Photo Credit: UFC
Prior to signing with the UFC Livinha Souza was regarded as one of the best strawweights in the world. Hardcore fans knew it and her record proved it. She was an Invicta FC champion and held big wins over people like Katja Kankaanpaa, DeAnna Bennett, Ayaka Hamasaki and others. In fact, her only defeat was a super close decision to Angela Hill in a fight many felt she won. So to those who knew the sport, Livinha was someone who was accomplishing big things and would accomplish even bigger things.
Photo Credit: Invicta FC
Finally she was s signed to the UFC and would put herself in front of even more fans. She first was scheduled to a bout that ended up cancelled in Febraury against Jessica Aguilar. That bout being cancelled meant people had to wait to see how she would do on the big stage. Finally a new fight was scheduled, Souza would fight in her home country of Brazil against Alex Chambers.
Going into the bout, Souza was a huge favorite, the biggest favorite on the card. That in itself showed how highly people thought of her. But, in her first bout in the UFC being such a huge favorite, in her home country, would that provide extra pressure and affect her performance?
As she walked to the cage you could quickly tell Souza had her head in the right place, she was her normal confident self and seemed to show no feelings of pressure. The fight itself showed that as well as Souza quickly seized control, the fight went to the ground and in just one minute and twenty-one seconds, Souza secured the rear naked choke and got the win.
Photo Credit Invicta FC
Going forward Souza is already a legit threat for the strawweight title. While she will likely need some wins to get a shot at the title, as UFC won't give one that quickly, it is hard to not see her as the favorite to win in any bout she gets. While her next fight is not yet known, it will be interesting to see who she is given, surely someone higher up in the rankings and as always, it will be must-see television.
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