Vanessa Porto

Vanessa Alessandra Teixeira Porto (born March 16, 1984) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and amateur boxer who competes in the flyweight division.

Background Porto grew up in Jaú, São Paulo in a family of soccer players. She had an appreciation for martial arts from a young age and started to practice Brazilian jiu-jitsu in 2004. She is currently married to her trainer Pedro Iglesias.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career Porto began her professional MMA career in 2005. She initially fought only for Brazilian promotions such as Storm Samurai and Champions Night and faced opponents including Carina Damm, Cris Cyborg and Brazilian kickboxing champion Juliana Werner Aguiar. She defeated Aguiar on three occasions.

Porto was expected to face FFF bantamweight champion Roxanne Modafferi on November 3, 2007, at Fatal Femmes Fighting 3. However, Modafferi was removed from the event due to a shoulder injury and was replaced by Hitomi Akano. Porto defeated Akano via split decision after five rounds. Her match for the FFF bantamweight title against Modafferi happened on April 3, 2008, at Fatal Femmes Fighting 4. Porto lost via TKO for the first time in her MMA career.

Porto faced Germaine de Randamie on December 19, 2008, at Revolution Fight Club 2. She won via submission due to an armbar in the first round.

Porto became the first Pink Fight champion at 132 pounds on March 10, 2012, when she knocked out Luana Teixeira at Pink Fight 2.

In mid-2012, after a long time away from American promotions, Porto signed with Invicta Fighting Championships.

Invicta Fighting Championships Porto was expected to make her Invicta FC debut against Kelly Kobold on July 28, 2012, at Invicta FC 2: Baszler vs. McMann. However, Kobold suffered a shoulder injury and Porto instead faced Sarah D'Alelio. Porto lost the fight via submission due to a reverse triangle armbar in the first round.

Porto dropped down to 125 pounds and faced Tara LaRosa on October 6, 2012, at Invicta FC 3: Penne vs. Sugiyama. She won the fight via unanimous decision.

Porto then fought against Barb Honchak on April 5, 2013, at Invicta FC 5: Penne vs. Waterson in a five-round match to determine the first-ever Invicta FC flyweight champion. She lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Porto faced Zoila Frausto Gurgel on December 7, 2013, at Invicta FC 7. She won the fight via unanimous decision.

Porto was expected to face Roxanne Modafferi at Invicta FC 10: Waterson vs. Tiburcio on December 5, 2014. However she was replaced by Andrea Lee due to visa issue.

Porto the fought Roxanne Modafferi at Invicta FC 12: Kankaanpää vs. Souza on Friday, April 24, 2015. She won the fight via unanimous decision.

On March 11, 2016, Porto face Jennifer Maia second time at Invicta FC 16: Hamasaki vs. Brown. She lost the fight via unanimous decision.

At her next fight, she faced Agnieszka Niedźwiedź at Invicta FC 23: Porto vs. Niedźwiedź. She lost the fight after three round with the judges handed down a win to Niedzwiedz via a unanimous decision.

Porta was expected to face Jessica-Rose Clark on December 8, 2018, at Invicta FC 26: Maia vs. Niedwiedz; however, Clark was replaced byd Milana Dudieva.

At the weight-ins, Porta weight 127.6 Ibs, misse weight by 2.6 Ibs of the upper flyweight limit of 125 Ibs, and was fined twenty five percent of her purse. The bout proceeded at catchweight. Porta won the fight via technical knocked out on round three.

One month later, she fought against Mariana Morais on January 13, 2018, at Invicta FC 27: Kaufman vs. Kianzad. She won the fight via a rear-naked choke on round one.

Porto faced Pearl Gonzalez for the vacant Invicta FC Flyweight World Championship at Invicta FC 34 on February 15, 2019. She won the fight via technical decision after an eye poke rendered Porto unable to continue.

Porto was supposed to make her first title defense against Karina Rodríguez at Invicta FC 38: Murato vs. Ducote on November 1, 2019. However, Rodríguez missed weight by a pound and she was unable to compete for the title. She won the bout via unanimous decision.

Bellator MMA

On September 2, 2020, it was announced that Vanessa was vacating her Invicta title and signing with Bellator MMA.

As the first bout of her four-fight contract, Porto made her promotional debut against Liz Carmouche on April 9, 2021, at Bellator 256. She lost the bout via unanimous decision.

Porto was scheduled to face Ilara Joanne on June 11, 2021, at Bellator 260. However, after weigh-ins, she was deemed unfit to compete by the commission and the bout was scrapped. The bout was rescheduled for July 31, 2021, at Bellator 263. Porto won the close bout via split decision.

Porto faced Veta Arteaga on July 22, 2022, at Bellator 283. She lost the bout via guillotine choke in the second round.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts Invicta Fighting Championships Invicta FC Flyweight World Championship (one time) Fight of the Night (One time) vs. Jennifer Maia Pink Fight Pink Fight 132-pound champion (one time; only)

Amateur boxing Federação Paulista de Boxe São Paulo State Champion Jogos Abertos do Interior 2nd Women's Division: Silver Medal (2011, 64 kg)

Mixed martial arts record Loss

Veta Arteaga Submission (guillotine choke) Bellator 283

Tacoma, Washington, United States Win

Ilara Joanne Decision (split) Bellator 263

Los Angeles, California, United States Loss

Liz Carmouche Decision (unanimous) Bellator 256

Uncasville, Connecticut, United States Win

Karina Rodríguez Decision (unanimous) Invicta FC 38: Murato vs. Ducote

Kansas City, Kansas, United States Win

Pearl Gonzalez Technical Decision (unanimous) Invicta FC 34: Porto vs. Gonzalez

Kansas City, Missouri, United States Win

Mariana Morais Submission (rear-naked choke) Invicta FC 27: Kaufman vs. Kianzad

Kansas City, Missouri, United States Win

Milana Dudieva TKO (punch to the body) Invicta FC 26: Maia vs. Niedźwiedź

Kansas City, Missouri, United States Loss

Agnieszka Niedźwiedź Decision (unanimous) Invicta FC 23: Porto vs. Niedźwiedź

Kansas City, Missouri, United States Loss

Jennifer Maia Decision (unanimous) Invicta FC 16: Hamasaki vs. Brown

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Roxanne Modafferi Decision (unanimous) Invicta FC 12: Kankaanpää vs. Souza

Kansas City, Missouri, United States Win

Ana Maria Decision (unanimous) Fatality Arena 6

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Win

Zoila Frausto Decision (unanimous) Invicta FC 7: Honchak vs. Smith

Kansas City, Missouri, United States Loss

Barb Honchak Decision (unanimous) Invicta FC 5: Penne vs. Waterson

Kansas City, Missouri, United States Win

Tara LaRosa Decision (unanimous) Invicta FC 3: Penne vs. Sugiyama

Kansas City, Kansas, United States Loss

Sarah D'Alelio Submission (reverse triangle armbar) Invicta FC 2: Baszler vs. McMann

Kansas City, Kansas, United States Win

Luana Teixeira KO (punch) Pink Fight 2

Campos dos Goytacazes, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Win

Jennifer Maia Technical submission (armbar) Kumite MMA Combate

Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil Win

Kalindra Faria Submission (armbar) Recife Fighting Championship 4

Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil Win

Valdinéia Santos TKO (punches) Predador FC 17

Jaú, São Paulo, Brazil Loss

Amanda Nunes TKO (corner stoppage) Samurai FC 2: Warrior's Return

Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil Win

Roberta Torno Submission (armbar) Jungle Fight 16

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Win

Mahalia Rocha de Morais Submission (armbar) Jungle Fight 15

São Paulo, Brazil Win

Germaine de Randamie Submission (armbar) Revolution Fight Club 2

Miami, Florida, United States Loss

Roxanne Modafferi TKO (knees) Fatal Femmes Fighting 4: Call of the Wild

Los Angeles, California, United States Win

Hitomi Akano Decision (split) Fatal Femmes Fighting 3: War of the Roses

Ontario, California, United States Win

Tonya Evinger Submission (armbar) Fatal Femmes Fighting 2: Girls Night Out

Compton, California, United States Win

Juliana Werner Aguiar Submission (arm-triangle choke) Super Challenge 1

Barueri, São Paulo, Brazil Win

Ana Maria Índia Submission (rear-naked choke) Gold Fighters Championship 1

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Loss

Cris Cyborg Decision (unanimous) Storm Samurai 9

Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil Win

Juliana Werner Aguiar Technical submission (arm-triangle choke) Storm Samurai 8

Brasília, Brazil Win

Juliana Werner Aguiar TKO (punches) Champions Night 12

Marília, São Paulo, Brazil Win

Elaine de Lima Submission (armbar) Body Fight 2

Maringá, Paraná, Brazil Loss

Carina Damm Decision (unanimous) Barra Submission Wrestling

São João da Barra, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil