Valerie Loureda was quickly turning into a fan-favorite fighter, however at all times knew her path would ultimately result in a profession within the WWE ring.
Loureda (4-1 MMA) debuted underneath the Bellator banner as a flyweight in 2019 and recorded a first-round knockout. Given her character and her signature celebration, followers had been instantly drawn to see “Grasp” compete.
Regardless of profitable her first three professional fights and gaining recognition underneath one of many greatest promotions round, Loureda hoped she would seize the eye of the biggest skilled wrestling firm. A number of months after her final MMA battle in 2021, Loureda’s transition to turn out to be present NXT Celebrity Lola Vice formally started.
“It’s really been the toughest transition of my life,” Loureda advised Below the Ring. “I’ve needed to be taught quite a bit, not simply concerning the wrestling side, however socially on the (WWE) Efficiency Heart. We now have so many proficient athletes from all over the world, and it’s positively very aggressive.”
Loureda left her MMA profession behind, strolling away from the game along with her hand raised in a break up determination victory. She hasn’t seemed again since professional wrestling grew to become an actual risk, and it reveals as her character Lola Vice has shortly gained traction within the ring. Her actual combating abilities have helped type the wrestler that steps by means of the ropes, giving her a singular fashion that differs from her friends.
“I’m grateful for my blended martial arts background as a result of it’s helped me be distinctive on this ring, and my moveset may be very completely different than everybody else’s,” Loureda stated. “I wrestle completely different than everybody else, and that’s what provides me the benefit in my fights.
“… The identical effort and fervour I put into MMA, I put into this, and I utterly dove into it. I by no means missed something. I went to all the things further. I used to be at all times prepared to be taught. I began from scratch, I began a model from scratch, and I constructed Lola Vice to be what she is at the moment. But additionally, each time I get in that ring, I attempt to be plain, and I’m simply grateful that it acquired me thus far.”
Lola Vice competes at NXT Battleground on Saturday on the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. In an NXT Underground match, she faces one among two former fighters who helped encourage her transition to professional wrestling, UFC veteran Shayna Baszler. It’s a little bit of a return to Loureda’s combating roots, competing in the identical enviornment the place most UFC occasions happen at the moment.
Welcome to The Underground. @lolavicewwe and @QoSBaszler will throw down in an #NXTUnderground Match THIS SUNDAY at #NXTBattleground!
🎟️ TICKETS ON SALE NOW: pic.twitter.com/S6MRx5WVGR
— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) June 6, 2024
Baszler, a ladies’s MMA pioneer who started combating in 2003 and fought twice within the UFC, started wrestling whereas nonetheless competing in MMA. She made her NXT debut in 2017, and has been going robust since.
Loureda was additionally impressed by Baszler’s good buddy, Ronda Rousey, who made the transition from being one of the widespread fighters on the planet to a WWE Celebrity. Rousey dove into the deep finish, debuting at WrestleMania 34. Loureda ultimately hopes to succeed in those self same heights, and have a protracted profession as a professional wrestler.
“Shayna and Ronda are two folks I seemed as much as quite a bit,” Loureda stated. “You realize, Ronda Rousey opened the doorways for younger ladies fighters like me to step foot within the cage, and Shayna was the primary to make this crossover. After I was in MMA, I knew I needed to be within the WWE at some point, I simply didn’t know when.
“So, after I acquired the decision and I began finding out, and I noticed Shayna’s transition and Ronda’s transition, I admired them for the best way they did it as a result of folks suppose, ‘Oh, you’re a fighter. You get in there and it’s simple.’ It’s really the exact opposite. If it was simple, we’d have loads of MMA fighters within the WWE, but it surely’s an especially arduous transition. Solely very particular folks can do it. So, I love them for his or her arduous work, however I do know that I’m going to be finest crossover in historical past of MMA to the WWE.”
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