2023 PFL 2 predictions: Three unanimous picks to open women’s featherweight, heavyweight

Check out our staff members’ picks for the 2023 PFL 2 card in Las Vegas, which features women’s featherweights and heavyweights.

Pacheco
vs.
Budd
Cappelozza
vs.
Scheffel
Kolesnyk
vs.
Ladd
Ferreira
vs.
Kuniev
MMA Junkie readers’
consensus picks
41-28
pacheco2023
Pacheco
(76%)
cappelozza2023
Cappelozza
(77%)
ladd2023
Ladd
(85%)
ferreira2023
Ferreira
(51%)
George Garcia
@MMAjunkieGeorge
44-25
pacheco2023
Pacheco
cappelozza2023
Cappelozza
ladd2023
Ladd
ferreira2023
Ferreira
Matt Erickson
@MattE
43-26
pacheco2023
Pacheco
cappelozza2023
Cappelozza
ladd2023
Ladd
kuniev2023
Kuniev
Simon Samano
@SJSamano
42-27
pacheco2023
Pacheco
cappelozza2023
Cappelozza
ladd2023
Ladd
kuniev2023
Kuniev
Nolan King
@mma_kings
42-27/em>
pacheco2023
Pacheco
cappelozza2023
Cappelozza
ladd2023
Ladd
kuniev2023
Kuniev
Matthew Wells
@MrMWells
40-29
pacheco2023
Pacheco
cappelozza2023
Cappelozza
ladd2023
Ladd
ferreira2023
Ferreira
Abbey Subhan
@kammakaze
40-29
pacheco2023
Pacheco
cappelozza2023
Cappelozza
ladd2023
Ladd
ferreira2023
Ferreira
Brian Garcia
@thegoze
39-30
trophy copy 2017 Champion
pacheco2023
Pacheco
cappelozza2023
Cappelozza
ladd2023
Ladd
ferreira2023
Ferreira
Ken Hathaway
@kenshathaway
39-30
trophy copy 2018, 2022 Champion
pacheco2023
Pacheco
cappelozza2023
Cappelozza
ladd2023
Ladd
kuniev2023
Kuniev
Mike Bohn
@MikeBohn
38-31
trophy copy 2014 Champion
pacheco2023
Pacheco
cappelozza2023
Cappelozza
ladd2023
Ladd
ferreira2023
Ferreira
Farah Hannoun
@Farah_Hannoun
38-31
pacheco2023
Pacheco
cappelozza2023
Cappelozza
ladd2023
Ladd
kuniev2023
Kuniev
Danny Segura
@dannyseguratv
36-33
pacheco2023
Pacheco
cappelozza2023
Cappelozza
ladd2023
Ladd
ferreira2023
Ferreira

The PFL stays in Las Vegas this week with the start of the women’s featherweight and heavyweight regular seasons.

PFL 2023, Week 2 takes place Friday at The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas. The main card airs on ESPN2 following prelims on ESPN+.

(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)

In the main event, 2022 women’s featherweight season winner [autotag]Larissa Pacheco[/autotag] (19-4), who upset two-time champion Kayla Harrison in November, takes on former Bellator women’s featherweight champ [autotag]Julia Budd[/autotag] (16-5). Pacheco is a heavy 7-1 favorite at the betting window. Not surprisingly, then, our 11 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers have Pacheco as one of our three unanimous picks on the main card.

In the co-feature, 2021 heavyweight season winner [autotag]Bruno Cappelozza[/autotag] (15-6) meets [autotag]Matheus Scheffel[/autotag] (17-9) in a rematch. Scheffel outworked Cappelozza for a unanimous decision in the 2022 regular season. Cappelozza is a 2-1 favorite and the second unanimous pick at 11-0.

Also on the main card, [autotag]Aspen Ladd[/autotag] (10-3), a high-profile signing from the UFC, gets her first PFL regular season fight when she takes on [autotag]Olena Kolesnyk[/autotag] (7-5). Ladd is a -450 favorite and our third unanimous pick.

And to open the main card, [autotag]Renan Ferreira[/autotag] (9-3) meets [autotag]Rizvan Kuniev[/autotag] (12-2-1) at heavyweight, and it’s our lone contentious fight from a picks standpoint. Kuniev is a slight favorite at -175, but it’s Ferreira with the slimmest possible edge in the picks at 6-5.

In the MMA Junkie consensus picks, Pacheco (76 percent), Cappelozza (77 percent), Ladd (85 percent) and Ferreira (51 percent) are the choices.

Check out all the picks above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for PFL 2023, Week 2.

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