At just 20 years old, Valerie Loureda has been preparing her entire life for her Bellator debut.

“My mom was pregnant with me during her black belt test,” Loureda told MMAjunkie. “I guess you could say I was kicking from before I was even born. It’s in my blood. I haven’t gone a day in my life without throwing a punch or a kick. It’s who I am.”

A 4th dan taekwando black belt, Loureda (0-0) is a former member of the U.S. Olympic team. Her father served as her grandmaster, training her “very old school and very old-fashioned.” The dedication paid off, and she progressed up the ranks of the taekwondo scene. But a moment in 2017 made her realize her true future lied in another direction.

“Taekwondo was evolving a lot,” Loureda said. “It was becoming a lot of point sparring, so it was kind of going away from my style. I fought in the world championship and then I fought in a President’s Cup, and honestly, I kicked a girl and I broke her rib, and I wanted to mount her, even though I’d never done MMA before. That’s when I realized, ‘Wait, Valerie – something else is calling me. Something bigger.'”

Loureda has been preparing for her professional MMA debut since that day, and her commitment has paid off with a Bellator deal. After three fights as an amateur, she’s expected to make her professional debut in early 2019.

“Every day for the past two years, I’ve been training three or four times a day,” Loureda said. “I even changed college to be homeschooled. I do my college online so that I could kind of catch up and really understand all these arts together – just develop as a true martial artist. I followed my heart. I followed my instinct.

“I knew the first time I stepped in the cage I was so comfortable that this was what I was naturally meant to do with my life, and I’m very blessed that Bellator after my last fight was able to recognize my passion and the message that I’m trying to send to the world as a martial artist, and I couldn’t be happier with this choice, and I know that we’re going to do big things together with this promotion.”

Loureda is currently training at American Top Team and said as she’s become more accustomed to the complete MMA game, she’s found opportunities to let her taekwondo skills shine. She says that wasn’t the case in her initial transition to the sport but now that she’s changed gyms, she’s primed for success.

“I was always frustrated because I was like, ‘We’re doing a mix of martial arts. Why is he trying change my stlyle into an MMA style?” Loureda said of her previous coach. “MMA is a mix of all of our disciplines together. I would go home, I would respect what my coaches were saying, but I would write down on a piece of paper creative ideas I thought where taekowndo was effective in MMA and was not effective in MMA because there’s some things obviously you can’t do.

“I don’t call what I do kickboxing. I call it a blend of taekwondo and muay Thai and everything together. In the beginning, that was my struggle. But I feel like after my first fight in the cage, then I realized I started gaining more experience and understanding when I could pursue my sport in a fight.”

While Loureda’s name is new on the MMA scene, she’s already gaining notice inside the promotion, including from fellow traditional martial arts master Lyoto Machida.

“As a lifelong martial artist who transitioned to MMA bringing the essence of my family’s karate to a new sport, I’m excited to see Valerie bring her world-class taekwondo to MMA,” Machida told MMAjunkie. “I believe she will be someone to look out for in the coming years. I wish her all the best.”

Loureda’s debut date and opponent have yet to be set, but she enters the Bellator roster with lofty goals.

“Honestly, I felt an instant pull toward Bellator because the President, Scott Coker, he shares my same traditional martial arts background, and I know he is as passionate for and he cares as much for martial arts as I do,” Loureda saod. “I truly feel at home because he reminds me of my dad and my upbringing in taekwondo, so I’m real excited about this deal with Bellator. I have a really good gut feeling about this.

“I feel like I’m a true martial artist, and MMA has allowed me to portray to the world the honor, discipline and tradition that comes with being a black belt, and Bellator has given me the opportunity to influence the lives of thousands of people, especially women who are looking and are struggling to pursue their passion, so I’m really excited to just get in that cage, confront whoever they put in front of me, and with respect, win that challenge and continue going up and developing.

“I really want to leave my legacy on this world as being the best female martial artist who has ever stepped on this planet.”

For more on Bellator’s upcoming schedule, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.