Brazil’s Alice Pereira is set to become the youngest woman in history to fight in the UFC.

Pereira will be 19 years, eight months and 24 days old when she faces Mexican bantamweight Montserrat Rendon at UFC Noche in San Antonio, Texas, on Saturday.

She beats the previous record set by South Korea’s Chan Mi Jeon, who was 19 years, nine months and 13 days old when she debuted in 2017.

“That was the intention. I had that ambition from the start, the dream of being the youngest girl,” Pereira told MMA Fighting. , external

“From the moment I realised the UFC wasn’t such a distant dream, I started to get ambitious. I set out goals, and one of the goals was to be the youngest girl in the UFC.

“It felt great that I had achieved this, that my prediction became true.”

Pereira, who has won the first six fights of her career and is nicknamed the ‘Golden Girl’, signed a contract with the UFC in December.

In Rendon, Pereira is facing someone 17 years her senior who has one win and one defeat since her UFC debut in 2023.

The youngest fighter in UFC history is Mexican-American Raul Rosas Jr, who was 18 years, two months and two days old when he debuted in 2022.

American Jon Jones became the youngest champion in UFC history when he beat Mauricio Rua in 2011 for the light-heavyweight title, aged 23.

UFC Noche, which is being held for the third time, is an event dedicated to Mexico celebrating the country’s independence day.

The card is headlined by a featherweight contest between Brazilian pair Diego Lopes and Jean Silva.