UFC San Diego: Who is Iasmin Lucindo?
By Alec Arritola
UFC San Diego: Who is Iasmin Lucindo?
20-year-old Iasmin Lucindo has never been one to shy away from conflict.
According to MMA Fighting, after witnessing her father’s brutality towards her mother throughout her childhood, Lucindo decided to take matters into her own hands and began training kickboxing in her hometown of Fortaleza, Brazil.
“I’ve always loved sports, but what drove me to learn more was to learn how to defend myself and those around me,” Lucindo told the outlet. “I’ve witnessed physical assaults to my mother and aunts and that led me to learn how to defend myself.”
At just 14 years old, with less than one year of experience, Lucindo accepted her first professional kickboxing match against an opponent more than double her age.
After going 4-0 professionally in her first year of kickboxing, Lucindo was ready to move on to mixed martial arts. Her pro debut ended with her knocking out Alline Khyra in the first round. She would go on to win two more professional fights that year, both by TKO.
Lucindo soon realized that MMA could be her way out of the Genibau favela, where her family had suffered for years
This Saturday, Lucindo will have the opportunity to shine in the biggest MMA promotion on earth. At UFC San Diego, Lucindo (13-4) will face her most formidable opponent yet: the undefeated Mexican strawweight Yazmin Jauregui (8-0).
Jauregui is Tapology’s No.1-ranked pound-for-pound Latin American female fighter and is considered the favorite by oddsmakers. Although Lucindo is the younger fighter by three years, she has more professional experience than Jauregui, and is riding an impressive seven-fight win streak. With this being both fighters’ first UFC bout, Octagon jitters could potentially be a factor for both young women on the big stage.
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