Brazilian representative in UFC 255, Jennifer maia could make history this weekend. On Saturday (21), in the United States, the Curitiba native will have the tough task of exchanging forces against the feared Valentina Shevchenko, in the dispute for the women's flyweight (up to 56,7kg) belt. In an exclusive interview with SUPER LUTAS YouTube channel, the challenger spoke about her expectations for the biggest fight of her career so far and gave clues about the strategy to beat the current champion.
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A 'dark horse' in the bookmakers, Jennifer could join the list of athletes who managed to shock the world and take the title against the organization's great champions. This will be Maia's first title fight with Ultimate gloves.
Valentina's favoritism
Reaching her sixth appearance for the UFC, Jennifer showed full awareness of the difficulties she will face against one of the biggest names in the recent history of women's MMA. The Brazilian, however, was calm about the champion's favoritism, placing the responsibility on the Kyrgyzstanis.
“This (favoritism) encourages me. I let the pressure of being invincible remain on her. For me, entering as if I were a difficult person to beat, I have no obligation. I'm going to do my job, I trained a lot for that. I have a good chance of winning, it's no wonder I'm competing for this title. I was already champion when there was no such category (flies) within the UFC. I was Invicta (FC) champion. It’s a fight between champion and champion,” she said.
Evolution in Ultimate
Maia, who arrived at the organization as a great Brazilian promise for the company, evaluated his trajectory in Ultimate. Even with a difficult start, the Curitiba native managed to recover and, today, occupies the place of challenger for the belt.
“I didn't have such a happy start, losing on my debut (to Liz Carmouche, in 2018). I think I felt a lot of pressure to debut in the UFC, but it was a matter of time before I managed to show it and get here”, said the athlete.
Strategy against the champion
Coming from a great victory over Joanne calderwood, in the confrontation that qualified the Curitiba native to face Valentina, Jennifer does not hide the area she will bet on to surprise the champion. A black belt in jiu-jitsu, the Brazilian, although she has already shown other qualities, wants to shock the world with the 'gentle art'.
“She is a very tough, intelligent athlete. It's difficult to speak of superiority over her. We have been studying her game a lot to get there and win round by round. I don't think I can let her enjoy the fight. I want to impose myself and enjoy standing up too. (…) We believe that jiu-jitsu is a strong point for us. Taking it to the ground, I might have the advantage against her. (…) It’s a path where I can also win”, described the Curitiba native.
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