Larissa Dias - BJJ Black Belt World Champion

Larissa Dias is a Brazilian Black Belt under Vinicius Marinho. She was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on 3rd September 1998. She won various major IBJJF tournaments and earned a name in the list of top-ranking athletes. She is two times World Champion and once Pans Champion. 

Larissa Dias was not very fond of sports in her childhood. Her teenage lifestyle did not involve any physical activity like outdoor sports. This sedentary way of living made her over-weighted. To lose her fat, she wanted to join a Jiu-Jitsu gym.

At the age of 17, she joined GF Team Academy near her house. She started her BJJ training under coach Vinicius Marinho. Later, Jiu-Jitsu became Larissa’s passion.  

Larissa wanted to test her skills in a big tournament. She took part in the IBJJF South American Championship and IBJJF Brazilian Nationals in 2017. She won both championships in the Blue Belt division. This victory motivated Larissa and she wanted to pursue BJJ professionally  

Larissa continuously started making victories in her colored belt division. In 2018, she appeared in the World Championship as a Blue Belt and concluded as a runner-up. Another achievement of Larissa is that she became the Brazilian National Champion once again in 2019 as a Purple Belt. These victories stimulated her to work hard and become more persistent and dedicated.    

Larissa was so devoted to BJJ. She did not showcase her dedication just on the mat but also showed her devotion off the mat. In her school, she started studying nutrition to schedule her diet.

As we know BJJ athletes are very conscious about their diet. Larissa started studying nutrition to ensure a tremendous and elongated BJJ career. 

Larissa’s coach motivated her to also work with some other coaches. Vinicius relocated to Qatar and Larissa availed this opportunity. In the absence of Vinicius, Larissa worked with the Dream Arts group which is a social project offered by Isaque Behinese.

She was promoted to Brown Belt in this academy. Later she joined Melqui Galvao’s squad. She learned a lot from both coaches. During her training with Isaque Bahiense and Melqui Galvao, Larissa always kept in contact with Vinicius Marinho and had a strong bond with him.    

Larissa Dias made history in the 2021 Abu Dhabi Jiu-Jitsu Pro (AJP) tournaments. Larissa appeared in three tournaments organized by AJP as a Brown Belt and defeated Black Belts.

In the AJP Grand Slam and AJP World Pro Brazilian Qualifiers, she won a gold medal against Black Belts. In AJP Abu Dhabi World Pro she ended up as Bronze Winner. 

Larissa Dias worked with many coaches. But she was promoted to Black Belt by her first coach with which she spent most of her BJJ career, Vinicius Marinho. She received her Black Belt on 24 November 2021.

Larissa Dias showcased her elevated skills in the World Championship thrice. She was World Champion in 2019 as a Purple Belt and in 2022 as a Black Belt. In 2018, she achieved the second position in the IBJJF World Championship.

Larissa Dias is one of the top-ranking athletes according to IBJJF rankings. She stood 6th in IBJJF ranking with 602.0 points. 

Larissa Dias faced Rafaela Guedes in the final of the IBJJF World Championship 2022. Larissa started the match by pulling guard. She strongly applied full guard and tried to lock Guedes’s shoulder. After a few minutes, Larissa started climbing to the back of Guedes while forcing Guedes into the turtle position.

To escape her back from Larissa’s grip, Guedes stood up with Larissa on her back. But Larissa did not lose her grip on Guedes’s back till the end of the fight. At the end of the fight, Larissa Dias won the fight with an advantage.

Larissa Dias fought with Bridget Mceliece in the final of the New Orleans Open 2022. She started the match by taking Bridget to the ground. Larissa took her back and mounted her. Larissa scored four points for the back mount. Larissa scored 3 points twice by guard passing.

Larissa overcame Bridget completely and did not let her escape. After a few minutes, Bridget succeeded to take the top position but Larissa countered by applying full guard. Bridget tried to escape from full guard. In her struggle to escape, Larissa took her down and scored two points.

In the complete match, Bridget tried to escape but Larissa did not give her any chance to escape and continued to score more points. In the complete match, Bridget took top position twice but Larissa showcased her fantastic abilities and managed to take her down again. At the end of the match, Larissa won the match by a staggering lead of 29x0 points.  

Larissa Dias faced Luiara Rochael in the Orlando Summer Open 2022. Both fighters started the match in a sitting position, Larissa holding both sleeves of Luiara’s Gi. After a few minutes, Larissa tried to apply a pulling guard which was stopped by Luiara using her right leg and arm.

Larissa took the top position and tried to overcome Luiara but Luiara did not let her down. Larissa mounted her, took side control, and again took the top position. She submitted Luiara with Armbar.

Larissa Dias v Rafaela Guedes / World Championship 2022

Larissa Dias v Bridget Mceliece / New Orleans Open 2022

Larissa Dias v Melissa Stricker / Dallas Open 2022

Larissa Dias v Luiara Rochael / Orlando Summer Open 2022

Photo Credit: @larissadiasjj