Larissa Pachecho after winning the PFL Lightweight Belt
We take a look at the PFL World Championship: Harrison vs. Pacheco full results and highlights
PFL 10 concluded earlier today (Friday, November 25, 2022) and featured six title fights with six winners each receiving a $1 million check to cap off the 2022 season of the Professional Fighters League (PFL). Women’s Lightweight champion Kayla Harrison aimed to defend her title against one of the division’s top challengers, Larissa Pacheco, in the main event of the evening.
Co-main events included the featherweight title bout between Brendan Loughnane and Bubba Jenkins, and the heavyweight bout between Ante Delija and Matheus Scheffel. Also, PFL newcomer Aspen Ladd faced PFL seasoned pro Julia Budd for the first time.
The main event witnessed the biggest upset in PFL history when Pacheco defeated the long-reigning champion Kayla Harrison by unanimous decision. She bagged three out of five rounds en route to a decision victory.
Harrison started the fight strong by picking the first round. Pacheco started off with a kick to the body from Harrison. Her American rival initiated the clinch and Harrison took down the Brazilian with a nice trip and ended up in her guard. During her ground-and-pound onslaught from the top, Pacheco attempted an armbar but Harrison escaped. Harrison had success with her overhand and straight right, but Pacheco maintained her composure.
The second round began with Pacheco landing a huge right hand making Harrison bleed. The PFL lightweight champion struggled to follow her regular approach of taking opponents down and dragging them into the deep waters. Every time Pacheco was taken down, she would attempt a bunch of submissions that forced caution from Harrison.
In the end, Pacheco clearly won the second, fourth, and fifth round and dethroned Kayle Harrison as the women’s lightweight champion.
In the co-main event, Brendan Loughnane defeated Bubba Jenkins to become the PFL featherweight champion.
Loughnane (26-4) won the PFL featherweight title in 2022 by knocking out Bubba Jenkins (19-6) in the fourth round via technical knockout. Throughout the fight, Loughnane wore down Jenkins with leg kicks. In most cases, he would follow up his kicks to Jenkins’ deteriorating leg with a quick flurry of punches. In the second round, Loughnane showed his superiority over Jenkins.
In the fourth, however, Loughnane connected with a straight right. Jenkins took a few steps backward, and Loughnane never let up. While Jenkins was backed up against the fence, Loughnane landed several punches and a final knee.
After winning two matches during the regular season, Loughnane advanced to the championship match against Jenkins by defeating Chris Wade in the semifinals.
Elsewhere, former UFC fighter, Aspen Ladd nipped her first victory since 2019 against Julia Budd.
The whole bout was intense and close affair. Under two minutes into the fight, Ladd had already taken Budd’s back with her grappling. Ladd was in a commanding early lead but ultimately fell short. The attempts to choke Budd were unsuccessful.
In Round 2, Budd was able to overcome the difficulties she had encountered in the first five minutes through a combination of clinch work and striking. It was a close round, but it looked like Budd edged out Ladd in the exchanges and positions.
As the contest entered Round 3, Ladd displayed her boxing skills despite the fact that it was still anyone’s fight. In the clinch, Budd, the more imposing of the two fighters, tried to make things ugly, but Ladd broke and was the more energetic of the two. The tension was high as the clock wound down and Ladd swung furiously at Budd.
Former UFC fighter Rob Wilkinson scored a huge victory, putting on a striking clinic against Omari Akhmedov.
A nasty cut opened over Omari Akhmedov’s eye as the Australian light heavyweight put on a spectacular display of striking. Towards the end of the second round, it looked like Wilkinson had put together a combination that would have knocked out Akhmedov, but the bell rang before he could land the finishing blow.
The cutman worked feverishly on Akhmedov in between rounds, but the ringside doctor saw enough to stop treating him. Wilkinson won, and the referee stopped the fight, with Wilkinson earning a handsome seven-figure payday.
155 lbs.: Kayla Harrison vs. Larissa Pacheco – Pacheco via unanimous decision
145 lbs.: Brendan Loughnane vs. Bubba Jenkins – Jenkins via third-round TKO
265 lbs.: Ante Delija vs. Matheus Scheffel – Delija via second-round TKO
145 lbs.: Julia Budd vs. Aspen Ladd – Ladd via unanimous decision
155 lbs.: Stevie Ray vs. Olivier Aubin-Mercier – Aubin-Mercier via second-round KO
170 lbs.: Sadibou Sy vs. Dilano Taylor – Sy via unanimous decision
205 lbs.: Rob Wilkinson vs. Omari Akhmedov – Wilkinson via second-round TKO, doctor’s stoppage
145 lbs.: Marlon Moraes vs. Sheymon Moraes – Sheymon Moraes via third-round TKO
155 lbs.: Natan Schulte vs. Jeremy Stephens – Stephens via second-round submission
170 lbs.: Magomed Magomedkerimov vs. Gleison Tibau – Magomedkerimov via unanimous decision
125 lbs.: Dakota Ditcheva vs. Katherine Corogenes – Ditcheva via first-round knockout
155 lbs.: Biaggio Ali Walsh vs. Tom Graesser – Walsh via KO first round
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