Athletes
Ketlen Souza: The 'Hothead' With The Hot Hand
Former Invicta FC Champion Has Established Herself In The UFC's Strawweight Division. Now She's Targeting A Big-Name Win At The UFC APEX.
Ketlen Souza's fighting nickname of "Esquintadinha" may loosely translate to "hothead," but the 29-year-old Brazilian plans on keeping her cool at the UFC APEX when she takes on one of the longest-serving members of the strawweight division.
Souza is in Las Vegas this week to take on her most significant UFC test to date as she faces No. 13-ranked Angela "Overkill" Hill in a matchup that could springboard her into the strawweight rankings.
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Souza captured the vacant Invicta FC women's flyweight title back in January 2023 and received a call-up to the UFC shortly after. But, despite heading into the Octagon riding a five-fight win streak, Souza's first UFC bout ended in defeat when she was kneebarred by Karine Silva in the first round.
After that loss, Souza regrouped and, 10 months later, bounced back with a unanimous decision victory over Marnic Mann to claim her first UFC win. Then, last September, she submitted Jazmin Jauregui via first-round rear-naked choke to claim back-to-back wins in the Octagon and bank a Performance of the Night bonus in the process.
"It was a great, beautiful win," Souza told UFC.com ahead of fight night in Las Vegas.
"It was hard work. It motivated me a lot, it's also propelled me into my next fight."
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That next fight will see her face off against Hill, a veteran of Season 20 of The Ultimate Fighter – the season that actually established the UFC's strawweight division.
Since then, Hill has been the most active female fighter in UFC history, with her 25 career bouts putting her seven bouts clear of the rest. Her 11 strawweight wins are also a UFC record.
Those credentials aren't lost on Souza, who knows that she'll be facing a tough, seasoned, dangerous opponent. Helpfully, there's no shortage of tape on her opponent.
"Because she has several fights, we could study her very well," she said
"The main challenge she can present to me is the grappling. It's not something she looks for, but I think that in our fight she'll look for it, because my jiu-jitsu and grappling skills are not good. But she might be surprised.
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"I think she'll avoid striking with me. But let's see how the fight goes."
Souza prefers to get the job done with her strikes, with eight of her victories coming via knockout or TKO, and facing a fighter who also prefers to stand and trade, Souza is confident that she'll use her skills to claim her first UFC knockout.
"She is an athlete that moves a lot, scores a lot," she explained.
"She doesn't like to grapple. But she is a 40-year-old woman. She doesn't have a lot of stamina or resistance anymore.
Full Fight | Ketlen Souza vs Yazmin Jauregui
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Full Fight | Ketlen Souza vs Yazmin Jauregui
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"Her punch power is not so good, because if it was, she'd have several knockouts in her career. Out of my ten fights, nine I won by knockout.
"I think my punch power is better than hers. I'll try to knock her out. If I have the opportunity to finish, I'll do it."
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Souza is clearly confident that she has the advantage in youth, striking and knockout power, and plans on parlaying those into a winning performance at the UFC APEX on Saturday night as she looks to gatecrash the strawweight rankings, then move her way up towards the title.
“I have only one focus: the belt,” she stated.
“Whoever is in front of me, I'll go over.
That's what matters. The belt is my only focus. If I have to step over (Hill), I'll do it.
“If it is God's will, by the end of this year, I'll go after the belt.”
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!