A former titleholder under the PFL banner wants to make her UFC return.
Larissa Pacheco is the only fighter to have handed Kayla Harrison a pro MMA loss. Harrison is the reigning UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion, while Pacheco has gone 10-1 in her last 11 outings. Despite her success, Pacheco was let go from her PFL deal.
Now that she is a free agent, Pacheco told MMAFighting.com that her goal is to make her way back to the UFC roster.
“I was 19 years old when I first got into the UFC,” Pacheco said. “I didn’t even have 10 percent of the resources I have now in terms of weight cutting, fight quality, everything. I was just a kid, and they threw me against two champions, Jessica [Andrade] and Germaine [de Randamie]. I was at the height of my innocence in the sport, just getting started. It’s been 12 years since my last UFC fight. Look what I’ve built since then.”
“I know I’ll probably need to take a few fights outside and clean up my record,” she continued. “But I’ll do whatever it takes to show them that I belong in the UFC. To show I can deliver results, make the division exciting, and put on great fights. I’m not embarrassed or afraid to take a few steps back if it helps me move forward and earn another shot in the UFC to show what I can really do.”
Pacheco competed on season 28 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” falling short against Macy Chiasson via first-round TKO. She was given two pro bouts under the UFC banner, but she was finished by Germaine de Randamie and Jessica Andrade. Pacheco didn’t hit her stride until her UFC exit.
Pacheco went 12-3 under the PFL banner. Two of those losses were against Harrison and the other was against Cris Cyborg. Pacheco got her win over Harrison in late 2022 to capture the PFL Women’s Lightweight Championship.
