Outside Source
Early on, due to a relatively late start in mixed martial arts, “Lili” fought her first professional bout on a wing and a prayer. A technical knockout win reinforced the idea that, despite still having much to learn, this was going to be her chosen path.
“I’ve never been one to turn down a fight. I wanted to see how it would go,” she shared in her native Portuguese.
“I had competed in muay thai and jiu-jitsu, separately. I lost two bouts as an amateur, but it wasn’t a bad thing. It was more of a wakeup call. I now knew I wanted to pursue this, and that I needed to improve. I wished I had had more fights as an amateur, but age counts for a lot in MMA. When the opportunity came for me to fight as a pro, now that I was training seriously, we decided to go for it.”
Few people encouraged her commitment to combat sports.
“It was mostly folks from our academy who’d say I should fight. As far as family, no one supported me in that. Even today, there are very few in my family who support it. I carved my own path because of how much I wanted this. I saw the challenge. I knew I could do it. And I understood I’d have to improve every day, whether I won or lost. Today, I work with [former PFL tournament champion] Larissa Pacheco, coach Marcelo Bispo and [BJJ champion] Livia Felix.
Besides capturing and defending the Invicta FC belt, Ferreira sees other key moments in her pro career as contributing to her place in the PFL.
“I think all my fights were important. Of course, there are some that weigh a bit more because of a belt, like Invicta, Nacao Cyborg [Cris Cyborg’s promotion] and Karate Combat. But every fight is the fight of my life, another step in making my dreams come true. Defeats were also very important to me. Those fights allowed me to grow professionally and as a person, too. They changed my point of view. In the end, they gave me the motivation to change some things and keep improving.”
She originally planned to keep fighting at Invicta, but the promotion hasn’t put on an event since May of 2025.
“I had a contract with Invicta. My contract was completed after my title defense. But I was planning to move up in weight. I had asked Invicta to fight at strawweight next, but they stopped having cards. Within a week, I received a call to fight at Karate Combat. It was an excellent opportunity to stay active and for visibility. We were looking around for MMA opportunities. Another big promotion didn’t seem interested in me. That’s when my manager said I was hired by the PFL. It’s a gigantic opportunity, a door that opened which I plan to hold onto with both hands.”
Ferreira’s next opponent is undefeated fighter Juliet Ukah, who will have home advantage in Lagos. Ferreira is confident she has Ukah’s number.
“I only saw two of her videos. I left things up to my trainers Marcelo Bispo and Larissa Pacheco. We sat down and talked about what she does in every fight, how she wins, and how to beat her. We focused on countering her attacks, and on the fact that she’s taller. People think I’m too small. But it’s a tremendous advantage for me. I’ll show that when I knock her out.”
One interesting hiccup is the fact that the PFL Nigeria takes place exactly as Brazil debuts against Morocco in the 2026 FIFA World Soccer Cup. Ferreira hopes to make the best of it.
“I believe my fight will be before the game. I’m looking forward to celebrating my first PFL win, followed by us, Brazil, winning another one.”
One more unexpected factor during fight night may be the fans in attendance. Ferreira suspects that some cultural differences may be at play, maybe machismo, maybe a lack of familiarity with the sport.
“I think it’s important to say that, from what I can tell, people in Nigeria don’t like to see women fighting. We’re here to change that. We can show that we have the necessary strength. Women have children. We feel a pain that no one else understands. So why can’t we fight, same as men? Plus, everyone keeps bringing up the fact that I’m small. People think that’s a problem, but I’ll prove them wrong by having my hand raised in the end. I’m small but I have KO power. There are two women’s fights on the card and I’m confident they’ll be the best fights of the night. Women’s fights are something else! We’re all heart and aggression.”
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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