The Best of Larissa Pacheco

Home Away from Home

After her win in WOCS, Pacheco was cast on Season 28 of “The Ultimate Fighter.” She was chosen sixth among female contestants by coach Robert Whittaker. In her lone fight on the show, Pacheco squared off with Macy Chiasson and suffered a first-round technical knockout loss that eliminated her from the competition. She retooled following the setback—Chiasson went on to win the season—and went about finding somewhere to put down some professional roots.

Pacheco joined the Professional Fighters League in 2019 and did not receive anything resembling a soft landing, as she was paired with two-time Olympic gold medalist Kayla Harrison in her organizational debut. She went the distance in a decision loss to Harrison, and a rivalry was born. Pacheco bounced back from the defeat with an armbar submission of Bobbi Jo Dalziel and a unanimous decision over former Strikeforce champion Sarah Kaufman. Those two victories positioned her for a rematch with Harrison, this time with $1 million and a world title on the line to close out the company’s 2019 campaign. Pacheco once again pushed Harrison to the limit, only to wind up on the wrong side of a 25-minute unanimous decision.

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