One after another, the shiny brass-and-leather belts and oversized $1 million checks had been handed out. The 2022 PFL’s season-ending night of glory last November in New York had seen five fighters earn championships in as many weight classes. All that was left of this jamboree was the evening’s sixth and final title bout.
The women’s lightweight championship fight had been chosen for the main event spotlight because it featured the company’s shiniest star. Kayla Harrison had won the 155-pound title in both previous PFL seasons. Every time she had stepped into the SmartCage, she’d shown herself to be an unstoppable force. Her opponent on this night knew that all too well. Harrison had handled Larissa Pacheco twice before with relative ease, including in the 2019 final. It surprised absolutely no one that Harrison was going into this championship fight as a better than 7-1 betting favorite.
For the self-proclaimed “queen of women’s MMA,” the season’s culmination appeared destined to be a coronation mixed with anti-climax.
But then, shockingly, the crown got knocked off Harrison’s head. With a gritty, determined performance, Pacheco won a unanimous decision to rearrange the regal power structure among PFL women.
“Kayla used to…
