“For me, it’s very challenging and exciting — debuting (in the UFC) and already fighting with a veteran.”
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It’s been a whirlwind six-month stretch for Pinheiro, who went 361 days without a fight before toppling Frausto and earning her UFC contract.
Now, after an extended layoff, everything has come flooding forward, one opportunity after another, resulting in a dynamic victory in front of UFC President Dana White, a chance to compete at the highest level in the sport, and to potentially make immediate waves in the strawweight division by knocking off one of its longest tenured residents right out of the gate.
Through it all, Pinheiro has remained laser-focused, fixated on the next task in front of her and nothing else.
“It’s been very rewarding,” she said of the positive upheaval in her professional career over the past several months. “It (getting a UFC contract) has always been my focus since the day I decided to migrate to MMA, so it was a goal achieved.
“My total focus is on this fight against Randa Markos; that’s my main goal,” she added, refusing to get too far ahead of herself before stepping into the Octagon for the first time. “After having a good victory against her, let’s see how things will unfold and what my next steps will be.”
