Juliana Lima Won’t Fight In The First-Ever Strawweight Category, But Will Take On Undefeated Joanna Jedrzejczyk
The world of The Ultimate Fighter sure is interesting. With so many developments that challenge logic and are seemingly meant for mainstream entertainment purposes, here comes another one. The inaugural fight for the newly established Strawweight category won’t feature Juliana Lima.
On Saturday night at UFC on FOX 12, second fight in the UFC strawweight division will have Juliana Lima facing undefeated Joanna Jedrzejczyk in the opening bout of the night on UFC Fight Pass. The muay thai specialist left Invicta FC to be part of The Ultimate Fighter 20 season.
When the UFC strawweight division was first announced, Lima was expected to be a part of the cast, but she was not included on the cast because of a language barrier. Apparently being able to speak is more important than being able to dish out mean moves. But the removal has been taken positively by Juliana, who only makes the debut on UFC a little earlier, shared the fighter,
“Wow, thank God my time is finally coming. I started to train hard when they told me I would be on The Ultimate Fighter. Then they said I wouldn’t make it, but that I should keep training because they would give me a fight instead,” reported Fansided.
It might be a little disappointing that Juliana Lima won’t get a shot to be the first ever UFC strawweight champion. However, Lima is more focused on kick-starting her stint at UFC,
“I’m actually relieved. I was sad because it was an opportunity to win the title, but I know I have four fights on my contract, and I have what it takes to get to the title. I honestly feel it was the best call because I’m not an easy person to live with and I would give them too much trouble [laughs]”
In an amusing bout of candor, Juliana continued,
“I was really tense with the idea of living with other girls, so it turned out to be great because I avoided the stress and having to control my weight, and I’m making my UFC debut on a big card. It’s wonderful.”
Her not being selected may have been due to her inability to speak English, but that isn’t entirely accurate, clarified Juliana Lima, “They said I can’t speak English, but I do. I don’t have perfect English, but I can speak English. But hey, that excuse was great because that’s what got me out of the house, so I’m ok with that. I didn’t care at all. I graduated in tourism, and I worked for six years in an agency, so I can speak English.”
Despite the seemingly hilariously named new category, strawweight promises to be an interesting and tough competition assured Lima. She considers Joanne Calderwood and Carla Esparza as top contenders for the title.
[Image Credit | femmefighter]
