Larissa Pacheco became the new PLF champion when she defeated Kayla Harrison by unanimous decision. Grabbing her most notable victory to date, and a massive prize in the process.

Larissa Pacheco has finally done it. Last Saturday she achieved a goal years in the making. After losing twice to former Professional Fighters League champ and Olympic gold medallist Kayla Harrison, the Brazilian managed to score a win in their third encounter—taking home the promotion’s 2022 season title and its one-million-dollar prize in the process.

In an interview with Ag Fight, Pacheco expressed her feelings on the sensation of finally defeating a decorated martial artist such as Harrison. Furthermore, she shared some thoughts on what she might do with her prize money, though she has no concrete ideas for it just yet.

“It sure does have a special taste. It doesn’t taste like revenge, but it does taste like one million dollars. A belt, that’s a big accomplishment in my life. Beating an Olympic athlete, too. I’m not thinking that much about the money, because now that I’ve beaten her, I know my name will gain value. It’s a result of my work, my dedication,”

“I didn’t even know I had won a million dollars,” Larissa said. “I had no time to count. I’m not thinking about how to spend that money at all yet. I’m just happy about my accomplishment. Of course it’s good, but I’m still processing what I’m going to do with all that money. What I can tell you is that I’m not going to blow it all. After so many years of work and sweat. We’re going to calmly wait and see what to do.”

Pacheco (19-4) became the PFL 2022 champion by defeating Olena Kolesnyk, Zamzagul Fayzallanova and the aforementioned Harrison in the final. The 28-year-old’s last defeat took place in December 2019, when she dropped a unanimous decision to Harrison in that year’s final round of the women’s lightweight tournament.

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“He was out for a long time, but he’s Jon Jones, you know what I mean? Don’t forget that he’s Jon Jones.”

Jon Jones might have been out of action for a while, but let’s not forget that he is Jon Jones, arguably the greatest MMA fighter of all time and the most dominant champion in UFC history.

Those were the sentiments of Georges St-Pierre, who thinks ‘Bones’ will dominate when he returns to the Octagon at heavyweight in 2023.

St-Pierre, an all-time great himself, thinks Jones will be successful at heavyweight because of how big he has gotten during his UFC hiatus, recounting his unforgettable meeting with the former light heavyweight champ at the 2020 UFC Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Las Vegas.

“I’ve seen it on the red carpet when I got inducted into the [UFC] Hall of Fame. I took a picture and I put my arm around him, I was like, ‘Man, he’s solid like a rock.’ He’s huge,” St-Pierre told MMA Fighting during a press conference last month. “Jon Jones, he’s solid like a rock, he looked huge.”

“And it looked like he put the weight at the right place,” he added. “I can’t wait. I’m a fan of Jon Jones, I like to see him fight. I can’t wait to see him come back. A lot of people are like, ‘Yeah, he was out for a long time.’ He was out for a long time, but he’s Jon Jones, you know what I mean? Don’t forget that he’s Jon Jones. He’s arguably the best fighter of all-time too. He can make a comeback and I think he’s going to be successful when he does.”

Jones has been tipped to return to MMA at UFC 285 on March 5, with the pound-for-pound great opening as a betting favorite over perennial contender and potential opponent Curtis Blaydes in his heavyweight debut. He last fought at UFC 247 where he defeated Dominick Reyes to retain his light heavyweight title, later relinquishing it following a dispute with the UFC over fighter pay.

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Israel Adesanya took on the wings of death.

Just two days after his tough upset loss to Alex Pereira at UFC 281, Israel Adesanya pushed through with an appearance in the popular YouTube show Hot Ones.

As with the show’s trademark style, the now former middleweight champion discussed various topics while eating increasingly spicy wings. Among those Adesanya spoke about was his latest anime arc after losing the belt in a bout he was already dominating.

“In so many different ways, (anime) has just helped me tell my own story, be the protagonist in my own story, be Player One in my own game. Right now, I’ve already seen the set up for my next storyline,” Adesanya said on Hot Ones. “The hunter becomes the hunted. Certain characters in certain animes, I draw inspiration from.”

Other UFC stars to have appeared in previous episodes of Hot Ones include Ronda Rousey, Kamaru Usman, Dustin Poirier, and Derrick Lewis.

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Aljamain Sterling will be defending his bantamweight title against Henry Cejudo, according to Ali Abdelaziz.

MMA manager Ali Abdelaziz claims Aljamain Sterling vs. Henry Cejudo is a done deal for 2023.

The Dominance MMA founder and BJJ black belt said the UFC has agreed to the matchup despite Sterling previously snubbing Cejudo in favor of Sean O’Malley, who promises he’ll be fighting the winner for the bantamweight championship next year.

“Aljo is fighting Henry Cejudo, it’s done,” Abdelaziz, who manages Cejudo at Dominance MMA, told The Underground (h/t BJPenn.com). “It’s done, the UFC said it’s done. He knows it’s done, and I understand he wants a different fight. But, the man never lost his belt. He’s a two-time champion, defended both belts, and he left on his own. He didn’t leave because he lost, or he was injured, he just needed time off.”

He continued: “Guess what? It’s champion vs. champion, he never lost his belt. I disagree with Aljamain, I think it’s a big fight. It’s a tougher fight, he knows that, and I know that. I don’t think Aljamain will shy from an opponent, I think he tried to make Henry sweat. But, he’s fighting Henry.”

Sterling last fought at UFC 280, defending his bantamweight title with a TKO win over a clearly compromised and injured T.J. Dillashaw in the co-main event. Prior to that, he beat Petr Yan, silencing his critics with a well-earned split decision in their bantamweight championship rematch at UFC 273.

Cejudo will look to reclaim the 135-pound title when he returns to the UFC next year. He hasn’t fought since his 2020 TKO win over Dominick Cruz at UFC 249.

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The new women’s lightweight champion is open to a potential fourth fight with Harrison. 

Going into their third fight at the 2022 PFL Championships this past Friday, Larissa Pacheco knew she would defeat Kayla Harrison.

“I already knew it was going to be an upset,” said Pacheco through an interpreter at her post-fight press conference (video provided by MMASucka). “I came here ready to screw with everyone’s bets and put on one hell of a fight.”

Pacheco was 0-2 against Harrison, who dominated the Brazilian in their previous outings at PFL 1 and PFL 10 in 2019. However, in this outing, Pacheco showed off her growth and gave Harrison the toughest test of her professional career thus far.

Though she found success early, Harrison dealt with several submission attempts and reversals from Pacheco on the ground. And when they were on their feet, the two-time PFL champion was met with heavy punches. It was a close fight, but Pacheco earned a unanimous decision on the judges’ scorecards, becoming the first fighter to bounce Harrison from the ranks of the unbeaten.

As impressive as her performance was, Pacheco saw some areas that needed improvement.

“It was good, but it wasn’t great,” said Pacheco. “There’s a lot of things that happened this fight that I thought were going to go one way for me, and they didn’t. I obviously noticed that she was being frustrated with a lot of her takedown attempts, and with that, I gained confidence. I’m just happy I was able to stick with the strategy, stick with what we had planned in order to come out on top.

“Kayla has a rematch whenever she wants,” continued Pacheco. “I’m happy to give it to her and I know she’s going to come back even stronger.”

With the win over Harrison, Pacheco is now on a six-fight win streak.

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Conor McGregor takes aim at Anthony Smith on Twitter.

Conor McGregor has fired back at Anthony Smith after ‘Lionheart’ suggested ‘The Notorious’ used performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) to recover from his brutal leg break against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264.

McGregor, who has been sidelined for the entire year, labeled Smith a ‘rat’ before responding to his PED accusations, claiming that he is ‘the most tested fighter’ in combat sports history.

“This rat spoke to weidman who’d the same horrific injury and is having severe complications still, is bothered that I was able to heal/return to a normal way of life,” McGregor said of Smith. “He, like many other rats in my game, would be happier if I wasn’t able to play with my children the same again.”

“The audacity of this loser! @lionheartasmith you’re a loser. The % of the bones joining back after a break like this is so low. You think I give a fuck about anything else. I am the most tested fighter all time in combat sport. I give everything to this game. You – Nothing!” He posted in a follow-up Tweet.

McGregor then mocked Smith’s injury TKO loss to Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 277, re-tweeting a gif of Smith limping backstage after breaking his leg during the fight.

“I thought you broke your leg yourself in your last fight lol you little dope. You embarrassment of a man! Keep my name out of your fucking mouth. Prick.”

“Hahahaah walk it off you little tick. Broken leg my bollox. Embarrassing!”

Smith’s initial comments came after it was revealed that McGregor had been removed from USADA’s drug-testing pool after his injury and hadn’t been tested since. He is expected to return to the UFC next year after he completes six months of mandatory testing, with the former two-division champ aiming for a comeback at welterweight. He is currently #14 in the UFC lightweight rankings.

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Blachowicz says he went from eliminator to title challenger—and he didn’t even know about it until he landed in Las Vegas. 

No one was more surprised to hear about the shake-up to UFC 282 than Jan Blachowicz.

The former UFC light heavyweight champion was on the way to Las Vegas for his fight against Magomed Ankalaev, which was expected to serve as the co-main of the upcoming pay-per-view event. Ahead of Blachowicz vs. Ankalaev was the rematch between Jiří Procházka and Glover Texeira, who were previously involved in a ‘Fight of the Year’ contender at UFC 275 this past June.

Everything was fine until reports began surfacing that Procházka had been forced to withdraw against Texeira and vacate the title after suffering a shoulder injury. An injury that UFC president Dana White described as ‘the worst shoulder injury the doctors have seen in UFC history’. And with Texeira rejecting the only fight the UFC would offer, a new title fight was created out of the co-main event.

Now promoted from co-main to main, Blachowicz and Ankalaev are vying for the vacant UFC light heavyweight championship. It’s a move that came as quite a surprise to the Polish fighter.

“That was the craziest several hours ever,” wrote Blachowicz on Twitter. “I left Warsaw to take part in the eliminator match, and a few hours later I’ve arrived as a title challenger. I’m ready. Keep fingers crossed. [Jiří Procházka] — huge respect for your conduct! Get well!”

Once in Las Vegas, Blachowicz provided a detailed account of what happened when he found out his fight against Ankalaev was for gold.

“So, we just arrived to Vegas yesterday [in] the evening,” said Blachowicz. “So, today is the first training. Get acclimated, used to the weather. And happy because—title shot! Main event. Amazing. That was crazy because I didn’t know nothing. I was in the plane ten hours and I was the last person to know that my fight will be for the title.

“So I wish Jiří a very fast recovery, but it is what it is,” continued Blachowicz. “We’ve got the title shot so—Perfect, I’m happy! Ready for it.”

This is the second championship opportunity for Blachowicz, who enjoyed a brief reign between 2020 and 2021. The 39-year-old had one successful defense against Israel Adesanya at UFC 259 before losing the title to the aforementioned Texeira at UFC 267. A third-round TKO over Aleksandar Rakić saw him return to the win column earlier this year.

Ankalaev went from newcomer to contender in the span of 10 fights. The former WFCA light heavyweight champion lost in his UFC debut but has yet to taste defeat again, rattling off nine consecutive wins, including decisions over former title challengers Volkan Oezdemir and Thiago Santos, as well as a second-round TKO of Anthony Smith.

UFC 282 goes down on Sat., Dec. 10, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

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Start time for Prograis vs. Zepeda is 9pm Eastern, 6pm Pacific on Saturday, November 26th.

After a few years in the boxing wilderness, Regis Prograis returns to the top levels of the sport, fighting for the vacant 140lb WBC title against Jose Zepeda.

Prograis (27-1-0, 23KOs) seemed on the verge of stardom back in 2019, but a loss to Josh Taylor tumbled his career off the rails a bit. He’ll be hoping to relaunch his bid for top level events by grabbing the title on offer here. He won’t have an easy ride though, as Zepeda (35-2-0, 27 KOs) is a skilled and highly experienced opponent with aspirations of his own. With both men possessing quality talent and not shy of a scrap, it’s shaping up to be a good one.

This page will provide live play-by-play of the main event. The card is a $ 60 pay-per-view on Fite.tv, and kicks off at 9pm ET, with the main event expected around 11pm- but stay tuned here for updates.

WBC world super-lightweight title: Jose Zepeda vs. Regis Prograis

Women’s IBF and WBO world light flyweight titles: Yokasta Valle vs. Evelin Nazarena Bermudez

Lightweight: Ruben Torres vs. Eduardo Estela

Light middleweight: Charles Conwell vs. Juan Carlos Abreu

Heavyweight: Bakhodir Jalolov vs. Curtis Harper

Featherweight: Nathan Rodriguez vs. Jerson Ortiz

Welterweight: Mario Ramos vs. Geronimo Nahuel Sacco

Super-featherweight: Austin Brooks vs. Jesus Roman

Middleweight: Eric Priest vs. Luis Alberto Vera

Light Middleweight: Fernando Vargas vs. Alejandro Martinez

Super-lightweight: Alejandro Reyes vs. Daniel Perales Osorio

Welterweight Jacob Macalolooy vs Terrance Jarmon

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Congratulations to the Pennington family!

Tecia Torres and Raquel Pennington are growing their family.

The UFC fighters announced on Instagram that they are expecting their first child together next year. According to Torres, she is now three months along and has had ‘a great pregnancy so far’.

“We have a little extra to be thankful for this year,” wrote Torres. “Happy Thanksgiving from our growing family to yours. Baby Pennington coming June 2023. We are beyond excited and feel incredibly blesses. Mommies love you so much sweet baby and we can’t wait for this life with you.”

“We have an extra turkey in the oven this year,” wrote Pennington. “Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours.”

2022 continues to be a banner year for Torres and Pennington, who also announced their marriage after being together for several years.

In light of recent developments, Torres’ professional career is on pause. However, the ‘Tiny Tornado’ told Danny Segura of MMA Junkie that it will resume in 2024.

Torres competed once in 2022, losing a split decision to Mackenzie Dern at UFC 273 this past April. That loss snapped a three-fight win streak for the American Top Team (ATT) staple, who defeated the likes of Brianna Fortino (née Van Buren), Sam Hughes and Angela Hill.

As for Pennington, she will return to the Octagon against Ketlen Vieira in a potential No. 1 contender at an upcoming UFC Fight Night scheduled for Jan. 14, 2023, at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas. Since losing a unanimous decision to Holly Holm, ‘Rocky’ rebounded with four consecutive wins.

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Episode 209 discussion: Michael Chandler talks fish hook on Poirier, Paulo Costa won’t sign new deal without better pay, Green-Dober set, Craig Jones talks demoting black belts

Welcome to ‘The Level Change Podcast’, our combat sports themed variety show hosted by Stephie Haynes and Victor Rodriguez. Featuring the news of the week, fight card breakdowns and analysis, a roundup of regional promotions’ cards and fights; and whatever else we decide is important enough or entertaining enough to bring to your ears. Here is a summary of the topics discussed, complete with the time stamps for when each interview or special segment begins. As always, we hope you enjoy listening to the show as much as we enjoyed recording it.

June M. Williams

EPISODE 209

Chandler won’t apologize for fish hooking Poirier – 9:46

https://www.bloodyelbow.com/2022/11/22/23472834/thats-why-we-have-referees-chandler-wont-apologize-for-fish-hooking-poirier-at-ufc-281-mma-news

Craig Jones on demoting black belts – 19:48

https://www.bloodyelbow.com/2022/11/22/23472447/demote-black-belts-bjj-star-craig-jones-explains-why-he-agrees-with-makhachevs-jiujitsu-criticism

Dober-Green set for UFC Vegas 66 – 26:51

https://www.bloodyelbow.com/2022/11/22/23474258/drew-dober-vs-bobby-green-booked-ufc-vegas-strickland-cannonier-december-17th-mma-news

Costa won’t sign new contract without $ $ – 31:15

https://www.bloodyelbow.com/2022/11/22/23472140/paulo-costa-might-not-renew-ufc-deal-wont-sign-whittaker-bout-until-he-gets-better-pay

Demopoulos on leaving exotic dancing career for UFC – 39:18

https://www.bloodyelbow.com/2022/11/22/23473930/ufc-vegas-65-vanessa-demopoulos-talks-stripping-mma-concussion-dangers-career-news

*One fight from this year that we’re thankful for* – 47:05

Follow our Twitter accounts: Stephie Haynes and Victor Rodriguez and our show account The Level Change Podcast. If you enjoy our variety of shows, give us a shout out in the comments here on Bloody Elbow, and give us a “like”, share & subscribe on your BE Presents Podcast platform of choice: SoundCloud, YouTube, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Stitcher, Spotify, TuneIn, OverCast, Player FM, & Amazon Music – For previous episodes, check out our playlists on any of our BE Presents channels.

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