Alexia Thainara needs to spoil the English celebration Saturday evening and debut with the best foot within the octagon by beating Molly McCann at UFC London.
“Burguesinha” completed a coaching session final Friday in Varginha, Brazil, when the telephone rang. Her supervisor known as group chief Marcelo Ribas to examine if the Contender Sequence veteran was able to take a combat on brief discover.
“In fact,” Ribas responded straight away. “She’s prepared.”
A couple of minutes later, her supervisor known as again to tell her the combat was on. Thainara had two days to go away Varginha for Sao Paulo after which embark on a protracted flight to London, all that with seven kilos to chop in only a week.
“We have been anticipating a high-profile combat already as a result of there have been seven months because the Contender,” Thainara instructed MMA Preventing. “It’s a very good combat, a tricky combat, and that’s as a result of they noticed I used to be a tricky fighter. I’m a well-rounded athlete they usually clearly wouldn’t give me a half-ass combat. It’s a combat for us to placed on a present.”
Thainara beat former teammate Rose Conceicao on The Contender Sequence to go 11-1 as an expert and earn a contract with the UFC.
In the meantime, the combat at UFC London is McCann’s 14th octagon look, having received seven of these. “Meatball” has the sting when it comes to expertise, however Thainara sees herself a step forward in different areas of the sport.
“[I beat her] with my finest, my coronary heart, by going ahead and being aggressive and versatile,” Thainara stated. “Don’t let her use her boxing, which is her finest. That’s all she exhibits in her fights, actually.”
“And we’ve the [jiu-jitsu] background, proper? 5 submissions in a row. Faucet or sleep.”
Thainara had a very good run on the Brazilian circuit earlier than incomes her UFC contract. In reality, the 5 straight submissions occurred between 2021 and 2023, a run that included a pair of eight-second finishes. She wasn’t competing in opposition to the elite of the game at that stage — each opponents have been 0-1 as professionals —, however “Burguesinha” sees UFC London as her popping out celebration.
“I’m nonetheless unknown within the UFC,” Thainara stated. “However I’m positive this chance will make me recognized by the complete world as a result of not each particular person takes a combat on seven days’ discover. That solely exhibits that our group is prepared.”
