Julia Avila is about to return for the primary time in over a yr, and she or he’ll accomplish that as wholesome as she’s been heading right into a battle.
Avila is about to face Jacqueline Cavalcanti in a preliminary bantamweight contest at Saturday’s UFC Vegas 102 occasion. “Raging Panda” makes her first stroll to the octagon since a submission loss to former champ Miesha Tate at UFC Austin in December 2023, the place she suffered a significant damage, on prime of one other damage she handled heading into ending an over two-year layoff. Talking to MMA Combating, Avila mirrored on her largest takeaways from the one-sided loss.
“I’ve unimaginable ache tolerance and drive, and I’m as cussed as a mule,” Avila stated. “I went into that battle injured. I shouldn’t have adopted via with that battle. I utterly blew out my proper knee [in] the primary 5 seconds of the battle. I couldn’t get up, and she or he was driving my different leg, so anytime I attempted to put up to face up, my knee would come out of socket, and I tore my ACL.
“I went into surgical procedure, I feel, the subsequent week after that, so I’m bionic now. I’ve had two ACL surgical procedures, however this time round, I didn’t have a child [right after]. So I’m coming into this battle absolutely wholesome. The whole lot’s 100%, so I’ve no excuses — and it’s not even an excuse that Miesha executed her recreation plan completely. I used to be in one other interview earlier than that battle, they usually’re like, ‘Nicely, do you anticipate something from Miesha?’ I’m like, ‘No, she’s going to come back in, she’s going to shoot, she’s going to attempt to wrestle me, and I simply need to be ready for that. I do know her recreation plan as a result of it’s what’s labored for her, proper? She doesn’t have to change it up,’ and that’s precisely what she did.”
Avila has suffered ACL surgical procedures on each legs over the previous few years, and after struggling the primary damage, the 36-year-old and her husband welcomed their first baby into the world. Avila admits she’s a bit cussed, and hoped to return sooner, however remained affected person ready for her alternative to return.
Together with her confidence and total well being at a excessive degree, Avila is able to “punch any person within the face once more.”
“After I’m wholesome, I’m unstoppable,” Avila stated. “I’ve to consider in myself, proper? I really feel like I’m all the time unstoppable, that’s why I nonetheless took the Miesha Tate battle. I’m like, ‘All I want is for her to suppose she’s courageous and to face up,’ as a result of within the second spherical, she did. She bought a little bit assured. She got here up and we had one trade, the one trade that we had on the ft, after which she’s like, ‘Nah,’ and shot in, proper?
“And I feel she really gave me props in an interview saying that within the single trade that she had with me, she bought extra injury than 5 rounds with Holly Holm. So, you realize what? I’m OK with that.”
The five-fight UFC veteran faces Cavalcanti, who enters the bout on a six-fight win streak, together with a 3-0 begin to her promotional tenure. In her most up-to-date look, Cavalcanti earned a break up resolution in opposition to Nora Cornolle at UFC Paris this previous September.
Avila hopes to choose up her first win since stopping Julija Stoliarenko in June 2021, and feels Cavalcanti is the correct opponent to reintroduce herself to the division.
“I bear in mind watching her on the Paris card in 2023, as a result of my brother-in-law is Parisian, so I used to be like, oh cool, I’ll watch it, you realize, no matter,” Avila stated. However she has sort of flown beneath the radar. She’s very underrated, I feel. She has nice placing. She has size, however she’s not entertaining. So I feel that’s why she’s gone beneath the radar, but it surely’s nothing I haven’t seen earlier than.
“She’s a wonderful striker. I’ve really sparred in opposition to ladies which can be on par along with her. She jogs my memory of somebody that I used to spar with, so I sit up for that. …
“Don’t sleep on me, motherf*ckers. That is that battle [to remind individuals who I’m, and I absolutely anticipate her to run away from me — which is ok — attempt to attract me in, which might be good, once more, for her to attempt to attract me in as a result of I barrel in, that’s what I do know, what I do, and she or he’s an excellent counter striker. So yeah, we’ll see the way it performs out. I’m conscious of what’s taking place, I simply have to preserve my cool.”
