Marina Mokhnatkina Thinks Amber Leibrock Can’t Handle Pressure

Unlike her next opponent, Marina Mokhnatkina thrives under pressure and is ready to show it in the Professional Fighters League playoffs.

Mokhnatkina (10-3, 4-1 PFL) secured her place in the PFL semifinals after a dominant Regular Season where she crushed Yoko Higashi with punches in the second frame before upending Evelyn Martins on all scorecards. A multiple-time sambo world champion, Mokhnatkina believes her background gives her an edge in mixed martial arts due to her grappling skills, but she remains humble and prepared for all aspects of the fight. In her next assignment, Mokhnatkina will take on Amber Leibrock in one of the women’s 145-pound division tournament brackets on Aug. 18. While speaking with Sherdog (thanks to the help of Ultimate Fighting Champions heavyweight contestant Sergey Spivak with translating), Mokhnatkina mentioned Leibrock doesn't handle pressure well, which is something Marina excels at. When asked, Mokhnatkina refrained from making predictions about the other matchup in the playoffs between Larissa Pacheco and Olena Kolesnyk, focusing on her own fight.

“This is not a boxing match. This is MMA. She doesn’t like pressure. I like pressure. We can see that when Pacheco started to pressure her, Amber was not ready. I'm different, and I can do more. My skills are better for MMA.”

(00:00) Intro
(00:50) Cutting weight
(02:43) Her loss to Harrison
(04:09) Her sambo background
(05:41) Transitioning from sambo to MMA
(06:59) Having an edge over her opponents
(08:08) Her opinion of Leibrock’s fighting style
(09:39) Breaking down Pacheco vs. Kolesnyk
(10:51) Whether she would like to face someone in particular in the finals
(11:34) Outro