Olena Kolesnyk hopes to bring back the PFL world title to Ukrainian troops amid the ongoing Russian invasion in her native country.
Kolesnyk, 33, has the opportunity to win $1million as she competes in the PFL women's featherweight regular season, taking on UFC veteran Aspen Ladd in the opening round on Friday. The Ukrainian was born in Odessa, the city that was attacked by Russian drone strikes on Monday. Kolesnyk described the distressing scenes that are taking place in her home country, with some of her friends even sending her graphic videos from the streets.
"I speak with my family every day, because you never know when it's going to be the last day you speak to them. Russia keep attacking my country but right now they are just attacking in Bakhmut, where my friends are. They have sent me videos of attacks on local houses with dead bodies all around. The war has not stopped, people keep dying and it's a genocide of Ukrainian people," Kolesnyk told Sherdog.
