s featherweight “superfight championship”.
Given Cyborg’s age, it’s hard to imagine that she’ll ever compete in the tournament format, but the possibility of taking on the tournament champion could be an intriguing next step for her.
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