Introduction
Friday, August 9th, Brazilian flyweight prospect Paula Bittencourt will be in action for Invicta FC, where she will be looking continue her winning ways against Kate Bacik. She will be looking for another win, as Bittencourt looks to inch closer to a contract with the UFC. She represents Nova Uniao, a top camp in MMA. Let’s take a closer look at this prospect as this week’s “Prospect Spotlight.”
Strengths
Kickboxing: Bitencourt, despite representing a strong grappling gym in Nova Uniao, has shown an exciting, technical striking style that has served her well in her pro career. She has four of her six wins by way of knockout, displaying some underrated power in unison with her shots that accumulate damage in volume. If she gets the fight to the mat, she prefers the ground strike game to submissions, which is, again, a break away from the typical Nova Uniao style.
Quality Experience: Bittencourt, despite being just eight fights into her career, as had quality time in the cage thus far against four notable opponents and three notable promotions. In addition to her brief time in Bellator, she’s also fought under the UAE Warriors and Shooto Brasil banner, both top regional organizations in their part of the world. Her two biggest wins thus far come against countrymen Daiana Torquato and Simone da Silva, both veterans from Brazil.
Needs Improvement
Faltered Against Superior Strikers: Bittencourt’s two career losses came in steps up in competition. Both times they were against elite strikers. Her first loss came to now top prospect Dakota Ditcheva, where Bittencourt was outclassed on the feet by the Muay Thai prodigy. The other was against world champion kickboxer Denise Kielholtz, who again showed a different level on the feet than Bittencourt. Again, Bittencourt is a good striker herself, but she was unable to unleash her grappling on these strikers, forcing herself to stand with them.
Outlook
UFC Prelim Fighter: Bittencourt has the skill and flare to attract the UFC matchmakers and I think she will grace their roster at some point. Her time in Bellator was brief, obviously, as her contract was not picked up once the PFL bought the company. She gets a fresh start to prove herself with Invicta against Bacik, a fighter who has something to prove herself. I think it takes a couple of wins, but if Bittencourt can get a streak together, the UFC could come calling next.
MMA Intel 