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Two-time PFL champion Larissa Pacheco was expecting to fight Bellator Women’s Featherweight Champion Cris Cyborg in the future.
That bout may not be happening anymore after Cyborg called for a UFC return at UFC 300 and Pacheco says the attempt at a UFC return was a cry for help from Cyborg.
“I believe I’m at a higher level than the athletes [Cyborg] was fighting [in Bellator],” Pacheco said to MMA Fighting. “I don’t have anything to prove to anyone. Everybody thinks PFL is weaker but it’s quite the opposite. We might not have the media, but the money on the line makes people give their all in there. It changes lives, as it changed mine. Am I going to fight for almost nothing? Many fighters left the UFC for PFL and say they’ve made more in a year than in their entire UFC careers.
“We don’t make a living off of media. We need media, sure, but media doesn’t pay our bills. But it’s all good, UFC is still the No. 1 promotion and has its importance, but I see Cris’ situation as a cry for help. She wants to retire already, that’s a fact, and she’s shooting at wherever she thinks she’s going to get paid more — or where she can keep her name in the media for longer and continue to make money to provide to her family and have a comfortable life.”
Cyborg had previously been linked to a potential bout with Kayla Harrison, who recently signed with the UFC and will make her promotional debut at UFC 300.
Pacheco is now shifting her focus to possibly competing on an upcoming PFL or Bellator card.
“The scenario is quite clear for me,” Pacheco said. “Cris left the UFC in an ugly way, fighting Dana White. Dana White has made it pretty clear he doesn’t like her, he doesn’t like working with her. He has his reasons and she has hers, that’s not up to me [to judge]. The promotion where she was the champion and had all the safety was Bellator, and now PFL has acquired Bellator, so PFL is her home. I don’t see a reason not to do this fight, only if she doesn’t want it.
“I’m the champion, and I have earned it. I don’t see why waste such a big fight against two big names just because of ego or whatever. They can do a great promotion behind it just like they’re doing with this card in Saudi Arabia.”
