Olena Kolesnyk

Olena Oleksandrivna Kolesnyk (Олена Олександрівна Колесник; born 2 November 1990) is a Ukrainian mixed martial artist and former amateur boxer and kickboxer. She currently competes in the Featherweight division of Bellator MMA. A professional MMA fighter since 2014, she has formerly competed in the Invicta Fighting Championships and the Professional Fighters League (PFL). In July 2023, Kolesnyk reached No. 10 in World Women's Featherweight rankings according to Fight Matrix.

Early martial arts career
Kolesnyk won the gold medal in the Ukrainian Boxing Championship in 2012 and 2014, as well as the silver medal in 2013. She also participated in the Ukrainian Boxing Cup, winning the gold medal in 2014 and the silver medal the following year. In Muay Thai, Kolesnyk became the Ukrainian champion in 2010 and won the Ukrainian Cup in 2010, 2011, and 2014. She also won a bronze medal at the IFMA World Muaythai Championships in 2015. In kickboxing, she was the WAKO World Cup Kickboxing Champion 2011.

Early career
Kolesnyk started her professional MMA career in 2014 and amassed a record of 5–0 with one no contest prior to signing with Invicta. She made her WBK debut on 5 March 2016 in Ningbo, China, at WBK 11, winning by technical knockout in the first round. She fought Xiaoming Wang at WBK 15, winning the bout in the second round by neck crank.

Invicta Fighting Championships
Initially Kolesnyk was supposed to fight Megan Anderson for the Invicta title.

On July 15, 2017, in her Invicta debut, Kolesnyk faced Pam Sorenson at Invicta FC 24: Dudieva vs. Borella. She lost the bout by submission in round one.

Kolesnyk faced Felicia Spencer on July 21, 2018, at Invicta FC 30: Frey vs. Grusander. She lost the bout by submission via a rear-naked choke.

Kolesnyk was scheduled to face Faith McMah at Invicta FC 34: Porto vs. Gonzalez on February 15, 2019. However the bout was cancelled after she failed to make weight at 11 pounds over the featherweight limit.

2021 season
In her PFL debut, Kolesnyk faced Taylor Guardado at PFL 3 on May 6, 2021. She lost the bout by unanimous decision.

Kolesnyk faced Larissa Pacheco on June 25, 2021, at PFL 6. She lost the bout via knockout in the first round.

2022 season
Kolesnyk faced Abigail Montes on May 6, 2022, at PFL 3. She won the bout via split decision.

Kolesnyk faced Vanessa Melo on July 1, 2022, at PFL 6. She won the bout via unanimous decision.

Kolesnyk faced Larissa Pacheco in the Semifinals of the Women's Lightweight tournament on August 20, 2022, at PFL 9. She lost the bout via first-round TKO stoppage.

2023 season
Kolesnyk started off the 2023 PFL season against Aspen Ladd on April 7, 2023, at PFL 2. At weigh-ins, Kolesnyk came in at 146.4 lbs, .4 pounds over the limit for featherweight; she was fined 20% of her purse and was given a point deduction in the standings. Despite this, she won the bout by majority decision.

Kolesnyk faced Yoko Higashi on June 16, 2023, at PFL 5. She won the fight via unanimous decision.

In the semi-finals, Kolesnyk faced Larissa Pacheco for the third time on August 18, 2023, at PFL 8. At weigh-ins, Kolesnyk weighed in at 147.8 pounds, 1.8 pounds over the Featherweight limit. She was fined 20 percent of her purse, which went to Pacheco, and she started the bout with a one-point subtraction. Kolesnyk lost the fight via TKO in the first few seconds of the first round.

Bellator MMA
Kolesnyk was scheduled to face Sara Collins on June 22, 2024, at Bellator Champions Series 3. However, Kolesnyk withdrew in a late minute due to injury and the bout was cancelled.