Cris Cyborg will enter the PFL cage for the first time Saturday riding a 11-fight winning streak — MMA and boxing combined —, stopping six of her opponents with strikes, but none had the knockout power of her upcoming foe Larissa Pacheco.

Pacheco is a two-division PFL champion with 11 of her 23 MMA wins coming by way of knockout — including two sub-minute finishes during the 2023 season —, while Cyborg went 2-0 this year in boxing against overmatched opponents. Cyborg is a jiu-jitsu black belt under the legend Rubens Charles “Cobrinha,” and has placed third in the ADCC before, but Pacheco doesn’t expect the Bellator champion to avoid a stand-up war in Saudi Arabia.

“To tell you the truth, I don’t even know what her plans are,” Pacheco said in an interview with MMA Fighting. “My camp and training were focused on a broad plan, like I always do. I never focus on what my opponent is good at, on what she might do. I always focus on what I can get better at in case she tries to come up with something new — I mean my opponents in general, whoever I’m about to face. They might try to surprise me, so I better be prepared in all areas. What holes do I have to fix?

“I don’t know what she’s going to try and do, but one I can can guarantee you is that I’m ready for everything. I think it would surprise me [if she goes for takedowns] because of her history. She’s known for her striking and this style of moving forward and trading strikes and whatnot, so I believe she will trust that. Taking me down would be changing her style completely. It would be trying to show something that… I don’t know, but yeah, it would surprise me.”

Pacheco said she has met Cyborg at the UFC Performance Institute recently, while accompanying a friend who was about to fight in the octagon in Las Vegas, and said the veteran fighter was upset at her for something she had said during an interview after the fight was finally booked by the PFL.

“I think I said something in an interview and she was offended by it, but then I explained her what I said and what I had in mind,” Pacheco said. “Not that I was scared of her or anything like that, but out of respect. My word is my word, you know? If I had something to say I would go ahead and say it, but I won’t create trash talk out of nowhere just to sell a fight.”

“I’m always respectful towards my opponents and never take anything outside the cage,” she continued. “I know this hate is something that fans like, but I separate things. This is work, and that’s my personal life. I’m not the type of person to talk trash just to promote a fight. I know it doesn’t help my career because fans love this, but I can’t be someone I’m not.”

With no apparent animosity between the two knockout artists, Pacheco promises fireworks when the bell rings in Riyadh.

“I guarantee you that people won’t regret watching this fight,” Pacheco said. “Just match my style with hers and see what we do when we’re in the cage and there’s nothing else left to be said.”