London, England — At UFC London, Victoria Leonardo finally earned her first UFC victory, after enduring back-to-back losses inside the octagon.
And back-to-back broken arms.
That unlikely turn of events had Leonardo (9-4) thanking her team, her husband (who doubles as her coach), training partner Andrea “KGB” Lee, and her surgeon. Who actually made the flight to England, accompanying the Louisiana native.
“My doctor came with me, he’s actually my surgeon who operated on my arm, so I definitely wouldn’t be here without him,” Leonardo revealed following her win over Mandy Bohm at the O2 Arena on Saturday night.
The fight itself, said Leonardo, was “pretty much how I expected it. I did expect her to be a little bit more evasive maybe. When I watched her fight with [Ariane] Lipski, she was very mobile on the outskirts of the cage, and I thought I would have to work harder to close the distance, being the one with the shorter reach. But she came to me a lot, and that really helped.”
The pressure of having back-to-back losses was definitely felt by the American, who entered hostile territory in Europe to secure her first UFC win.
“Absolutely. Of course it’s been on my mind. I came back from two back-to-back broken arms. But it also helped me feel like I finally get to show what I have to offer tonight. Very unlikely, like what are the odds that I break it three times in a row?”
Slim to none, thankfully. No broken arm, just her arm being raised was the end result for Leonardo. Who expressed just how grateful she was for the chance to shine.
“All the glory to God, because he gave me the mental strength to be able to do that. It’s kind of hard to come back from that, but I feel good. I feel grateful that I had the chance to show what I can really do. Or part of what I can do, I feel like I’m still learning and I can definitely get better.”
Watch the full UFC London post-fight press scrum with Victoria Leonardo above.
