Storylines to watch heading into PFL 8
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The Professional Fighters League postseason continues on with heavyweights and women’s featherweights vying for a spot in the finals. The card will feature a reigning queen who is currently on the verge of making PFL history and becoming the first ever two-division champion. We will also see a new heavyweight champion crowned as the 2023 season comes to an end.
PFL 8 takes place inside The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York on Friday night. The main card will go down on ESPN and ESPN+ at 9pm ET. The prelims will stream on ESPN+ starting at 6pm ET.
Maurice Greene: Training With GOATs
“The Crochet Boss” is one of the best nicknames in MMA, and Maurice Greene certainly lives up to the personality of such a monicker. Greene (11-8) is coming into this Playoff opportunity following a loss to Ante Delija and felt fired up at media day about righting the wrongs of that last fight. I felt it was pertinent to inquire about a unique addition into an already star-studded training camp and gain some insight into where the Crochet Boss’ goods may be acquired.
Less than a week ago a photo was released of Maurice Greene sharpening the BJJ tools with none other than Gordon Ryan. I was curious what impact that had on him and if there might be some implementation of Ryan’s instruction Friday night…
“We got a little bit of time with Gordon and I’m very grateful we got two nights with him. Just watching him articulate and teach Jiu Jitsu, I didn’t have many questions when he was done teaching because he was so clear and concise and it was very useful things that I can use Friday night. I think we will use some of it Friday because we will be everywhere. We’re talking about the No-Gi GOAT and the MMA GOAT [Jon Jones] and the real MMA fans and media should already know he’s the GOAT.”
I did my due diligence on the crocheting of the Crochet Boss and came away unsure of where one can purchase an authentic Maurice Greene piece, so I figured no better person to ask than the source himself.
“I been slacking on my pimpin when it comes to that. When I’m training, my hands hurt because of that but NOW I’m going to start posting on MILLIONS.co. If you go there, some of my designs are there, and those are my designs, I designed that shit. And I’ll keep designing those, I don’t really do a lot of requests I just make it and post it but if y’all want something DM me on Instagram.”
Maurice Greene looks to take all his talents into the PFL Smart Cage on Friday night against equally as large Renan Ferreira in an attempt to secure a spot in the Finals in his first PFL season.
Olena Kolesnyk: Will History Repeat Itself?
Olena Kolesnyk meets a familiar foe in her Playoff opportunity in what many consider the proverbial Finals of the featherweight division. For the third time, the Ukranian Kolesnyk squares off against Larissa Pacheco who is 2-0 against her.
I was curious what some of the reflections from the prior two matches were, and Olena provided an apt assessment of where she went wrong in both those previous matchups.
“I was too emotional becauseI started to listen to people around how great she is and that information fucked my head in the first fight and I made a mistake and that made me step over the left leg and she caught me. Good for her, but we see what happens Friday.”
I felt it was important to then probe deeper into where her head is at currently…
“To be honest with you, it’s a Wednesday and we are all cutting weight and I feel it’s bad to disturb me when I’m cutting weight, but I decided to be nice today so pray God for me. Whatever happens, try to enjoy every second. New York, New York is my favorite city in USA so let’s do it. Just one more night and I think the hard job will be done.”
Kolesnyk (9-5) jokingly made light of the timing of the presser and certainly seemed to be in good spirits ahead of the trilogy with Pacheco. It is important to note, Larissa Pacheco was defeated twice by Kayla Harrison before finding her revenge last year – a strong parallel to the Ukranian’s plight against Pacheco. Will we see history repeated in back-to-back PFL seasons? Or can Pacheco solidify the rivalry and advance to 3-0 over Olena Kolesnyk? Tune in Friday night, or go f**k yourself.
Denis Goltsov: The Unlucky One
Denis Goltsov has made four separate PFL Playoffs appearances and is always inches away from the $1 Million before disaster occurs. Between April 2022 and April 2023, he had 6 fight cancellations due to visa issues that forced him out of last year’s season. Thankfully, Goltsov (31-7) is here and positioned perfectly to accomplish a goal that has evaded him for the last several years.
Goltsov details the frustration of being forced on the shelf-
“It’s just luck, it’s part of the game. Unfortunately we all have hoops we have to jump over and sometimes it doesn’t go our way even if we are winning so I am really hoping this time I am able to jump over all the hoops and get to where I want to be.”
I wanted some reflection on his 18-second KO of Yorgan De Castro his last time out and if that quick finish was what he wanted.
“Of course it was a good fight, but it was a little too fast and ideally I’d love to fight a minimum one round to get more experience and feel my opponent better and gain experience instead of winning it quickly. However, I was able to find the window and sometimes that happens and I was able to get my opponent out of there fast.”
Lastly, I wanted some levity and St. Petersburg, Russia (where Goltsov is from and trains) has a phenomenon where at certain points, the sun never sets creating this eternal day phenomenon known as a “white night”. I was curious what experiencing that is like and Goltsov’s answer was interesting…
“When you’re training, you’re not even paying attention to it. However, when my friends and colleagues visit, we walk around the town and it’s like daytime and it’s a unique experience to go through and a really cool phenomenon.”
Larissa Pacheco: Chasing History
2022 PFL Champion Larissa Pacheco is currently riding an 8-fight win streak, avenging her losses to Kayla Harrison, and has not been beaten since December 2019. My first question was directed at that last setback and what she changed to achieve her current success.
“I was able to get a little more money to put back in my career, a little more tranquility financially that allowed me to live comfortably in the sport.”
I wanted to bring up the parallel between Olena being 0-2 to Larissa and Larissa being 0-2 to Kayla before avenging the losses. Pacheco (21-4) had a fired up response…
“You can’t make the comparison. If you look at what I’ve brought to the table from 2019 to now – 8 fight win streak, first round KO’s, I’ve just been on an ascending curve and you don’t see those performances with Olena. Everyone’s been counting me out as the underdog in some of these fights and I’ve been proving everyone wrong. I’ve been showcasing the work, I don’t really feel like she has, and I don’t feel it’s a fair comparison.”
The champion has certainly found a new groove that has been impossible thus far for anyone to match. We’ll see if she can punch her ticket to the Finals against a familiar adversary, or if the sustained success stops courtesy of Olena Kolesnyk.
Which fight are you most looking forward to? Let us know in the comments below.
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