"I think she would beat Cyborg, and I think she would give Amanda a hell of a fight" - Kayla Harrison on who she thinks is the second-best 145 pounder on the planet currently

Kayla Harrison heaped some very high praise on a former multi-time PFL opponent.

Speaking with MMA Underground's John Morgan, Kayla Harrison was asked about the possibility of another dark horse contender like Larissa Pacheco materializing during the 2022 playoffs.

In response to that, Harrison said:

"That's why they have fights, because anything can happen. We saw it last year. Like I said, the season can be a grind. I think [Larissa Pacheco is] much a bigger girl now than she was when she was younger. So making weight and all of that is probably more difficult. But it's a fight... We're going to see what happens...I think that she's the second-best 145 pounder and up right now."

"I think she would beat Cyborg, and I think she would give Amanda (Nunes) a hell of a fight. So, I don't take her lightly, and I put a lot of respect on her name. I know she likes to talk a little bit of sh** and say that I'm one-dimensional and all that. I mean she's a knockout artist. But you can't knock anybody out off your f****** back."

Watch the interview/video below:

Harrison has fought Pacheco twice and gone 2-0 against her adversary. She won via unanimous decision at PFL 1 during their 2019 tilt and scored another UD victory in the 2019 lightweight tournament championship finals.

With it being over two and a half years since they've competed, it would be interesting to see if a possible third clash between the combatants plays out any differently.

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Kayla Harrison's upcoming PFL clash

Kayla Harrison will next take on Martina Jindrova in the main event of PFL 9 on August 20. It is part of the 2022 playoffs for the women's lightweight ranks.

The American Top Team product is 14-0 overall in mixed martial arts. Kayla Harrison has gone 2-0 in the PFL 2022 regular season, with wins on May 6th and July 1st, respectively. She garnered a unanimous decision victory over Marina Mokhnatkina and a first-round TKO over Kaitlin Young.

Jindrova is riding a three-fight winning streak. The first of these wins transpired in the PFL challenger series, which she followed with back-to-back wins during the 2022 regular season.

Jindrova secured wins over Vanessa Melo and Zamzagul Fayzallanova at PFL 3 and PFL 6 respectively. This secured her a coveted playoff spot against the most accomplished women's lightweight in PFL's history.