Alice Pereira’s dream got here true when she grew to become the youngest feminine athlete to signal with the UFC, however she got here up brief towards Montserrat Rendon at Noche UFC on Sept. 13, dropping a cut up choice in San Antonio. Regardless of the setback, her crew is assured that “Golden Woman” has a shiny future forward of her within the promotion.
Days after the loss, Pereira’s supervisor Lucas Lutkus wrote a put up on social media evaluating her to Giannis Antetokounmpo, saying how the Greek-Nigerian participant joined the NBA when he was too younger, however the Bucks trusted his expertise to assist him develop and develop on the largest stage potential. That’s what he intends on doing with Pereira within the UFC.
Pereira began coaching martial arts in 2002 however solely determined to start out a profession in fight sports activities in June 2023. Pereira made her professional MMA debut two months later, and 16 months later, inked a cope with the UFC with a professional file of 6-0.
“In her fifth combat, Alice beat Karla [Lacerda], a revered boxer in Bahia, and knocked her out,” Lutkus instructed MMA Combating. “In that combat we stated, ‘Man, this woman has big potential.’ We realized that Karla’s degree wasn’t removed from the extent of the lower-tier UFC fighters. We determined to hurry up the method and attempt to get her into the UFC as rapidly as potential so she might be inside that entire UFC Efficiency Institute program. We didn’t push for a developmental contract, particularly as a result of these days that’s extra of an exception than the rule. And the UFC, like us, understood that she was able to take this large step.”
Lutkus seems at different fighters on his steady as examples that dropping your octagon debut doesn’t imply you’re not ok to be on the UFC roster.
“I’ve already had two very related instances which have labored out very well, Luana Santos and Ailin Perez,” Lutkus stated. “Each of them bought into the UFC with about the identical variety of fights as Alice and advanced so, a lot contained in the UFC — greater than of their pre-UFC section. Luana even moved to Vegas and is on the P.I. each day, whereas Ailin moved to Miami however does quite a lot of work with the P.I. as effectively, together with energy and conditioning, vitamin, and weight reducing.”
“We imagine she misplaced extra due to a strategic mistake and from feeling the stress of the debut, basic octagon jitters,” he continued. “That’s regular, particularly for a 19-year-old. However I don’t suppose the results of that combat impacts something in the long term. Ailin Perez resides proof of that. She entered the UFC and was submitted by Stephanie Egger — who isn’t even within the UFC anymore —, and in the present day Ailin is prime 10 within the division and hasn’t misplaced since. … Alice may have been extra aggressive from the beginning, however she felt the conventional nerves, and that gained’t be there within the subsequent combat.”
Pereira plans on touring to Las Vegas in November to coach with fellow UFC athletes, resembling Luana Santos, and work with the Efficiency Institute crew, and Lutkus stated “the evolution curve she’ll have over these subsequent six to eight months earlier than her subsequent combat will likely be big.”
Pereira, who made round $100 for her final pre-UFC victory in Brazil, pocketed $10,000 in defeat at Noche UFC. That cash will assist her put money into a high-level camp, mixing experiences each inside and out of doors of Brazil.
“Think about if in her subsequent combat every thing goes proper and she or he scores an enormous knockout,” stated Lutkus, who’s in no rush to e-book her subsequent task. “I believe her potential is very large, and her media potential is even larger. Her development curve is big, particularly now that she has this construction. If she had been preventing in smaller occasions, she wouldn’t have this assist, nor the flexibility to go to Vegas with out giving up every thing she already has arrange for her in [Brazil].
“From right here on, she’s solely going to get higher and higher as an athlete. There are such a lot of issues that make her a tough diamond able to be polished, and we now have on a regular basis on the earth to do it.”
