The Resilience of Maria Oliveira

Maria Oliveira is no stranger to learning from adversity.

As she prepares to face Vanessa Demopoulos at UFC Fight Night 215 on Saturday, hoping to establish herself as a serious prospect in the Ultimate Fighting Championship strawweight division with a win, “Spider-Girl” can draw on the hard-bought experience of setbacks at every step along the way. After losing to Kanna Asakura in the final of the Rizin Fighting Federation bantamweight grand prix four years ago, Oliveira dropped to 115 pounds, only to come up short against current UFC strawweight contender Marina Rodriguez on Dana White's Contender Series. Signed by the UFC after two more wins in Brazil, Oliveira then dropped a decision to Tabatha Ricci in her UFC debut. She bounced back with a win over Gloria de Paula in June, and as she looks to pick up her second straight Octagon win, the 25-year-old Brazilian spoke to Sherdog about her combat sports background, her bumpy road to the UFC and the lessons she has learned along the way.

“I started in kickboxing at age 14,” she said of her beginnings. “I was booked against an athlete from the PRVT gym. They later called me up to fight MMA. That's when I started adding grappling, since in MMA you can’t just have standup.

“Initially, I didn’t have anyone’s support,” she continued. “I always went by myself. My family didn’t like it. Plus, my family isn’t rich, so they couldn’t contribute. It’s been me, pretty much. I’ve always worked and trained at the same time. Eventually, some friends who owned a bar managed to get me a monthly sponsorship. After that, my master was a big help.”

Oliveira believes her setbacks have all contributed to making her the fighter she is today. “All losses bring lessons,” she said. “My debut was a loss. I right away knew that I needed to train more jiu-jitsu. From my second loss, I learned to always go for a finish, never leaving it to the judges. Ultimately, my biggest lesson was to never give up. Despite my setbacks, I never stopped and today I’m in the UFC.”

Her experience in Rizin, which began as a raw 18-year-old, is a fond memory now. “I was very happy to fight in Japan, such a faraway land,” Oliveira said. “I had always heard about it and seen it in films. The biggest joy was the fact that my coach had always wanted to bring someone to fight in [Pride Fighting Championships.] It wasn’t exactly Pride, but very close to it. His dream came true through me.

Unusual for mixed martial arts, where ego often precludes fighters from admitting to a loss, Oliveira freely confesses her UFC trajectory so far has been a learning process. “My first fight in the UFC [against Ricci] was a loss, clearly. I agree with the results. She was literally better than me. The second fight [against Gloria de Paula] – I don’t agree with the results. I won by split decision. It should have been unanimous. The only way to guarantee a result is to KO or submit the other person. Regardless, I’m happy to have won. Winning is always good, but winning in the UFC is even better. The feeling of winning in the UFC is unexplainable.”

About her upcoming opponent, fellow Contender Series alum Demopoulos, Oliveira said, “It’s a good fight for me. I think she’ll want to grapple. I’m not sure. She is really tough. It may go all three rounds, but I’ll be the winner.” Whatever her opponent’s plans are, Oliveira maintains she will be prepared. “Not much has changed,” she said. “As always, I’m training a lot [on the] ground and a lot of standup. We have to be complete fighters in MMA, and train in every facet. I train with UFC fighters at the UFC Performance Institute. And I train jiu-jitsu at Gracie Humaita Las Vegas. Everything is going well.

“My plans for the future are to keep training and to keep my job in the UFC,” she concluded. “I wish to continue winning for my team, and for Brazil. I want to make my name inside the organization.”