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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:
Olena Kolesnyk is certain things will be different with Larissa Pacheco when they meet for a third time on Friday at 2023 PFL Playoffs 2.
[autotag]Olena Kolesnyk[/autotag] is certain things are going to be different with Larissa Pacheco when they meet for a third time in Friday’s 2023 PFL Playoffs 2 co-main event.
Pacheco (21-4) is the only person to beat Kolesnyk (9-5) in the past two years, and she’s done it twice. The Brazilian won the initial encounter by first-round knockout at 2021 PFL 6, then repeated the feat with another first-round finish due to strikes in the rematch during the 2022 PFL Playoffs.
It’s been a difficult matchup for Kolesnyk, 32, but with four wins in her past five fights, she thinks she’s improved to the point where the outcome will be different. Moreover, she thinks this is the definitive matchup of this PFL women’s featherweight season, despite the fact the winner will have to go through another round before claiming the $1 million season prize.
“In the beginning I thought it would be great to fight her in the finals, but nobody said that you can pick who we fight,” Kolesnyk told MMA Junkie Radio. “I guess the semifinals will be better because it will be three rounds. Better now than later. We know, you know and PFL knows this is actually the finals fight, because the other girls are easy ones. This fight will be understanding who will be the champion this year.”
The 2023 PFL Playoffs 2 event takes place at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York. The main card airs on ESPN and streams on ESPN+ following prelims on ESPN+.
The way Kolesnyk explains it, she lost the first fight vs. Pacheco because of a “mistake” during a striking exchange. The said she offered Pacheco “too much respect” in the rematch, and that messed with her mentally.
Going into the third fight, however, Kolesnyk is focused and confident. The Ukrainian said she’s determined to win this PFL season, and derailing 2022 women’s lightweight champ Pacheco’s chance of becoming a two-division winner in back-to-back seasons would just be icing on the cake.
“God decided to send me Larissa again to do it again,” Kolesnyk said. “So, let’s fight again. I don’t care about who I fight. All I want to make happen is to be in the finals of PFL this year.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for 2023 PFL Playoffs 2.
Check out these photos of 2023 PFL Playoffs 2 competitors facing off at the Empire State Building in New York.
Check out these photos of 2023 PFL Playoffs 2 feature competitors facing off atop the Empire State Building in New York, including [autotag]Larissa Pacheco[/autotag], [autotag]Olena Kolesnyk[/autotag], [autotag]Maurice Greene[/autotag] and [autotag]Renan Ferreira[/autotag]. (Photos courtesy of PFL MMA.)
Check out these photos from Olena Kolesnyk vs. Yoko Higashi at 2023 PFL 5 in Atlanta.
Check out these photos from Olena Kolesnyk’s victory over Yoko Higashi at 2023 PFL 5 at Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta. (Photos courtesy of Cooper Neill, PFL MMA)
Olena Kolesnyk enters 2023 PFL 5 with some seriously violent intentions for Yoko Higashi.
[autotag]Olena Kolesnyk[/autotag] knows a lackluster performance won’t suffice when she steps in the cage against Yoko Higashi at 2023 PFL 5
With two points in the women’s featherweight regular season standings, Kolesnyk (8-5) currently finds herself on the outside looking in on the playoff picture. Depending on how the other fighters in the division play out, she’s almost guaranteed to need a finish when she meets Higashi (8-3) on June 16 at Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta. The card airs on ESPN and streams on ESPN+.
The significance of the moments, and the manner in which she wins, is not lost on Kolesnyk.
“The main goal for right now is the next fight is to get to semifinal,” Kolesnyk told MMA Junkie Radio. To get to semifinal, I need to not just win against the girl – I need to kill her. To kill her as soon as possible, first or second round, to get more points. Of course anything can happen and even the girls who get points, you never know what could happen.
“It’s a girl world. They can be pregnant, they can not make weight, not be in a good mood. These girls got their points bigger than I am now, but who knows what happens in Atlanta, Georgia? From my side, I’ll do my best.”
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Kolesnyk managed to make the playoffs in PFL’s 2022 season, but was quickly bounced when she suffered a first-round TKO loss to eventually champion Larissa Pacheco. She’s been keen to right that wrong ever since, but knows she won’t have any chance of facing Pacheco if she doesn’t take care of business in the regular season.
“All I dream about when I wake up and I go to sleep is to make to the semifinal of the PFL,” Kolesnyk said.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for 2023 PFL 5.
Check out these photos from Olena Kolesnyk’s victory over Aspen Ladd at 2023 PFL 2 in Las Vegas.
Check out these photos from [autotag]Olena Kolesnyk[/autotag]’s victory over Aspen Ladd at 2023 PFL 2 at The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas (Photos courtesy of Cooper Neill/PFL)
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 |
 Pacheco (76%) |
 Cappelozza (77%) |
 Ladd (85%) |
 Ferreira (51%) |
| George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 44-25 |
Pacheco |
Cappelozza |
Ladd |
Ferreira |
| Matt Erickson @MattE 43-26 |
Pacheco |
Cappelozza |
Ladd |
 Kuniev |
| Simon Samano @SJSamano 42-27 |
Pacheco |
Cappelozza |
Ladd |
Kuniev |
| Nolan King @mma_kings 42-27/em> |
Pacheco |
Cappelozza |
Ladd |
Kuniev |
| Matthew Wells @MrMWells 40-29 |
Pacheco |
Cappelozza |
Ladd |
Ferreira |
| Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 40-29 |
Pacheco |
Cappelozza |
Ladd |
Ferreira |
| Brian Garcia @thegoze 39-30  2017 Champion |
Pacheco |
Cappelozza |
Ladd |
Ferreira |
| Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 39-30 2018, 2022 Champion |
Pacheco |
Cappelozza |
Ladd |
Kuniev |
| Mike Bohn @MikeBohn 38-31 2014 Champion |
Pacheco |
Cappelozza |
Ladd |
Ferreira |
| Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 38-31 |
Pacheco |
Cappelozza |
Ladd |
Kuniev |
| Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 36-33 |
Pacheco |
Cappelozza |
Ladd |
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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UFC veteran Aspen Ladd has booked her return to the PFL cage.
[autotag]Aspen Ladd[/autotag]’s return to the PFL cage has been booked as she will take part in the promotion’s women’s featherweight season.
The former UFC contender is set to take on [autotag]Olena Kolesnyk[/autotag] at 2023 PFL 2 on April 7 at The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas. The Ladd-Kolesnyk matchup was one of several announced Monday to complete the PFL 2 lineup.
They join the previously announced main and co-main event bouts, with Ante Delija vs. Yorgan De Castro and Larissa Pacheco vs. Julia Budd.
Ladd (10-3) is coming off a successful PFL debut, having beaten former Bellator champion Julia Budd in a showcase bout at the 2022 PFL Championships back in November. She defeated Budd by split decision. It was her first fight since her release from the UFC.
Kolesnyk (7-5) is looking to bounce back from a loss to 2022 PFL women’s lightweight champion Larissa Pacheco. Prior to the defeat, the Ukrainian fighter was on a two-fight winning streak.
Below is the complete 2023 PFL 2 lineup:
MAIN CARD (ESPN 2, 10 p.m. ET)
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 6:30 p.m. ET)
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The 2022 PFL Playoffs 3 event takes place Saturday, join us for official results.
The 2022 PFL Playoffs 3 event takes place Saturday, and you can join us for official results.
The event takes place at Copper Box Arena in London. The main card airs on ESPN following prelims on ESPN+ and ahead of post-lim qualifiers on ESPN+.
In the main event, two-time women’s lightweight season winner [autotag]Kayla Harrison[/autotag] (14-0) takes on [autotag]Martina Jindrova[/autotag] (6-2). Harrison is the No. 2 seed; Jindrova is No. 3. In the other semifinal, No. 1 seed [autotag]Larissa Pacheco[/autotag] (17-4) fights No. 4 [autotag]Olena Kolesnyk[/autotag] (7-4).
At featherweight, No. 1 [autotag]Chris Wade[/autotag] (22-7) meets No. 4 [autotag]Brendan Loughnane[/autotag] (24-4) in a highly anticipated fight between two heated rivals. On the other side of the bracker, No. 2 [autotag]Ryoji Kudo[/autotag] (11-3-1) meets [autotag]Bubba Jenkins[/autotag] (18-5).
Official 2022 PFL Playoffs 3 results include:
MAIN CARD (ESPN, 2 p.m. ET)
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 1 p.m. ET)
POSTLIM CARD (ESPN+, 5 p.m. ET)
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