Las Vegas, NV — The second time turned out to be the charm for Julia Polastri, who won her way into the UFC on Tuesday care of her second appearance on Dana White’s Contender Series.
Polastri (12-3) earned a submission win over Patricia Alujas at the UFC Apex two years on from her first outing on the show, which saw her come up just short against current UFC standout Jasmine Jasudavicius.
In that first DWCS fight, Polastri had moved up to flyweight; this Tuesday, she fought stuck with her more natural strawweight weight class.
Following her initial appearance on the show, Polastri was able to build on the experience. “I think I grew a lot in my personal life since the fight, and I needed to learn [so] many things that I hadn’t an idea [about] in that time,” the Brazilian told media outlets including Cageside Press backstage at the UFC Apex. “Learning all those things clearly made all the difference right now, because I think I’m a person with the mind in the right place now.”
Polastri knew she needed to show “all my potential, all I’ve got to get the contract, and that’s what I did.”
Looking ahead to her eventual UFC debut, 25-year old Polastri stated she’d like to fight this year, but needs a bit of time off before getting back to work.
“I’d really like to fight this year yet, but now I’m going to have a break of about one or two weeks to relax a little,” she stated. “I came to a very long camp, since the beginning of the year, and I’m going to take that break. But I’m ready to— when they need me, I’m here, and I’m hoping I can make a fight before the year is finished.”
Old DWCS rival Jasudavicius fights this weekend at Noche UFC, and the idea of a rematch was brought up backstage. There’s one problem with that suggestion, Polastri noted, though she did not dismiss the possibility entirely.
“She’s a different weight class than mine, and I don’t know if I fit very well [in] flyweight,” said Polastri. “But if there’s a chance, I would be proud to do the fight of course.”
Watch the full DWCS 62 post-fight media scrum with Julia Polastri above.
