Bricklayer turned fighter, Tamires Vidal wants to drop jaws and win second UFC bonus to buy 'house of my dreams'

23/09/2023 17:00

Tamires Vidal was making from $10 to $20 a day working as a bricklayer in Niteroi, Brazil, while juggling her job with MMA training to fight professionally, when the call came to fight Ramona Pascual in the UFC. Vidal landed a vicious knee to the body to win by knockout in Las Vegas and pocket a $50,000 performance bonus.

"Everything changed," Vidal said on this week's episode of MMA Fighting podcast Trocação Franca ahead of Saturday's UFC clash with Montserrat Rendon in Las Vegas. "I was working in construction and was making very little under the hot sun, but still went to the gym every day to work hard and train. I had willpower because I knew I would get there one day."

After building so many houses, Vidal was able to finally buy her own "thanks to God and the UFC for opening the doors for me."

"Those who work in construction make so little per day and dream of one day having your own house and I was able to turn it into reality," she said. "With my hard work and daily training, I know I will be able to make all my dreams come true. It's not the house of my dreams, but I'll have that one day."

Vidal hopes to one day buy a bigger house with nice garden, pool, and enough space to welcome family and friends — and a car and a motorcycle in the garage.

"We have to dream big," she said with a smile.

Vidal's head coach convinced her to stop working as a bricklayer after the successful UFC debut to avoid injuries, and she's still in shock to hear that her job now is to be "a UFC fighter." Vidal had similar shock when Pascual went down in November 2022, and it took her a few seconds to realized that the referee was waving off the fight to award her the victory.

"I had no idea what had happened, to tell you the truth," Vidal said. "I won, I put on a show, a flying knee. When the fight was over I thought, 'What did I do? Did I do something wrong?' I was in shock. … I've always wondered if my hands were heavy, if I would knock someone out one day, and I think God saved it for my UFC debut, to drive people crazy and level everybody's mouths open."

Vidal vs. Rendon will be featured on the undercard of UFC Vegas 79 at the UFC APEX, and the Brazilian said "I belong at the top." Rendon is 5-0 as a professional with wins under the Invicta FC and Combate Global banners, but Vidal thinks she's the has the tools to stop her by knockout or submission.

"I know I will have a lot to show, I'm still young and there are many women I want to fight in my division," Vidal said. "It's all on God's time. I'll show my talent one bit at a time, and if God wants, this bonus will be mine. I love fighting, and I can't wait to do what I love again."