Ukraine’s Olena Kolesnyk paid the price for going all guns blazing as she was knocked out by Brazil’s Larissa Pacheco in the first round of their lightweight showdown at PFL 6.
Kolesnyk gestured to her opponent with open arms near the end of the first round before charging towards Pacheco and swinging for dear life.
But the Brazilian kept her cool and picked her spot perfectly with a two-punch combination to send the Ukrainian crashing to the canvas.
The KO was timed at 4:48 of the first round and earned Pacheco another six points in the PFL regular season, to add to the same number she picked up from a first-round stoppage of Julija Pajic in her last outing in May.
Pacheco, 26, said after her latest highlights-reel finish that was determined to oust undefeated PFL lightweight queen Kayla Harrison in this year’s playoffs – avenging the defeat she suffered to the American back in 2019.
“I want to take the belt from Kayla’s hands and become the bigger name in the division and the PFL,” Pacheco said, MMA Junkie reported.
The Brazilian improved her professional ledger to 15-4, while the unfortunate Kolesnyk suffered a fourth defeat on the spin and a second since joining the PFL banner.
“Whewwww that was brutal!” wrote one fan in response to the clip of the knockout on the PFL’s Instagram page.
"Pacheco just sent Kolesnyk to the land of wind and ghosts!!! Holy f*ck!!" added another.
Kolesnyk herself attempted to put on a brave face despite being on the wrong end of the concussive finish.
“Well, it was sucks,” the Ukrainian replied to an official post from the PFL of the knockout sequence.
In a longer post on her own Instagram page, Kolesnyk suggested she had at least managed to entertain by throwing caution to the wind.
“At least I won round and people hearts,” wrote the 30-year-old.
“Thanks so much for support, so many people texting me after fight. Thank you, it means a lot for me.
“Well @pflmma I’m really happy to be part of your history…
“I hate boring fights. Today wasn’t my night. But I’m still standing haha.
“Thanks to my opponent. Honestly I would like to fight with her again. It was big challenge for me and I like it.”
Elsewhere on Friday night's card at the Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City, women’s lightweight queen Harrison extended her unbeaten record to 10 fights with a routine first-round victory over Belgian veteran Cindy Dandois.
Two-time Olympic judo gold medalist Harrison ensured the fight didn’t go beyond the first frame as she locked in an armbar and forced Dandois to tap out with 16 seconds remaining.
“I’m so far ahead of all these girls,” Harrison said in her post-fight interview.
“This is the game of thrones and I’m going to be the queen.”
In the other fights in the women's lightweight series, Mariana Morais defeated Kaitlin Young via split decision, while Genah Fabian stopped Julija Pajic via TKO in the second round of their contest.
Fabian is now two from two this season, as is Taylor Guardado, who defeated Laura Sanchez via unanimous decision.
On current form it’s hard to see past Harrison landing another $1 million payday in this season’s finals, although Pacheco could well be the biggest threat to the American’s reign of terror in the PFL.