RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL, AUGUST 11: Kayla Harrison of the United States defended her London 2012 Olympic u78kg gold medal winning every contest, including the final, by ippon (10 points) during day 6 of the 2016 Rio Olympic Judo on Thursday, August 11 at the Carioca Arenas 2, Barra, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by David Finch/Getty Images)

Looking to leave her mark, Kayla Harrison doesn’t care for Larissa Pacheco claiming she’ll knock her out at PFL 10. She feels her development as a fighter since transitioning into MMA will bring a much different outcome.

Larissa Pacheco may have played spoiler for those expecting a Kayla Harrison vs. Sarah Kaufman PFL women’s lightweight final at PFL 10, but Harrison says she isn’t going to let Pacheco spoil her moment in New York at The Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 31.

With Harrison and Kaufman the top-two seeds, and arguably the two biggest names in PFL this season, many expected them to eventually face off in the tournament final. That ultimately didn’t happen, however, as while Harrison won her semifinal against Bobbi Jo Dalziel at PFL 7, Kaufman was thoroughly defeated by Pacheco in a one-sided decision.

Harrison says while it’s unfortunate she versus Kaufman won’t be taking place, there’s always the chance it happens next season. She adds she’s actually not surprised at the result, as she feels Kaufman may have underestimated Pacheco’s abilities.

“For sure disappointing, but it was a little bit expected, to be honest,” Harrison told FanSided. “I knew just from my experience with Larissa Pacheco that she wasn’t one to be overlooked. I felt like Sarah was doing a lot of overlooking because she was so focused on me and being a millionaire and all that.”

That past experience Harrison referred to was their bout that headlined the first event of the PFL’s second season back in May. The two-time judo gold medalist dominated the bout and swept the judges’ scorecards but was clearly distraught and disappointed in her performance, seemingly because she was unable to get a finish for the first time in her career.

“I’ve had a little time to cool off about it,” Harrison said. “You know, there were a lot of factors heading into that fight. An opponent change on a day’s notice…the first time being in the main event after four fights, that was a big jump for me. And then also just personally had a lot going on in my life that I feel like affected the fight.

“But after watching it going back, I won very decisively, and it was pretty one-sided and I was juggling a lot of things, That Kayla in May, she would get her [expletive] kicked by the Kayla that I am now — and that girl beat Larissa. So, it’s going to be scary when they step in the cage in December.”

Now she’ll get the chance to do what she couldn’t earlier this season; however, this will also represent a second chance at Harrison and a chance at another upset win for Pacheco. And Pacheco has let her expectations for the rematch be known, claiming she will end Harrison’s undefeated record and tournament title hopes with a knockout.

In response, Harrison had a little laugh about Pacheco’s remark.

“I think it’s cute,” Harrison said. “I think it’s good to dream big and, obviously, we both have ideas of how this fight is going to go. On Dec. 31 we get to step in the cage and settle it. So, you know, she can think what she wants and I’ll think what I want and we’ll see what happens.”

Harrison did give credit to Pacheco, a veteran of professional MMA for seven years now with experience in Jungle Fight and the UFC (including an appearance on The Ultimate Fighter season 28). But Harrison feels her evolution as a fighter will be too much for her to handle.

“I’m continuing to develop as a fighter, and obviously she also is continuing to develop. She’s gotten a lot better. She’s been in the sport for a long time, she’s got a lot of composure, she’s had a lot of experience. But I think that I’m developing even faster, and at the end of the day she knows what I’m going to do, but she’s not going to be able to stop it.”

And Harrison hopes with a win, she can continue a mission of being a face for the promotion — the only major one to boast a women’s 155-pound division — and delivering respect to heavier women’s weight classes, as well as eliminate dangerous weight cuts.

“I think it’s a bad message to send to young kids and aspiring fighters,” Harrison said. “Your brain is protected by water. And when you cut weight and you hydrate yourself and then 24 hours later you step inside a cage your brain doesn’t have the same kind of protection…and I think that’s super dangerous and unhealthy. So, I’m not a huge fan of cutting weight. I understand that it’s part of the sport and it’s part of the past of the sport. But my hope and my goal is that women can fight it whatever weight they fight at or whatever weight they weight going forward.

“I don’t know if it’ll happen in my career, but I hope that 10 years from now, the women have as many weight class as the men and it’s a competitive, deep thing. But first you have to start somewhere, so if you build it, they will come. And most of the girls fighting at 145 weigh more than me naturally. I just hope that the trend in the education of the sport continues to grow and develop. You see a lot of men moving up weight classes; I hope women can do the same.

“I’m happy to be a face of the PFL and [to] be a part of making history — creating a new weight class and things like that. I’m going to leave my mark in the MMA world the same way I did in the judo world.”

PFL 10 takes place on Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2019, live from The Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY. Follow along with FanSided MMA for all your live results and highlights.