Preview: PFL 8 ‘Ferreira vs. Greene’
Pacheco vs. Kolesnyk
Women’s Featherweights
Larissa Pacheco (21-4, 9-3 PFL) vs. Olena Kolesnyk (9-5, 4-3 PFL)At this point, Kolesnyk has to feel like she has drawn the short straw during her PFL tenure, as this will be the third time she has faced Pacheco in slightly more than two years. On the first two occasions, Kolesnyk was finished inside of a round. The Ukrainian will hope that the third time is the charm in a different weight class. There is not much to be gained from Kolesnyk’s last outing, where she cruised past an overmatched Yoko Higashi. However, Kolesnyk has shown the ability to be more technical in other bouts, including a majority decision victory over UFC veteran Aspen Ladd at PFL 2. If Kolesnyk can utilize intelligent movement, counter effectively and stay active with leg kicks, she might be able to pull off the upset. However, Pacheco has a knack for backing Kolesnyk into the fence, baiting her into a brawl and making her pay for her aggression. When Kolesnyk decides to bite down on her mouthpiece and swing for the fences, her defense leaves plenty to be desired; and she simply lacks the power to go blow-for-blow with Pacheco in a slugfest.
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Kolsenyk’s best hope is to frustrate Pacheco and drag the fight out, but that is no guarantee, either: The Brazilian is solid in the clinch and can land takedowns, as well, so if the fight shifts gears, she is more than capable of holding her own. Perhaps Kolesnyk can find hope in the fact that Pacheco got the best of Kayla Harrison on the third try, but a more attainable goal would be to make it past the opening stanza. Either way, Pacheco improves to 3-0 against Kolesnyk with another stoppage victory.
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Ferreira vs. Greene
Pacheco vs. Kolesnyk
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Mokhnatkina vs. Leibrock
Kelly vs. Nelson
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