Bruna Brasil has settled in as a viable women’s flyweight competitor in the Ultimate Fighting Championship ahead of her showdown with Cong Wong as part of the UFC 312 undercard on Saturday at Qudos Bank Arena. However, the Brazilian’s road to the top mixed martial arts organization in the world was littered with potholes and potential pitfalls.

“I left everything behind to come to Rio [de Janeiro],” Brasil said. “The only thing the gym provided us with was a very small home in the favela that I shared with other female fighters. Back in Maringa, I was renting an apartment, so I had to deal with those bills. I sold my car and some other things. With that money, I paid my debts and fed myself. Eventually, I got a weekend job at a restaurant in Rio. I’d train during the week. Eventually, coach Gilliard ‘Parana’ [Fagundes] asked us to start paying rent. Around that time, I started dating Vanessa [Messina], who’s my physical conditioning coach. She loaned me some money to be able to live in Rio until I could sell my old Maringa apartment. She helped with money and nutrition. Eventually, the other girls and I ended up renting a house together. We would sell empadas. We were always running around in Rio. It was unrealistic to think that I would become a great fighter while spending so much time and effort trying to make ends meet. Plus, there wasn’t much safety in the favela. There were shootouts, and we risked getting hit by stray bullets. That’s why I didn’t want to stay in Rio de Janeiro. During the pandemic, I went to Guaruja, and I had the full support from Vanessa’s family.”

Brasil once trained at the Parana Vale Tudo gym under Fagundes, who faces a lawsuit from former UFC women’s strawweight champion Jessica Andrade over alleged theft.

“It’s a delicate matter,” Brasil said. “Coach Parana has his flaws. What he provided for us athletes wasn’t what we would have liked, but in a way, he gave us opportunities that maybe could not be found elsewhere. He gave me the opportunity to leave home and to find my way in the world of professional MMA. Had I stayed in Maringa, I wouldn’t have been able to get into good promotions. I wouldn’t have believed that I could go far by training with high-level athletes. Today, there are more teams and more opportunities for athletes in Brazil. When I was with him, there were fewer teams, and even fewer teams focused on female fighters. Female fighters who don’t feel comfortable in their own team today have a better chance of finding a better home. I only spent one year at PRVT. Coach Parana was always transparent with me. When I chose to leave the team, I was also transparent with him. This made it so my connections with my friends on his team were cut off. I only reconnected with his fighters—Jessica Delboni and Jessica Andrade—after they also left PRVT. I feel he made many mistakes when I was there. He apparently made bigger, uglier mistakes more recently. I can’t say much about it, since I wasn’t present then. I can say that despite his errors, he at least provided opportunities that were hard to come by at that time.”