Kayla Harrison predicts Larissa Pacheco vs Cris Cyborg

The fight between Kayla Harrison and Cris Cyborg is a fight that has been talked about for many years, but seems to be completely off the table at this point.

The former PFL and Bellator champions could have put together one of the biggest fights outside of the UFC, but with Harrison signing with the MMA market, that wasn't possible, even when Cyborg moved to the PFL as part of the Bellator acquisition.

Now Cyborg will fight a PFL champion on October 19, but she will be the only woman to beat the former Olympic judoka during her professional career.

Larissa Pacheco has won two PFL tournaments in a row, including her surprise victory over the former champion in 2023.

Although Harrison currently competes in the UFC's top bantamweight division, she has some thoughts on this clash between the two biggest rivals of her career to date.

Kayla Harrison chooses Larissa Pacheco as winner for Cris Cyborg and says age is a key factor

In a recent interview with Inside Fighting, Harrison picked Pacheco to defeat Cyborg when they met at PFL: Battle Of The Giants.

The fight is scheduled to be the co-main event in the debut of the promotion's PPV Super Fights division, with the winner of both this fight and the main event between Francis Ngannou and Renan Ferreira receiving a new Super Fights belt.

Harrison said as long as Pacheco didn't lose her dedication after making a lot of money, she had the edge in this fight.

“I think Pacheco wins. She's young, unless she was just messing around. A few million can do that sometimes. A few million in the bank makes it hard to get out of bed, but she's young, she's hungry, she's getting better, she's got real power. Cyborg is at the end of her career.”

Harrison then explained the idea that she believes Cyborg is already in the final stages of her career at 39, which gives Pacheco an advantage.

The Brazilian MMA icon made his professional debut in 2005, while Pacheco made her debut seven years later, in 2012.

“Yeah, I think she's a little bit older and I just think we haven't seen much progress in her. I don't see her fight IQ growing. I haven't seen any real progress, she fights the same now as she did a long time ago, so I think Pacheco will win.”

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