Is Larissa Pacheco transgender?

Publish date: 2024-05-17

Larissa Moreira Pacheco, is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the PFL Featherweight class, she was born on September 7, 1994.

She is currently ranked #2 in Fight Matrix’s women’s featherweight rankings as of April 2023. Larissa discovered her love of martial arts when she started practising Muay Thai at the age of 15.

She started daily training, and a year later, she participated in her first amateur bout. Larissa entered Jungle Fight and defeated Irene Aldana to claim the Women’s Bantamweight Championship at Jungle Fight 63, fighting three more times in 2012 and five more times in 2013.

On September 13, 2014, at UFC Fight Night: Bigfoot vs. Arlovski, Pacheco made her UFC debut as Valérie Létourneau’s injury replacement against Jéssica Andrade.

In the opening round, she was defeated through submission. On March 14, 2015, at UFC 185, Pacheco competed against Germaine de Randamie, who later won the UFC Women’s Featherweight Championship.

Germaine’s side kick caused her arm to break, yet she still lost the bout by TKO in the second round. Larissa needed two operations after breaking her arm, which required a lengthy healing period due to the long-term damage.

She moved to Rio de Janeiro where she taught Jiu Jitsu while recovering her arm over the course of the following three years.