UFC Vegas 43: Luana Pinheiro Wants To Be Rebooked With Jessica Penne

Las Vegas, NV — Luana Pinheiro wants to be rebooked with her original UFC Vegas 43 opponent.

Pinheiro (10-1) picked up her second UFC win on Saturday by defeating Sam Hughes via unanimous decision. While this was her second official win, some would say this was her first real UFC win because of the drama in her UFC debut — which saw her pick up the W care of an illegal upkick by Randa Markos.

UFC Vegas 43 didn’t exactly go as planned either. The Brazilian had a switch in opponents only ten days before the fight. Hughes replaced Pinheiro’s original opponent, Jessica Penne, although the game plan was pretty much the same.

“[The gameplan] didn’t change much… I knew that she would be tougher standing up. I had to be more careful with the stand-up game- it’s something I have to do in every fight. So, it didn’t really change much,” Pinheiro told Cageside Press during her post-fight interview.

As for who is next, Pinheiro would like to be rebooked with Penne.

“I did a full camp to face Jessica Penne, and she got hurt, so she got replaced with Sam [Hughes]. I respect her a lot. She was a pioneer in the sport; she fought for the title. I would like to have that fight. So, when she is ready, I will be ready too,” Pinheiro said.

The rebooking makes a lot of sense for Pinheiro. A win over Penne could put her into the strawweight rankings, and a name like Penne’s would look very good on her resume.

Pinheiro plans on going back to Brazil for the holidays to see family, and then focus on her next fight.

Watch the rest of Luana Pinheiro’s UFC Vegas 43 post-fight interview above. More coverage from the event can be found below.