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A life-long martial artist who started in judo and likes to say she was “raised on the mats,” Pinheiro has been focusing on rounding out the other aspects of her game, with designs on establishing herself as a potential threat in the strawweight division in the not too distant future.
“I am getting better everyday, definitely,” said the Brazilian, who trains alongside her boyfriend, UFC flyweight contender Matheus Nicolau, and has logged time preparing for this weekend’s event at various different gyms, including Xtreme Couture. “I am more comfortable inside the Octagon and I feel that I can face any challenge throw my way.
“I am working more in the little details of the MMA — improving my standup game, my submission game, everything. I know that my background is judo and I don’t want to get away from that, but I want to be a complete fighter, and to accomplish that, I need to develop every other facet of the game.”
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And Pinheiro gives all the credit for the gains she’s made in the last seven months to her team.
“I think it’s the team I have around me and how I trust them,” she said when asked to identify the biggest keys to her development since her debut. “And they trust me, as well.
“What they call in training or during the fights, I am able to execute. They know me really well — my strengths and my weaknesses — and we are always able to create a gameplan to highlight the things I am good at.