Renan Ferreira, Larissa Pacheco score big knockouts to punch their ticket to the finals
NEW YORK, NEW YORK: The Professional Fighters League (PFL) is fresh off a successful Friday night of fights at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The main card featured the Women’s Featherweight and Men’s Heavyweight semi-finals. All semi-finalists expected to punch their ticket to fight for $1 Million dollars and the 2023 championship belt. The main card saw four first-round stoppages after a decision filled preliminary card to open the night.
#2 Marina Mokhnatkina defeats #3 Amber Leibrock by 1sr Round Armbar (1:45)
Marina Moknatina clearly had a gameplan coming into face the rangy kickboxer, Amber Leibrock. As soon as the fight opened, Moknatina closed the distance with some clinch work. Shortly after, the fight would go to the mat where Moknatina looked dominant. Leibrock threatened with some submission offense from the bottom, but ultimately it was Moknatkina who found the armbar forcing Leibrock to tap.
The win sets Marina Moknatina up against Larissa Pacheco, who has been dominant in her own right the past few years. Moknatina is now on a five-fight win streak ahead of the biggest fight of her life.
#1 Denis Goltsov defeats #4 Jordan Heiderman by 1st Round Arm-Triangle (4:16)
Denis Goltsov made it look easy against previously undefeated Jordan Heiderman. Goltsov, who got a dominant position on the ground very early, went to work with ground and pound and smothering top control for most of the first round. When presented with his opportunity to sink in an arm triangle Goltsov pounced, cinching up what appeared to be a very tight choke. The choke would force Heiderman to tap, meaning Goltsov not only punched his first ticket to the Heavyweight finals but also took Heiderman’s perfect record.
Denis Goltsov is now on a five-fight winning streak inside the smart cage, including four first-round stoppages. The dominating victory sets Goltsov up with a date against power puncher Renan Ferreira.
#1 Larissa Pacheco defeats #4 Olena Kolesynk by 1st Round TKO ( 0:14)
One of the PFL’s very best Larissa Pacheco, who won the championship in the women’s lightweight season last year, punched her ticket to another finals, this time at women’s featherweight. Olena Kolesynk stood no chance to the power right of Pacheco who only needed to land it three times before the referee would jump in. Pacheco is now 3-0 against Kolesnyk in her career.
Larissa Pacheco is now on a 9-fight win streak including a championship win over Kayla Harrison last year. With this performance, she also owns the fastest knockout in PFL Women’s Featherweight history. Pacheco could become the first two-weight champion if she can beat Marina Mokhnatkina in the finals.
#2 Renan Ferreira defeats #5 Maurice Greene by 1st Round KO (4:46)
The main event, a clash between two giant heavyweights, determined who would face Denis Goltslov in the finals. Renan Ferreira a 6’8 Brazilian power puncher would keep the action on the feet for the entirety of the round. He utilized leg kicks to cut Maurice Green off from circling as well as beautiful bodywork. Eventually, Ferreira found a big straight right that put Green down and added some heavy follow-up shots that would end the night.
Ferreira, adds another highlight real first-round knockout to his already impressive resume in the PFL. He will make the walk to face Denis Goltslov in the finals in a battle of finishers. After the fight, Ferreira told the media that he is looking forward to going home to Brazil to celebrate with family, but also noted he will begin preparing for the biggest fight of his life very soon. When asked about the $1 million, Ferreira seemed more excited about the opportunity to become a champion and said he isn’t thinking about the money until after the finals.
