A Brazilian women’s atomweight prospect makes her United States debut Friday at Inivcta FC 35.
Monique Adriane (4-1) takes on Loma Lookboonmee (2-1) early on in the Invicta’s event at Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kan., which streams on UFC Fight Pass. She’s coming off a second-round TKO win in her native Brazil in March.
Get to know Adriane ahead of her fight against Thailand’s Lookboonmee, who fights for Invicta for the second time.
Full name: Monique Adriane de Oliveira Costa
Nickname: None
DOB: 06.25.96
Height/Weight: 5-foot-3, 105 pounds
Birthplace: Taubate, state of Sao Paulo, Brazil
Team: Tsunami Combat
How’d you get into martial arts?
I got into fighting without knowing how far I’d go. I didn’t know I’d be a professional MMA fighter one day. Since I was a kid, I was never still. I was always in sports. My dream used to be that I’d become a veterinarian. After taking some technical courses, I realized that, no matter how much I love animals, it simply wasn’t something I wanted to pursue.
After that, I found myself enjoying fight classes at an academy near my home. I initially trained just to stay in shape. After my first fight, I decided that was my true path. I dropped out of my old job and decided to become a full-time professional fighter. I knew that living from fighting wouldn’t be easy but I received great help from our coach Johnny “Kabeca” Goncalves. He was able to get me hired as a trainer, so I could make ends meet.
What were some of the lessons learned along the way?
My record is 4-1. None of my fights were easy. The biggest lessons were from my one loss (to Valesca Machado). In losses, we can better identify and correct mistakes.
Can you talk about your training?
I didn’t have to travel to another academy. I got ready with my regular training partners. They’ve been at my side for every one of my bouts. Everything I need is here. Everyone here has their strengths – some girls are better at kickboxing, jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, and so on. All the help I require is in one place. Everyone has been helping me train and put together my strategy. My training partners are Dayane “Guerreira” Cristina, Sofia Lizaso, Tamires Viana, and Nataly Ferreira.
What can you say about your opponent?
We saw that she’s strong, experienced, with good muay Thai. But when we fight, it will be MMA, not just striking. As much as I love striking, our strategy will be to nullify her game, and possibly use my ground skills.
How do you see this fight playing out? What are your plans for the future?
Every fight is 50/50. With another win, my plan is to simply go back to my academy, and work on ways to improve my skills before the next bout. I’ll keep doing it until I can become champion.
Final thoughts?
I’m thankful to my family for always supporting me, despite the fact that no one else in my family does this kind of work. I’d also like to thank my team, Tsunami Combat, as well as our coach Johnny “Kabeca” Goncalves. He’s making our dreams come true.
(Next page: Invicta FC 35 lineup)
The PFL 10 lineup includes:
MAIN CARD (UFC Fight Pass, 8 p.m. ET)
- DeAnna Bennett vs. Karina Rodriguez
- Viviane Pereira vs. Alesha Zappitella
- Kanako Murata vs. Liana Pirosin
- Katharina Lehner vs. Lisa Spangler
- Faith McMah vs. Kaitlin Young
- Chelsea Chandler vs. Brittney Victoria
- Kelly D’Angelo vs. Jillian DeCoursey
- Monique Adriane vs. Loma Lookboonmee
- Genia Goodin vs. Valerie Wong
For more on Invicta FC 35, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.
