Athletes
Klaudia Sygula | Leveling Up
Polish Bantamweight Now Has Her First UFC Win On Her Resumé, And She's Made A Big Change To Ensure She Adds More.
With two fights under her belt, Klaudia Sygula now feels at home in the Octagon. And the Polish bantamweight has made big changes in a bid to ignite her rise up the women's 135-pound division.
Sygula's UFC career got off to an inauspicious start in November 2024 when she was defeated by Melissa Mullins at the then-UFC APEX. But the following summer, she returned to the Octagon in Baku, Azerbaijan, and outworked Irina Alekseeva over three rounds to earn her first UFC win.
Now, seven months on, Sygula is ready to return for her third UFC outing, and she does so with her confidence at its highest level yet. But, as she explained to UFC.com this week, that self-belief hasn't come from her victory.
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"You know, winning doesn't give me confidence," she said.
"Confidence comes from my hard work, training every day, improving myself. And when I feel that I am better, my confidence increases. So, fights don't matter.
"A couple of months ago, I changed my gym, and I'm now training at American Top Team in Florida, and I think that it was big, big challenge in my career, and training there has increased my confidence."
Sygula has spent hours on the mats at the Coconut Creek gym under the tutelage of respected head coach Marcos da Matta, and she was effusive in her praise for her Brazilian coach.
"I feel that every month in Florida makes me a better fighter. So I hope that in the next fight I will show that I make even bigger progress than last time."
"My head coach is Marcos da Matta, 'Parrumpa', the head coach of ATT. Also, Coach Anderson (Franca), he helps me with my striking.
"I have the opportunity to spar with a lot of high level of fighters at ATT, so I think that this is important for me to (train) with such good fighters who are also fighting for UFC, and that is why maybe I feel more confident now, because every day I meet with high-level fighters.
"Coach Parrumpa taught me a lot of things. He pushed me every day. Sometimes I think that he believes in me more than I believe in myself! I always dreamed about (having) a coach like him,c and now I have the opportunity to collaborate with him, and I am so proud and so happy that I can train with him."
Sygula's third UFC fight takes place this weekend at the Meta APEX, where she'll face off against Brazil's Priscila Cachoeira in the opening bout of the night.
Cachoeira's aggressive fighting style looks sure to place Sygula under pressure in their three-round bantamweight contest, but the Pole said she's fully prepared for everything the Brazilian can throw at her, and has even a few tricks up her sleeve for her opponent.
"I think that when you fight with this kind of opponent, you just have to be smart," she said.
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"You have to be smart (and) try to, maybe punk your opponent. I won't tell you about my plan for this fight – it's obvious that I can't – but we prepared something special for her, and I hope that I will be able to do it in the cage.
"I think that every part of my game will be showing in Saturday. I am prepared for everything. My striking is much better than last time. My grappling is also much better. Even my wrestling is better. I'm generally a better fighter than I was in my last fight.
"We will see, because you can have a plan, but when you come to the Octagon, and you start fighting, it can change. So I am prepared for everything."
Sygula gets to follow in the footsteps of her predecessors, Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Karolina Kowalkiewicz, as she flies the flag for female Polish fighters on the world stage, and she said that she does so with immense pride.
"I am so proud that I can represent my country in UFC," said Sygula.
"There aren't a lot of fighters, especially girls' fighters, in UFC. So I am so happy that I can be the third one, and I can represent my country here. I'm just proud.
"I didn't think about it. But if I can be an inspiration for anybody, I'm so happy."
UFC Fight Night: Bautista vs Oliveira took place live from Meta APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada on February 7, 2026. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
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