Larissa Paes

Larissa Paes was born on April 10, 1996, in São Gonçalo, Brazil. Her early childhood moved between São Gonçalo and Itaboraí before her family relocated to Rio de Janeiro when she was 12. From the very beginning, jiu-jitsu was not something she discovered — it was the environment she was born into. Both of her parents are black belts and academy owners, making the mats a natural extension of home life rather than a distant pursuit.

Her first formal instruction came from her mother, Daniela Paes, and her aunt Emilia, who introduced her to the technical foundations of the art during her earliest years. Despite this deep immersion in jiu-jitsu, Larissa was encouraged to explore other athletic disciplines during her formative years. She trained in judo and competed in football (soccer) at a high level, winning a Rio de Janeiro state championship on the pitch — an early indicator of the competitive instincts that would later define her grappling career.

The primary architect of her jiu-jitsu development was her stepfather, Paulo Avolio, a senior student of Roberto Corrêa — widely known as Gordo. Avolio transmitted the training methodology cultivated at the world-renowned Gordo JJ Academy, instilling in Larissa a technical and competitive foundation rooted in that lineage. By the age of 16, she had committed herself to jiu-jitsu full-time, balancing training, coaching, and competing as the central pillars of her daily life.

Blue Belt Promise and Juvenile Success

Larissa Paes announced herself as a competitor of exceptional promise during her blue belt years, earning silver medals at the IBJJF World Juvenile Championship in both 2012 and 2013. That consistency at the juvenile level was punctuated by a gold medal at the CBJJ Brazilian Juvenile Nationals in 2013, confirming her standing as one of the most talented young grapplers in Brazil.

Purple Belt Dominance

Her progression to purple belt marked the beginning of a near-dominant run through the international competition circuit. Paes won virtually every major tournament she entered at that rank, capturing the IBJJF Pan Championship title in 2016 and the CBJJ Brazilian Nationals that same year. The one title that remained elusive was the IBJJF World Championship — she reached the final in 2014, earning a silver medal that underscored her elite standing even in defeat. A runner-up finish at the IBJJF Pan Championship in 2015 further demonstrated her ability to perform at the highest level across multiple seasons.

Transition to Brown Belt

As Paes moved into the brown belt division, she carried that momentum onto the UAEJJF circuit, earning a silver medal at the UAEJJF Grand Slam in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. That result signaled that her competitive ambitions were expanding well beyond Brazil, setting the stage for the defining chapter of her career.

Relocation and New Competitive Platform

The trajectory of Larissa Paes' career shifted significantly in 2016 when Paulo Avolio accepted an invitation to teach jiu-jitsu in the United Arab Emirates. After establishing himself in the country, Avolio called on his family to join him — a prospect Larissa initially resisted, given how deeply her personal life was rooted in Rio de Janeiro. She ultimately made the move, and the transition proved to be a catalyst for the most accomplished stretch of her competitive career.

Greater financial independence in the UAE allowed Paes to travel internationally and compete regularly on the global UAEJJF circuit. Entering mixed brown and black belt divisions, she faced the highest level of competition available and thrived under that pressure. Her performances across the 2017–2018 season were remarkable enough to earn her the number one ranking on the UAE Jiu-Jitsu Federation tour — an achievement she secured as a brown belt, competing against athletes already holding the sport's highest rank.

2018 Season and Black Belt Promotion

The 2018 season was particularly prolific. Paes won the 2018 UAEJJF Grand Slam Moscow and the 2018 UAEJJF Grand Slam Tokyo, and claimed gold at the UAEJJF Russia National Pro. She also earned a bronze medal at the UAEJJF Abu Dhabi World Pro in 2018 while still competing as a brown belt — a result that added further weight to her case as one of the top grapplers in the world at her weight class.

In recognition of this extraordinary competitive record, Paulo Avolio promoted Larissa Paes to black belt in 2018, marking the formal culmination of years of elite-level achievement. She wasted no time establishing herself at the new rank, winning the UAEJJF Nas Pro in 2019 and finishing second at the 2019 UAEJJF Grand Slam London — results that confirmed her standing as a top black belt competitor on the international circuit.

Alongside her competitive pursuits, Larissa Paes has built a meaningful career as a jiu-jitsu instructor in the United Arab Emirates. Her involvement in coaching is not a recent development — she began balancing instruction with competition as a teenager in Brazil, and that dual role has remained a defining characteristic of her professional identity.

Her coaching work in the UAE developed organically from her family's broader mission to establish and grow jiu-jitsu in the region, a mission initiated by Paulo Avolio and carried forward with Larissa's active participation. As a representative of the Gordo JJ Association on the international circuit, she carries forward the technical lineage of Roberto Corrêa as transmitted through Avolio, ensuring that the association's identity and methods remain present at the highest levels of global competition.

Paes' presence in the UAE has contributed to the development of women's jiu-jitsu in a region where the sport has grown rapidly in both participation and competitive infrastructure. Her combination of elite competitive results and consistent coaching engagement makes her one of the most complete figures in the UAE jiu-jitsu community.