Luana Pinheiro set to fight at ‘Brave 11’ in Brazil

Luana Pinheiro

Brave Combat Federation has announced that it will feature a women’s strawweight bout in the 11th edition of its events, which be hosted in Brazil. In this division, Luana Pinheiro will face her fellow Brazilian fighter Elaine Leal.

The announcement marks the first time a women’s bout is announced by the Brave CF in Brazil. Pinheiro is the first fighter from Brazil officially announced to have signed a contract with the Bahrain-based mixed martial arts promotion.

Having practice Judo since the age of 2, Pinheiro aimed to represent Brazil at the Olympics held at Rio de Janeiro in 2016. She reached the Brazilian national team and won several gold medals in national tournaments in the 52kg and 48kg categories but she was unable to make it to the national team for the Olympics.

It was then that Pinheiro made her switch into the MMA world. Now with a record of 5 wins out of 6 appearances as a professional MMA fighter, she is training with BH Rhinos and is fighting out of Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

In October 2016, Pinheiro won her first fight, which was against Thatiane Araujo at “Sparta 9” in Belo Horizonte. The victory was via unanimous decision after a frantic and exciting battle. In Pinheiro’s second fight, which was at the same event at the end of 2016, she finished kickboxer Jessica Kelly in the first round.

As compared to Pinheiro, Leal is more experienced with 9 professional bouts in her career, winning 5. Still, Pinheiro is confident that her skills in Judo gives her the edge over her opponent.

“Today is certainly a defining day in my career,” Pinheiro said. “I signed with Brave Combat Federation, one of the largest MMA organizations in the world. I would like to thank the athlete relations team for the opportunity and I am super excited to fight for Brave. Thanks to my coaches Cristiano Lazzarini, Joel Velha and Bruno Victor and the team at BH Rhinos for the support in my career.”

Having hosted three Brave CF events, Brazil is one of the destinations that closely follow the sport of MMA. “Brave 11” will be held at Minas Tênis Clube Arena in Belo Horizonte, Brazil on April 13, 2018.