Larissa Pacheco Kickstarts Featherweight Run, Downs Julia Budd in PFL 2 Main Event

It was closer than most anticipated, but Larissa Pacheco did enough to get by.

The 2022 Professional Fighters League women’s lightweight champion downshifted to 145 pounds and began her quest for gold in a second division with a unanimous decision over Julia Budd in the PFL 2 headliner on Friday inside The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas. Scores were 30-27, 29-28 and 30-27—all for Pacheco (20-4, 9-2 PFL).

Budd (16-6, 1-3 PFL) made it competitive. She punctuated occasional punching volleys with powerful right hands and at times outscrambled Pacheco in back-and-forth grappling exchanges. In the end, she failed to muster enough consistent offense to spring the upset. Pacheco staggered the former Bellator MMA titleholder with a clean left hook in the third round, dragged her to the canvas and secured an advantageous position behind her. Budd escaped and moved on top, only to be reversed soon after. Pacheco eventually settled in half guard, made a few passes at an arm-triangle choke and kept the Canadian at bay.

Related » 2023 PFL 2 Round-by-Round Scoring

Meanwhile, Corinthians MMA rep Bruno Cappelozza swept away Matheus Scheffel with punches in the first round of their heavyweight co-main event. Cappelozza (16-6, 6-1 PFL) drew the curtain 2:15 into Round 1, as he avenged a June 24 decision loss to the onetime Future Fighting Championships titleholder.

Scheffel (17-10, 2-3 PFL) pressured his fellow Brazilian from the center of the cage, unleashed his jab and followed through with power punches from both hands. None of it mattered. Cappelozza sent a surgical right hand crashing through his defenses, trailed him to the mat and let fly with punches until referee Herb Dean had seen enough. Scheffel did himself no favors by turning away from contact.

It was the 10th first-round finish of Cappelozza’s career.

Elsewhere, Global Fight Gym export Olena Kolesnyk rebounded from a Aug. 20 defeat to the aforementioned Pacheco and outboxed Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran Aspen Ladd to a majority decision in a three-round women’s featherweight showcase. Scores were 29-28, 29-28 and 28-28.

Kolesnyk (8-5, 3-3 PFL), who missed weight for the match by 0.4 pounds, seized the reins in the first two rounds. She countered effectively, mixed in a few leg kicks, punched well in combination and maneuvered out of harm’s way with deft lateral movement. Ladd (10-4, 1-1 PFL) responded in Round 3, where she secured a takedown, transitioned to the back and softened her Ukrainian counterpart with ground-and-pound while hunting for the choke. Kolesnyk, however, denied those advances and left her fate to the judges.

Ladd has lost three of her past four bouts.

Further down the card, former Eagle Fighting Championship titleholder Rizvan Kuniev leaned on a debilitating clinch, more than held his own in standup exchanges and called upon timely takedowns in a unanimous decision over Renan Ferreira in a three-round heavyweight attraction. All three cageside judges scored it for Kuniev (12-2-1, 1-0 PFL): 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27.

Ferreira (9-4, 3-2 PFL) had his chances but too often let opportunities slip through his fingers. He bridged out from bottom position, moved into full mount and threatened with an arm-triangle choke before transitioning to an armbar in the second round. Those efforts failed. Kuniev peaked in Round 3, where he battered the Brazilian with knees and uppercuts at close range, struck for a takedown and progressed from side control to full mount. Significant ground-and-pound followed. More importantly, it bled valuable time off the clock and eliminated any possibility of a Ferreira comeback.

Kuniev, 31, has rattled off 10 consecutive victories.

In other action, Maurice Greene (11-7, 1-1 PFL) disposed of Marcelo Nunes (9-2, 2-1 PFL) with a volley of knees and punches 1:20 into the second round of their heavyweight encounter; Danilo Marques (14-4, 2-0 PFL) laid claim to a unanimous decision against Yorgan De Castro (9-4, 0-1 PFL) in a three-round heavyweight scrap, sweeping the cards with 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 scores; Amber Leibrock (7-4, 1-0 PFL) cut down Martina Jindrova (6-4, 3-2 PFL) with a head kick and follow-up punches 2:19 into the first round of their women’s featherweight duel; Evelyn Martins (5-0, 3-0 PFL) took a unanimous decision from Karolina Sobek (4-1, 0-1 PFL) in a three-round women’s flyweight clash, drawing 29-28 marks from all three cageside judges; Marina Mokhnatkina (9-3, 3-1 PFL) put away Yoko Higashi (8-3, 0-1 PFL) with punches 1:29 into the second round of their women’s featherweight pairing; and Biaggio Ali Walsh—grandson of the legendary Muhammad Ali—dispatched Isaiah Figueroa with punches 1:42 into the first round of their amateur lightweight affair.