The Best of Larissa Pacheco

Righting the Ship

Although she raced out to a fantastic start to her career, Pacheco’s success grinded to an immediate halt in her first two appearances in the UFC. She submitted to a Jessica Andrade guillotine choke in the first round of her UFC Fight Night 51 debut, then succumbed to second-round punches from Germaine de Randamie in her follow-up assignment at UFC 185. Both women went on to become champions, but the promotion did not cut Pacheco any slack and released her after two bouts. She was just 20 years old and had entered the UFC only two years after her pro debut. Worse yet, Pacheco suffered a broken arm in her loss to de Randamie—an injury that would require two surgeries and keep her sidelined for three years.

Following her release from the UFC, Pacheco focused on rehabilitating her injury. She returned to action in Brazil on March 24, 2018 and faced Karol Rosa for the inaugural Watch Out Combat Show featherweight title. Pacheco submitted Rosa with a second-round guillotine choke, got herself back on track after an extended layoff and let the offers roll in.

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