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Sport
Matt Erickson

Larissa Pacheco tops gritty Marina Mokhnatkina, makes PFL two-division history | PFL Championship Fight Night HQ

Larissa Pacheco Marina Mokhnatkina PFL Amber Leibrock

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The PFL crowned its first $1 million women’s featherweight winner Friday.

No. 1 seed Larissa Pacheco (22-4) met No. 2 Marina Mokhnatkina (11-3) in the women’s 145-pound season championship at The Anthem in Washington, D.C.

Go inside the matchup below, from the backstory and the buildup through the end of the fight itself, with stats, photos, preview videos, highlight videos, quotes, recaps and more.

The story will update throughout the fight and event.

How we got here

2023 PFL Championships at The Anthem in Washington D.C., Friday, Nov. 24, 2023. (Cooper Neill / PFL)

After Pacheco upset Kayla Harrison to win the 2022 $1 million prize at lightweight, she can become the PFL’s first two-division champion if she wins at featherweight. She beat ex-Bellator champ Julia Budd in the regular season, then knocked out Amber Leibrock to reach the playoffs. In the semifinals, she knocked out Olena Kolesnyk in 14 seconds.

Mokhnatkina has five straight wins. She had a second-round TKO of Yoko Higashi and a decision against Evelyn Martins to reach the playoffs. Then she submitted Leibrock to advance to the matchup with the defending champ.

Larissa Pacheco vs. Marina Mokhnatkina: Weigh-ins

Final betting odds

Larissa Pacheco, 2023 PFL Championships Official Weigh-Ins at the Grand Hyatt Washington in Washington D.C., Thursday, Nov. 23, 2023. (Cooper Neill / PFL)

Pacheco closed as a -1450 favorite – easily the biggest on the card.

Larissa Pacheco vs. Marina Mokhnatkina: The fight

Records: Pacheco (22-4), Mokhnatkina (11-3)
Round 1: Mokhnatkina threatened Pacheco with a kneebar and leglock, but Pacheco got loose and got angry and rained down strikes to rally and get to the second.
Round 2: Mokhnatkina landed a takedown in the second round and had a chance to do some work on top, but with little activity, she was stood up by the ref.
Round 3: Pacheco started to take over in the third and got to full mount with a couple minutes left. Then she took Mokhnatkina’s back and controlled things with ease until the horn.
Round 4: Pacheco found herself in trouble with a kneebar again, but worked her way through it and returned to dominance once out of the hold.
Round 5: The fact Mokhnatkina took Pacheco 25 minutes is sensational, but moral victories are only worth so much.

The aftermath

Pacheco became the first fighter to win titles in two PFL divisions. She won the women’s lightweight $1 million season in 2022 and now has a women’s featherweight crown and another $1 million to go with it. After the PFL bought Bellator, it could set up a fight between Pacheco and her Bellator counterpart, Cris Cyborg – though another two-time PFL women’s winner, Kayla Harrison, wants that fight with Cyborg on a pay-per-view.

Winner post-fight interview

Fight photos

Larissa Pacheco with MMA Junkie's Mike Bohn

PFL's 2023 champions

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