Once Larissa Pacheco reached the summit as a lightweight, talk soon turned to whether or not she could do so 10 pounds down the ladder.
The well-rounded Brazilian will begin her pursuit of a Professional Fighters League title in a second weight class when she meets former Bellator MMA champion Julia Budd in the PFL 2 headliner on Friday inside The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas. Pacheco struts into the start of her 2023 campaign on the strength of a six-fight winning streak that now spans more than three years. She carries an 8-2 record in the PFL, having emerged as one of the promotion’s pillars. Budd, meanwhile, has dropped back-to-back bouts for the first time in her career. She last fought at the 2022 PFL Championships, where she wound up on the wrong side of a split decision against Aspen Ladd on Nov. 25.
As Pacheco and Budd approach their forthcoming showdown at 145 pounds, a look at some of the numbers that have accompanied them to this point:
28: Years of age for Pacheco, who was born in Belem, Brazil, on Sept. 7, 1994.
8: Pacheco wins by submission, accounting for 42% of her career total (19). Her methods of choice: two armbars, two triangle chokes, two guillotine chokes, one anaconda choke and one keylock. Pacheco owns nine other wins by knockout or technical knockout (47%) and two more by decision (11%).
51: Total strikes by which Pacheco was outlanded in her two Ultimate Fighting Championship appearances. She connected on just 24 strikes while absorbing 75 in return.
2: Sub-minute stoppages on the Pacheco resume. She wrecked Dinha Wollstaein with punches in 36 seconds at Jungle Fight 59 in October 2013 and cut down Julija Pajic with punches in 51 seconds at PFL 3 in May 2021.
49: Combined victories between the three opponents—Harrison (twice), Germaine de Randamie and Jessica Andrade—who have defeated Pacheco. They sport a cumulative .766 winning percentage at 49-15.
39: Years of age for Budd, who was born on July 4, 1983 in Roberts Creek, British Columbia.
6: Budd victories by knockout or technical knockout, accounting for 38% of her career total (16). Her list of victims includes Olga Rubin, Talita Nogueira and Marloes Coenen. Budd holds one other victory by submission (6%)—she subdued Mollie Estes with a rear-naked choke at an Invicta Fighting Championships event in April 2013—and nine more by decision (56%).
134: Seconds needed for Budd to dispatch Rubin with a body kick and follow-up punches at Bellator 224 on July 12, 2019. Nearly four years later, it remains her fastest finish to date.
1,058: Days spent by Budd as undisputed Bellator women’s featherweight champion. She captured the title with fourth-round technical knockout of the aforementioned Coenen at Bellator 174 on March 3, 2017, retained it on three subsequent occasions and then surrendered it in a fourth-round technical knockout loss to Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino at Bellator 238 on Jan. 25, 2020.
.833: Cumulative winning percentage between the five opponents—Ladd, Justino, Genah Fabian, Ronda Rousey and Amanda Nunes—who have beaten Budd. They boast a combined record of 75-15.
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