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- What: PFL Battle of the Giants
- Who: Cris Cyborg vs. Larissa Pacheco
- Date: Saturday, October 19, 2024
- Location: The Mayadeen, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- Time: Prelims (1:30 p.m. ET), Main Card (4:00 p.m. ET)
- How to Watch: Prelims (ESPN+), Main Card (ESPN+ PPV)
Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou makes his return to MMA on Saturday, October 19, at The Mayadeen in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, when he faces 2023 PFL heavyweight tournament winner Renan Ferreira in the main event of a card the promotion calls “Battle of the Giants.” The event streams on ESPN+. In the evening’s co-main event, former UFC champion and current Bellator featherweight champion Cris Cyborg faces two-time PFL tournament champion Larissa Pacheco at 145 pounds. Here is some background on the fighters before we look at the betting breakdown for the co-main event of the upcoming PFL pay-per-view card.
Cris Cyborg (27-2-1) is unbeaten since she lost the UFC featherweight title to Amanda Nunes in December 2018. The 39-year-old has won seven straight since then, with five of those bouts ending via stoppage. Cyborg is coming off an October 2023 TKO win over Cat Zingano in defense of her Bellator title.
Larissa Pacheco (23-4) has not lost since she dropped a decision to Kayla Harrison in the finals of the 2019 PFL lightweight tournament. Since then, the 30-year-old is 10-0 with two PFL tournament titles to her name, including in 2022 when she defeated Harrison. Pacheco has seven knockouts during her 10-fight winning streak.
Before we look at the best bets for the Cris Cyborg vs. Larissa Pacheco scrap on the PFL Battle of the Giants card, check out the best PFL betting sites and where you can find our betting pick for Francis Ngannou vs. Renan Ferreira.
PFL: Cris Cyborg vs. Larissa Pacheco betting picks
| Fighters |  |  |  |  |
| Larissa Pacheco | -125 | -125 | -125 | -125 |
| Cris Cyborg | +105 | +105 | -115 | -119 |
Cris Cyborg betting breakdown
Cris Cyborg is one of the most accomplished women in MMA. She lost her first professional MMA fight in 2005 and then went on an amazing run where she went 21 straight fights without a loss. That run lasted from 2005 to 2018 and included stints as the champion in Strikeforce, Invicta FC, and the UFC. Her title run with the UFC lasted from July 2017 to December 2018 when she lost to Amanda Nunes by knockout. After her UFC career ended, Cyborg moved to Bellator. She won that promotion’s featherweight title in January 2020 and has defended the belt five times.
Cyborg has always been a feared striker. She has 21 career knockout wins, but where she was once a fighter who charged forward and threw caution to the wind in the hope of overwhelming her opponent with power and aggressiveness, the veteran competitor has become much more measured as she gets deeper into her career. Cyborg still has power in her strikes and she can still be aggressive, but she uses those traits with more thought these days, which makes her a dangerous opponent. Her offense, defense and fight IQ are used in equal measure.
Larissa Pacheco betting breakdown
Larissa Pacheco is riding a 10-fight winning streak heading into this matchup. During that run, Pacheco unseated Kayla Harrison atop the lightweight division. A win over a veteran like Cyborg will only raise her profile and put her in the discussion regarding the best women in MMA.
Pacheco is a well-rounded fighter with 11 knockout wins and eight submission victories. The 30-year-old has developed into an excellent fighter since she went 0-2 in the UFC in 2014-15, losing to Jessica Andrade and Germaine de Randamie, who both went on to win UFC titles. Pacheco is an aggressive striker who likes to walk down her opponents and force them to the fence, where she can use combinations to do damage. In the open, Pacheco has a strong jab, but her hooks to the body and head are where she can hurt her foes. One mark against Pacheco is that she can sometimes get a little wild when throwing her hooks, which could open her up for counters from Cyborg.
Pacheco does not usually use offensive grappling on the mat, but she has skills on the ground if that’s where the fight should go.
Best Bets: Cris Cyborg vs. Larissa Pacheco
Time catches up with everyone, and at 39 and coming off a layoff of over a year, time is something to consider when it comes to Cris Cyborg. Pacheco is in her prime at 30 and has been more active than her opponent over the past few years, fighting eight times since May 2022, while Cyborg has competed once over that span.
The betting pick is for Larissa Pacheco to beat Cris Cyborg by decision.
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