How’d you become a professional MMA fighter?

Since I was little, I always enjoyed sports. I was supported by my family, since I was always very restless. My mother wanted me in sports so I’d burn up some of my energy. My first martial art was karate, around the age of nine. That didn’t last long. But I spent my youth in martial arts. I took judo in school. I trained capoeira from around age 13 to 17. During all that time, I played soccer, from around six to 15. After age 17, I lost the desire to practice martial arts and became more involved in music. I spent some time performing in the underground punk hardcore scene in Goiania. I was a vocalist for a band called Pelucias. We toured Brazil. I did a lot of work in musical production. I also played bass, guitar – a little bit of everything.

By age 20, I decided to get back into martial arts. I had already done some kickboxing when I was 14. I met some people who were in jiu-jitsu. I become interested, but had never tried it. Then, one day, on a random walk through town, I stopped at a friend’s academy. We talked about it. I came back on a different day, to take a class. I haven’t stopped since.

Jiu-jitsu became my primary martial art, and my path into MMA. From there, I participated in several jiu-jitsu competitions. I went to Sao Paulo for a bit to learn new techniques. I came back home, and joined the Gracie Barra Jardim America academy. That was the true start of my MMA career. My professor, Henryque Pofahl, encouraged me since he felt I had an aggressive and interesting style for cage fighting.

I spent the next year fighting the best girls in the area, from every facet of martial arts. I stood out in the Central-West Region. Then I got signed by Aspera, one of Brazil’s largest promotions. I got to know Marcelo Brigadeiro and Alexandre Guerra who are coaches at the Astra gym. I was invited to train. I spent a week there and I really enjoyed the academy, all the people there, and their training style. I moved there.

It’s been a very quick MMA career. I’ve come a long way in two and a half years, but this is also thanks to my long jiu-jitsu career previously. It allowed to migrate into MMA in a more reliable way.