Pache.co Information Technologies

TOTAL NUMBER OF PFL FIGHTS: 963
TOTAL NUMBER OF PFL EVENTS: 105

The
Professional Fighters League established its finalists for the
heavyweight and women’s featherweight divisions with a truncated
fight card that brought it when it counted. All four semifinal
bouts ended by first-round stoppage, delighting the fans in New
York.
PFL 8: 2023 Playoffs featured a knockout artist among knockout
artists, a hulking Russian on a warpath and the speediest
submission of any woman to grace its cage.

Trending Upwards: The event was PFL’s 18th this
year, including the Challenger Series as well as its European
Series shows. This ties the most fight cards for any one year in
company history, and with three more on the 2023 docket, it will
pass that mark next week.

Slim Production, Still Lasted Four Hours: Due to
weight issues and other cancelations, PFL 8: 2023 Playoffs carried
on with just seven bouts in total. The seven-fight billing in a
non-championship, non-Challenger Series card is the shortest since
PFL Fight Night in 2017, when just four matches took place that
night.

Skyscraper on Skyscraper Violence: Snatching up a
place in the heavyweight finals, Renan
Ferreira dispatched Maurice
Greene in Round 1. Ferreira has now finished his foe in 10 of
11 wins, with seven first-round stoppages on his resume.

The Unluck of the Draw: In 2021, 2022 and now
2023, Larissa
Pacheco met Olena
Kolesnyk in tournament bouts, with the prior two at 155 pounds
and the third at featherweight. Pacheco demolished Kolesnyk in all
three, sealing the most one-sided trilogy in a major organization
since Wanderlei
Silva encountered Kazushi
Sakuraba twice in 2001 and again in 2003.

She Is Only 28: Pacheco elevated her finish rate
to 86% by decking Kolesnyk for the third time. With eight stoppages
under her belt as a PFL fighter, only three combatants have earned
more: Justin
Gaethje (nine), Ray Cooper
III (10) and Kayla
Harrison (11).

Fists of Fury: Of her eight wins inside the
distance, seven for Pacheco have come by knockout. This puts her
behind just Cooper’s eight and Gaethje’s nine for the most in
World Series of Fighting-PFL history.

So Far Ahead of the Pack: The triumph was
Pacheco’s 11th with the company, making her and Harrison the only
two women to surpass 10 wins with PFL. In fact, the only other
female fighter with at least five victories is fellow finalist
Marina
Mokhnatkina.

Stockpiling Checks: Pacheco has now won nine
fights in a row since losing a decision in the 2019 finals to
Harrison. In the history of the organization, just 12 other
fighters have even won nine fights. Of those 12, six celebrate
lengthier win streaks of 10 or more straight.

She Can Smash: Needing just 14 seconds to blow
through Kolesnyk, Pacheco clocks in with the third-fastest finish –
and knockout – in promotional history. Movlid
Khaybulaev’s 10-second flying knee and Marthin
Hamlet’s 13-second win by knee injury remain above hers.

Speed Keeps Killing: Adding to a 2021 decimation
of Julija
Pajic in 51 seconds and a 45-drubbing of Amber
Leibrock in June, Pacheco now holds the top three fastest
finishes in PFL women’s divisional history. She lays claim to five
of the spots in its top 10.

Harrisonian Odds: Ahead of the trilogy match with
Kolesnyk, Pacheco closed as a prohibitive -2000 betting favorite.
Only 11 other fighters in PFL history have been that heavily
favored, and the only one to lose is -2000 Magomed
Idrisov against Steven
Siler in 2018.

No Longer an “International” Fighter: Throttling
Jordan
Heiderman with an arm-triangle choke, Denis
Goltsov reached the finals of the heavyweight bracket. The
Russian lifted his pro finish rate to 81%, and became the first
heavyweight in league history to amass 10 wins.

Beat That, Kayla: Punching her ticket to the
featherweight finals, Mokhnatkina put Amber
Leibrock away with an armbar in 105 seconds. This clocks in as
the quickest submission in the history of all women’s divisions in
WSOF and PFL.

Irish Pride: In a showcase bout on the main card,
Nathan
Kelly outworked Damion
Nelson to pick up the decision win. Since dropping his first
two pro outings, the Irishman has not tasted defeat, while earning
just his second victory on the scorecards.

Out Ishii-ed Ishii: Danilo
Marques defeated Satoshi
Ishii by unanimous decision to bounce back from a June knockout
loss. The Brazilian becomes one of 10 heavyweights in company
history to claim multiple wins at the hands of the judges, with the
record five held by Jared
Rosholt.

Flyweight Tourney Looms: Thus far in
organizational history, 14 bouts have been scheduled at 125 pounds
among women. Including Maira
Mazar’s split verdict over Kaytlin
Neil, 11 of those bouts have taken place in 2023.

Never Say Never Again: Coming into 2023 PFL 8
Playoffs, Goltsov had never qualified for the finals (four seasons,
11 fights), Heiderman had never been defeated (seven fights) and
Mazar had never prevailed on split scorecards (14 fights).