But she knows Viana will likely try to get her to the ground, and she’s just as happy to meet her there. A Brazilian open weight jiu-jitsu champion and Bahia state jiu-jitsu champion, Lucindo is no stranger to the mats.
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“Polyana has been enjoying striking and trading, and I like that! I like to trade punches. But Polyana is a jiu-jitsu black belt. Her guard is great, her armlock. I believe she’ll want to trade a little, but will also want to go to the ground. But we’re very well prepared for that.”
The third youngest fighter on the UFC roster (and the youngest female fighter), Lucindo has willfully transcended the tragic scenes of domestic abuse in her youth that inspired her to initially take up martial arts, and defied the odds of difficult circumstances to now find herself under the brightest lights in sports. It’s a story she wears with a badge of honor.
“That’s also why I got into this sport, to inspire women to do this, like, ‘If Iasmin can do it, someone from humble beginnings, who comes from the favelas from Ceara, who moved to another city and didn’t care about her age, and now is here, in the biggest MMA promotion in the world, I can do it, too.’ I’ve wanted to inspire people like that. I hope to see a lot of women getting inspired and achieving what they want.”
