UBERLANDIA, Brazil — Juliana Lima scored her first UFC win with a unanimous decision over Nina Ansaroff at UFC Fight Night 56 in Uberlandia, Minas Gerais, on Nov. 8, but she’s not completely happy with her performance.
Lima had to escape from a few submission attempts on her way to the decision victory, and she admits that fighting in her home state got her too excited during the bout.
“I wish I had the chance to move more, but the adrenaline of fighting for the UFC in your home state consumed some of my gas,” Lima told the media in Brazil. “As my coach says, you only saw 30 or 40 percent of what I can do. I’m only getting better, and you will see the real ‘Ju Thai’ in my next fight.”
According to the muay thai specialist, one of the reasons why she performed better against Ansaroff compared to her UFC debut against Joanna Jędrzejczyk is because she had proper time to cut weight.
“I had trouble cutting weight for my first UFC bout,” Lima said. “They offered me the fight with one month’s notice, and I was at 137 pounds. I had weeks to cut weight, and that was the first time I had to dehydrate, so my body felt that. I was stronger and faster tonight.”
Lima improved to 7-2 in MMA with the win, and all of her victories came in Minas Gerais.
“It’s great to fight at home, feel the energy of the crowd,” she said. “It was a matter of honor to me. You can’t beat me in my home state.”
The Brazilian strawweight returned to the win column following a decision loss to Jędrzejczyk in her Octagon debut in July, and she welcomes more challenges.
“There’s no easy fight in the UFC,” Lima said. “From the moment you get in there to fight someone, you know it’s a tough fight. The UFC gave me two tough fights, and that’s great because it means they see me as a tough fighter. Bring me more.”
UBERLANDIA, Brazil — Juliana Lima scored her first UFC win with a unanimous decision over Nina Ansaroff at UFC Fight Night 56 in Uberlandia, Minas Gerais, on Nov. 8, but she’s not completely happy with her performance.
Lima had to escape from a few submission attempts on her way to the decision victory, and she admits that fighting in her home state got her too excited during the bout.
“I wish I had the chance to move more, but the adrenaline of fighting for the UFC in your home state consumed some of my gas,” Lima told the media in Brazil. “As my coach says, you only saw 30 or 40 percent of what I can do. I’m only getting better, and you will see the real ‘Ju Thai’ in my next fight.”
According to the muay thai specialist, one of the reasons why she performed better against Ansaroff compared to her UFC debut against Joanna J?drzejczyk is because she had proper time to cut weight.
“I had trouble cutting weight for my first UFC bout,” Lima said. “They offered me the fight with one month’s notice, and I was at 137 pounds. I had weeks to cut weight, and that was the first time I had to dehydrate, so my body felt that. I was stronger and faster tonight.”
Lima improved to 7-2 in MMA with the win, and all of her victories came in Minas Gerais.
“It’s great to fight at home, feel the energy of the crowd,” she said. “It was a matter of honor to me. You can’t beat me in my home state.”
The Brazilian strawweight returned to the win column following a decision loss to J?drzejczyk in her Octagon debut in July, and she welcomes more challenges.
“There’s no easy fight in the UFC,” Lima said. “From the moment you get in there to fight someone, you know it’s a tough fight. The UFC gave me two tough fights, and that’s great because it means they see me as a tough fighter. Bring me more.”