Kayla Harrison Believes Pacheco’s Power and Hunger Will Be Too Much for Aging Cris Cyborg
Decorated MMA and Olympic champion Kayla Harrison has offered her opinion on the upcoming showdown between Larissa Pacheco and MMA legend Cris Cyborg.
Kayla Harrison on Larissa Pacheco vs. Cris Cyborg
Kayla Harrison was a multi-time gold medalist in the Olympics and a multi-time PFL MMA world champion. After a loss to Brazil’s Larissa Pacheco, Harrison jumped over to the UFC. The US-born Olympian has since submitted former champion Holly Holm.
Brazil’s Cris Cyborg will be seeking her fifth MMA world title in the PFL as she takes on Pacheco on October 19. Cyborg has captured gold in Bellator, Strikeforce, Invicta, and the UFC.
Kayla Harrison predicted that Pacheco would defeat Cyborg in their fight at PFL: Battle Of The Giants. This event will be part of the debut of the promotion’s PPV Super Fights division, with both the winner of this fight and the main event between Francis Ngannou and Renan Ferreira receiving a new Super Fights belt.
“I think Pacheco wins. She’s young, I mean unless she’s been goofing off, you know. Couple mil will do that sometimes. Couple mil in the bank account makes it hard to get out of bed but she’s young, she’s hungry, she keeps getting better, she’s got real power. Cyborg’s at the end of her career.”
Harrison believes that Pacheco’s youth and hunger give her an advantage, provided she remains dedicated despite her financial success. She noted that Cyborg, at 39, is in the latter stages of her career, which might work in Pacheco’s favor. Harrison pointed out that Cyborg, who began her career in 2005, has not shown significant progress or growth in her fight strategy, unlike Pacheco.
“Yeah I think she’s a little bit older and I just think that we like we haven’t seen a lot of progress from her like I don’t see her fight IQ growing. I haven’t seen progression really, she fights the same way now that she fought, you know, however long ago so I think Pacheco is gonna win.”
Harrison is back competing later this year at UFC 307.
