Priscila Cachoeira is set to make her debut inside the octagon. That being said, the woman’s meteoric rise to the world’s most famous mixed martial arts promotion has not been an easy one.
Speaking to MMA Fighting, Cachoeira revealed that she faced a life of tribulation leading up to her career in mixed martial arts.
“A series of things hurt me inside,” Cachoeira said. “I was mistreated by my father, he said I wasn’t his daughter, he did things to hurt me. The funny thing is that I still had him as an idol.
“I played volleyball for Fluminense, but I was stabbed in the back and removed from the team. In between those two things, I was molested by someone who was a member of the family back then, my brother-in-law. And then I caught my boyfriend cheating on me.”
The fighter then revealed that she once suffered a drug addiction.
“I started going to parties every day and met people that used drugs,” Cachoeira said. “My life changed, I dropped studies and sports and started sleeping during the day and partying every night. That’s how I started using ‘loló’ (a blend of chloroform and ether), marijuana, cocaine and crack.
“I spent a long time using crack, more than three years,” she continued. “My biceps were the size of my wrist. Crack almost killed me. I prayed for a way out, I wanted to stop. I knew I was dying, I knew I was killing myself, but I couldn’t stop. My body kept asking for more drugs, and I couldn’t control myself.”
Cachoeira then began speaking on her mother’s place during this troubling time.
“I thought she was being an accomplice in my drug addiction,” Cachoeira said, “but I understand now that she was giving me money so I wouldn’t get to the point of prostituting or stealing things. I didn’t go that far.”
“I was using crack for three straight days, and my money was already over, but other people started to buy it for me,” Cachoeira said. “On the third day, I couldn’t take it anymore, my body wouldn’t take it anymore, but I had no strength to stand up and leave.
“My vision was blurry, I was disoriented. I wanted to leave. I looked at the door and I saw a light, I saw that someone was coming in my direction. I recognized the dress and said, ‘It’s my mother.’ The other junkies left, scared, and I wanted to leave as well because I thought she would beat me.
“She avoided the traps we set up for cops and said, ‘Let’s go home.’ She gave me a hug and we started crying. The junkies came back, applauding her, saying, ‘I wish I had a mom like yours. Don’t you ever come back here.’ I left that place and never came back. I was rescued that day.”
“The drugs were getting out of my body through my sweat,” she said. “I had setbacks and used drugs again, I confess, but my willpower was bigger. When I realized I was talented for fighting, I decided I wanted to do something for myself.”
“Two years ago, when I decided I was going to fight, I told my brother that I would become a UFC fighter in three years,” Cachoeira said. “He laughed. ‘You’re crazy, you don’t even know how to punch.’ He kind of doubted me. And here I am, two years later. When I promise something, I do it.”
“I was getting beat up so much in the first round that I thought about quitting,” Cachoeira said, “but then I heard her voice: ‘Don’t give up, my daughter.’ I didn’t quit, and I started fighting like a maniac. One punch landed flush, and my opponent looked back at me, and I knew I had her respect. I started to hunt her down and won the fight.
“My past, this dark shadow from the past, is what made me get so fast to the UFC. This past gives me strength to enter the cage and do my best.”
“Every time I fight is a war, the best fight of the night,” Cachoeira said. “I want to break records and become the fighter with the most bonuses in the UFC. Not for the money — it’s important, of course — but I love putting on a show to entertain the crowd.”
“I always say that two or three good wins, putting on a show for the fans, it’s possible that I get the belt,” Cachoeira said. “Your hard work and determination makes dreams possible, and it might come faster than you imagine.”
Cachoeira is now set to make her debut under the banner of the world’s most famous mixed martial arts promotion at UFC Fight Night 125 in a match up against former title challenger Valentina Shevchenko. The event will take place Feb. 3, 2018 in Belem, Brazil.
