This fight of Cris Cyborg vs Larissa Pacheco will, no doubt, remain one of the most awaited fights in the history of MMA. On October 19, 2024, this clash of two of women’s MMA most dominant forces will take place at the PFL Champions Series and is expected to thrill fans across different corners of the world. First off, let’s have an overview of the backgrounds of both fighters.
Cris Cyborg – The Veteran
Cris Cyborg is a veteran fighter currently ranked #1 on the FeatherWeight Worldwide table. She brings in a great deal of experience and power, which is not availed in any other woman within the sport. In fact, she stands with a professional record of 27-2-0 and has dominated several opponents, while still being included as one of the best female fighters ever. At 5’8″ and 144.6 lbs, her imposing physique with devastating striking and grappling skills makes her fights appealing to watch despite her age (39).
Still, what sets Cyborg apart is an evident striking ability. The woman has a heavy hand, and her pace is relentless. She can simply wear a person out with a high volume of punches and kicks, often outlanding her opponents by a wide margin. Her descent rate of significant strikes landed (38.8%) along with very accurate striking have allowed her to be so successful. On the ground, though, Cyborg isn’t someone to take lightly. While she is more known for her striking, she has shown that her ground game isn’t too bad-it allows her to control her opponents and submit them if the opportunity presents itself.
Despite her complete dominance, there are a few spots in which the challenger may be able to take advantage of Cyborg’s weaknesses. First and foremost, at an age of 40 years, although great longevity has been shown, the physicality required from MMA can indeed be so demanding, and it is not clear how well her body will hold out against a younger, more athletic opponent such as Pacheco. Another concern is that Cyborg, while sometimes at her most aggressive, exposes herself to counterattacks-and Pacheco certainly does possess the grappling advantage.
Larissa Pacheco
Standing on the opposite side of the cage will be the highly-rising star in MMA, Larissa Pacheco. The Brazilian steadily rises through the rankings with an impressive professional record of 23-4-0, a showcase of her amazing talent and will. At 5’6″ tall and weighing 145 lbs, Pacheco’s balanced skill set makes him one dangerous opponent.
The grappling is arguably Pacheco’s strongest asset. She is a really skilled submission artist, always looking for and finding chokes and joint locks. This greatly favored her being able to control opponents on the ground and impose her will. Adding to the grappling, Pacheco is also a capable striker. Maybe not as powerful as Cyborg, but with good striking artillery and the ability to land a good combination, she is dangerous.
This could work against Pacheco’s favor with a seasoned veteran in the person of Cyborg since she lacks experience at the highest level of competition. Though she has been doing quite well thus far, surely this will be a huge leap in class for her.
Cris Cyborg vs Larissa Pacheco – What to Expect
In the end, this Cris Cyborg vs Larissa Pacheco fight shapes up to be an exciting clash between two of the best women’s MMA fighters in the sport, not only because of their classification on the FeatherWeight rankings (1st and 3rd respectively) but altogether because of their unique fighting styles that have kept them on top of the charts for years. Cyborg brings a ton of experience, power, and striking ability to the cage, while Pacheco offers a dangerous grappling game and the oomph factor of being one of the hottest rising stars. Whoever wins this fight will certainly have many ramifications on the future of women’s MMA.
Early odds have been released by the bookmakers but I am still monitoring closely any latest developments before I can take a stand on the outcome of this bout. Be on the lookout for the update.
Update
Over the past days, Larissa Pacheco moved from 3rd to 2nd on the FeatherWeight worldwide ranking and is poised to snatch the 1st position from Cris Cyborg come Saturday 19th.
Popular MMA sites like Topology see Cyborg as favorite, with a 67% probability of winning, against 33 for Larissa.
Cyborg is a beast when it comes to knockout power! All it takes is a moment of inattention from her opponent for her to do the damage. It’s not for nothing that she’s the current best female Featherweight fighter. I anticipate a win be knockout from in this bout. Take nothing away from Larissa Pacheco, but Cyborg is built to win this type of fights.
The bookie odds are around 2.150 for Cyborg’s win, which may sway novice punters into thinking she’s the underdog, but that’s far from being the case.
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