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Jacqueline Cavalcanti | Ready Anywhere, Anytime
Top 15 Bantamweight Contender Aims To Continue Her Ascent Up The Rankings By Defeating Julia Avila At UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs Rodrigues
Even though a number was recently added next to her name, No. 13 ranked bantamweight Jacqueline Cavalcanti is still an under-the-radar contender in the division.
The 27-year-old Brazilian started her UFC run in September of 2023 following a short, yet impressive, six-fight stretch on the regional scene, where she collected five wins and three stoppages.
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She’s carried that momentum straight into her promotional debut, when she squared off against Zarah Fairn at UFC Fight Night: Gane vs Spivac. It was a completely one-sided performance from Cavalcanti, who out-struck Fairn 127-39 over 15 minutes to cruise to a unanimous decision victory.
Her striking was on similar display in her sophomore showing against the powerful Josiane Nunes. Despite throwing caution to the wind against someone with heavy hands like Nunes, Cavalcanti outlanded her Brazilian counterpart nearly 2:1 to collect her second straight win.
“I had more patience in the fight because in my first fight, I used too much of my heart, not my skills,” Cavalcanti said. “Every day I’m a little bit better.”
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Most recently at UFC Fight Night: Moicano vs Saint Denis, Cavalcanti rematched Nora Cornolle, a woman she defeated in just her second professional mixed martial arts bout. While this fight was much closer on the scorecards than her previous two fights, the Syndicate MMA product still got the job done on just two weeks’ notice, which was enough to move her into the Top 15 and earn her a ranked opponent this weekend.
That opponent is No. 12 ranked Julia Avila. The two will collide this Saturday at UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs Rodrigues inside the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada. Avila is 3-2 in the UFC, with finishes over Julija Stoliarenko and Gina Mazany, and a decision win in her debut against Pannie Kianzad.
“She’s tough, but I think I’m more tough,” Cavalcanti said. “She’s strong, but I think I need to put more pressure on her. She’ll try to pressure me. I think the only thing she wants is to take me down, but, for me, everyone tries to take me down. I defend, I kick her, I punch her. It’s my objective to knock her down. After this, hand raised.”
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Another of Cavalcanti’s goals is to showcase her power. While she often lands more strikes than her opponent, she hopes less will mean more moving forward in her career.
“I didn’t show my power,” Cavalcanti said. “I think this is the fight [fans] can watch more of my power. In this fight and the next fight, make more knockdowns. This is what I want to show.
“For six months I’ve trained at Syndicate,” Cavalcanti said. “At Syndicate I have a big team. In my fight, [I] will show a little bit more of my skills because I can train more. There’s more bodies for the training because Syndicate has a lot of guys. I have the champion Merab, the big guys in the UFC.”
If Cavalcanti secures the win on Sunday, she’ll improve to 4-0 since joining the UFC and continue her rise through the rankings. By the end of 2025, she aims to be in the top eight, or at least the Top 10 of the 135-pound division. As for the timeline and opponents, Cavalcanti isn’t concerned. Whoever, wherever, whenever, she’ll show up ready to perform.
UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs Rodrigues took place live from UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada on February 15, 2025. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!