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With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best knockouts from August 2023.
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best knockouts from August 2023. Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Knockout of the Month award for August.
At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting for your choice.
What a way for Renan Ferreira to punch his ticket to the PFL heavyweight final, with Jon Jones having a front-row seat.
If you told [autotag]Renan Ferreira[/autotag] when this season began that he’d score a devastating knockout to punch his ticket to the 2023 PFL heavyweight final, he’d have gladly take it. Doing it to a training partner of one of MMA’s greatest fighters with him in his opponent’s corner? Even better.
That was the dream scenario that played out for Ferreira (11-3) at 2023 PFL Playoffs 2. Ferreira knocked out Maurice Greene (11-9) with a hard right hand and follow-up punches in the first round of their semifinal as UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones watched from Greene’s corner at The Theater at Madison Square in New York.
Immediately afterward, Ferreira made a point to find Jones cageside and kneeled down in front of him as a show of respect and gratitude.
“It was awesome,” Ferreira said through an interpreter. “I have a lot of respect for Jon Jones. I admire him as an athlete, following his career for a long time. It was really cool to be able to fight a guy that trains with him and have him in the opposing corner.”
๐ง๐๐๐ง ๐ ๐๐ก ๐๐ฆ ๐ ๐ฃ๐ฅ๐ข๐๐๐๐ ๐คฏ@MmaProblema with the #BudLightCelly of the night! #PFLPlayoffs | B2YB @budlight pic.twitter.com/itXwHN40fE
— PFL (@PFLMMA) August 19, 2023
Now Ferreira has the opportunity to earn a life-changing $1 million if he can beat Denis Goltsov โ who submitted Jordan Heiderman โ in the heavyweight final this November. It sure would mean a lot to Ferreira, who fell short to eventual 2022 champion Ante Delija in the playoffs last season.
The grand prize, Ferreira admits, is on his mind, but he won’t get ahead of himself.
“Absolutely. I think about it all the time,” Ferreira said. “I still need one more fight, though. The job is still not done, it’s still not over. It’s gonna change everything for me and my family and my loved ones, and I look forward to it. But there’s still a lot of hard work to do.”
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkieโs event hub forย 2023 PFL Playoffs 2.
Larissa Pacheco will head into the PFL women’s featherweight final on a tear after a record-setting KO of Olena Kolesnyk.
[autotag]Larissa Pacheco[/autotag] wasted no time securing her spot in the PFL women’s featherweight final with a record-setting knockout, and it’s not a stretch to say the weigh-ins might’ve had something to do with it.
Pacheco (22-4) quickly and easily dispatched Olena Kolesnyk at 2023 PFL Playoffs 2, needing just 14 seconds to knock her out in the co-main event at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York. It was Pacheco’s third first-round knockout in as many fights with Kolesnyk (9-6), who was overmatched before the opening bell even rang.
Kolesnyk also came in to the fight overweight after she missed the 146-pound limit by almost 2 pounds, which didn’t sit well with Pacheco.
“Yes, it did (bother me) a lot, because the time when I missed weight, I got cut out of the tournament,” Pacheco said through an interpreter afterward. “Simply got cut out, didn’t have another chance. So, yeah, it bothered me. …
“In the weigh-in, I felt that she was a little bit unstable, and so I went in there and did what I had to do.”
Larissa Pacheco wasted NO TIME securing her spot in the women's featherweight final with this record-setting finish last night at 2023 #PFLPlayoffs 2. ๐
(๐ฅ @PFLMMA) pic.twitter.com/O0qavlWqbj
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) August 19, 2023
Pacheco, 28, is now on a nine-fight winning streak dating back to May 2021. Her 14-second knockout is now the fastest finish by a woman in PFL history, a record she’s proud to hold.
“I’m very happy,” Pacheco said. “We work very hard for this, for these moments, so I’m really excited and happy for them.”
Pacheco, who last year upset Kayla Harrison to win the women’s lightweight title, now has a date with Marina Mokhnatkina in the women’s featherweight final. Earlier Friday night, Mokhnatkina submitted Amber Leibrock with an armbar in Round 1 to punch her ticket to the PFL Championships in November. It’ll be the first time Pacheco and Mokhnatkina have faced off.
Pacheco said she plans to take a week off, enjoy eating some Brazilian barbeque, and relax a little before she gets back to business.
“I’m gonna keep on going,” Pacheco said. “I don’t take any fight as a given. I know that any opponent is always a tough opponent. I don’t take things for granted. I’m gonna keep on working hard.”
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkieโs event hub forย 2023 PFL Playoffs 2.
Check out these photos from the 2023 PFL Playoffs 2 main event, a heavyweight semifnals bout between Renan Ferreira and Maurice Greene.
Check out these photos from [autotag]Renan Ferreira[/autotag]’s main event victory over Maurice Greene at 2023 PFL Playoffs 2 at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York. (Photos courtesy of Cooper Neill, PFL MMA)
Check out these photos from Larissa Pacheco vs. Olena Kolesnyk at 2023 PFL Playoffs 2 in New York.
Check out these photos from [autotag]Larissa Pacheco[/autotag]’s victory over Olena Kolesnyk at 2023 PFL Playoffs 2 at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York. (Photos courtesy of Cooper Neill, PFL MMA)
Check out the full results of 2023 PFL Playoffs 2, which included knockout victories by Renan Ferreira and Larissa Pacheco.
2023 PFL Playoffs 2 took place Friday, and MMA Junkie provided live and official results throughout the card.
The event featured men’s heavyweight and women’s featherweight playoff bouts at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York. The main card aired live on ESPN at 9 p.m. ET following prelims on ESPN+ beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET.
In the feature bout, [autotag]Renan Ferreira[/autotag] (11-3) took on [autotag]Maurice Greene[/autotag] (11-9) in a heavyweight semifinal bout. For the first time in his career, the 6-foot-7 Greene was the shorter man in the cage against Ferreira, who is listed as one inch taller.
Ferreira quickly brought the fight to Greene, keeping him on his backfoot, and circling on the outside early. “Problema” landed a few clean combinations throughout the round that put Greene in trouble, but it was a fierce right hand that sent him crashing to the canvas as the round was nearing a close. The follow-up hammerfist put Greene out for the knockout stoppage at 4:46.
Ferreira advances to the finals to face Denis Goltsov, who picked up a submission victory over Jordan Heiderman earlier in the event.
In the co-feature, 2022 champion [autotag]Larissa Pacheco[/autotag] (22-4) faced[autotag]Olena Kolesnyk[/autotag] (9-6) in a women’s featherweight semifinal. Pacheco only needed 14 seconds to close the show and punch her ticket to the finals in violent fashion.
Pacheco will face Marina Mokhnatkina, who submitted Amber Liebrock with an armbar in the first round earlier in the evening.
The semi-final winners now advance to the 2023 PFL Championships, where a $1 million prize awaits.
Full 2023 PFL Playoffs 2 details and official results are below:
Check out these photos from Denis Goltsov vs. Jordan Heiderman at 2023 PFL Playoffs 2 in New York.
Check out these photos from [autotag]Denis Goltsov[/autotag]’s victory over Jordan Heiderman at 2023 PFL Playoffs 2 at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York. (Photos courtesy of Cooper Neill, PFL MMA)
Larissa Pacheco only needed a few seconds to advance to the PFL finals with a stoppage against Olena Kolesnyk.
[autotag]Larissa Pacheco[/autotag] predicted a fast finish at 2023 PFL Playoffs 2, but she perhaps surpassed her own expectations.
In the co-feature bout of the event at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York, 2022 PFL women’s featherweight champion Pacheco (22-4) made quick work of Olena Kolesnyk (9-6). Pacheco predicted a one-minute finish in the semifinal bout, but she would only need 14 seconds to punch her ticket to the finals.
Pacheco quickly closed the distance and opened with a leg kick. She then pressed forward with right hand punches, with each offering landing harder. The third time was the charm, as Pacheco sent Kolesnyk to the mat, and the referee quickly stepped in as Kolesnyk covered up.
Check out video of the finish below (via Twitter):
THE #1 WOMEN'S FEATHERWEIGHT IN MMA!
Larissa Pacheco is going back to the #PFLWorldChampionship!#PFLPlayoffs LIVE NOW
๐บ๐ธ ESPN
๐ https://t.co/jPNvomCxHI pic.twitter.com/BezUcFlUZ2— PFL (@PFLMMA) August 19, 2023
The result marks the third victory for Pacheco against Kolesnyk. In their first meeting in the 2021 regular season, Pacheco stopped her in the closing seconds of the first round with crushing punches. In their second meeting in the 2022 playoffs, Pacheco recorded another first-round stoppage, this time at 2:09.
Pacheco now advances to the finals, where she will face Marina Mokhnatkina, who recorded a first-round submission victory over Amber Leibrock earlier at the event.
Up-to-the-minute results of 2023 PFL Playoffs 2 include:
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for 2023 PFL Playoffs 2.
Check out these photos from Marina Mokhnatkina vs. Amber Leibrock at 2023 PFL Playoffs 2 in New York.
Check out these photos from [autotag]Marina Mokhnatkina[/autotag]’s victory over Amber Leibrock at 2023 PFL Playoffs 2 at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York. (Photos courtesy of Cooper Neill, PFL MMA)
Check out these photos from Nathan Kelly vs. Damion Nelson at 2023 PFL Playoffs 2 in New York.
Check out these photos from [autotag]Nathan Kelly[/autotag]’s victory over Damion Nelson at 2023 PFL Playoffs 2 at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York. (Photos courtesy of Cooper Neill, PFL MMA)
