After the Bellator acquisition by Professional Fighters League (PFL), Cris “Cyborg” Justino and Kayla Harrison have no one but themselves stopping their long-anticipated fight from happening in 2024. According to Cyborg, it’s not her doing so as the year gets underway.
Cyborg took to Twitter today (Weds., Jan. 3, 2024), claiming Harrison turned down an offer that she accepted for a bout at an upcoming undisclosed date. MMA Mania has reached out to PFL and Harrison for comment and will provide updates on those sides of the story if received.
Update: Sources close to PFL have provided comment and didn’t confirm or deny the fight proposal, but maintain that Bellator vs. PFL champions fights are still the current immediate focus.
watch highlights). That same night, top contender, Leah McCourt, seemingly earned her first shot at the title with a first round technical knockout of Sara McMann. However, the prospect of that match up has been thrown into question with the PFL-Bellator merger coming into play.
“Leah has earned her shot and any promotion that is fighter first wouldn’t take it away from her,” Cyborg replied on Twitter when asked about a title fight against McCourt.
watch highlights).
Pacheco went on to claim her second PFL title, this time at Featherweight, at the 2023 PFL Championship when she too earned a unanimous decision against her opponent, Marina Mokhnatkina. Therefore, setting Pacheco up for the opportunity to face Cyborg next, per PFL Founder, Donn Davis, in the 2023 PFL Championship post-fight press conference.
With the exclusion of Pacheco mentions, Cyborg found herself called out by a fan for disrespecting Pacheco by pursuing a Harrison fight rather than her fellow Brazilian titleholder.
the season would be her last before she became exclusive to pay-per-view events in 2023. Harrison is believed to again be back on the free agency market at this exact moment with her previous contract expiring at the end of 2023.
