Valerie Loureda is an American mixed martial artist who fights under Bellator. She initially started her martial arts career in taekwondo, but her journey was cut short following her mother’s ill health. She began amateur fighting in 2018, but before that, she worked briefly as a waitress.
Her decision to pursue a career in martial arts comes from her family’s background in the sport. So far, she has 4 wins and has suffered the first defeat of her professional career to Hannah Guy in May 2021.
Who Is Valerie Loureda?
Valerie Loureda was born on the 19th day of July 1998 as one of the three children of her parents. She was raised alongside her two sisters by parents Mily and Frank Loureda in a family of martial arts enthusiasts. She is currently 26.
Valerie Loureda’s Family Background in Martial Arts
Her family has a background in martial arts. Her father Frank, is the owner of the Master Franks Taekwando Academy in Miami, which started running in 1985. He was passionate about the martial arts, particularly taekwondo and its transformative powers. As a grandmaster of his school, her father helped in changing the lives of several kids in the area instilling discipline and self-worth in them.
Her mother Mily is not left out. She challenged for her black belt while carrying Valerie in her womb in 1998. Though her father persuaded her to take up taekwondo, her mother wanted her to maintain a neutral ground by being feminine. She preferred her daughter to go beyond kicking her opponents to embracing herself as a girl and later as a woman.
So, Valerie incorporated both taekwondo and dance to build her flexible and fluid motions.
10 Intriguing Facts About Valerie Loureda
1. Her Mother Survived Myeloid Leukaemia
When she was 14, her mother was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia. It was discovered that 90 percent had developed in her bone marrow. The experience was traumatizing to Valerie and her family. In addition to the negative effect it had on her young taekwondo career, she played the role of a substitute mother to her sisters and a caretaker for her mother.
Three weeks after having her first chemo, Valerie’s mother relapsed. Her blood rejected all transfusions. And she wasn’t going to make it without a bone marrow transplant.
Subsequently, a donor was found in 2016, and a bone marrow transplant was done. And she survived.
2. Losses Her Grandfather to Covid-19
The MMA fighter took the first defeat of her career in May 2021 losing to Hannah Guy. According to her, she lost the fight because she lost her grandfather to Covid-19. Before the fight, she watched him die through plexiglass with her Bellator glove on his chest.
And that broke her heart because she couldn’t be there with him, and it didn’t feel okay. So, she spent most of her training time arranging his funeral. She forced herself to fight because a lot of pressure was coming from her fans.
It was tough for her to take her 4th professional fight under those unfortunate circumstances. Even though she couldn’t maintain her undefeated record, she didn’t regret taking the fight despite going through a rough patch at the time.
Notwithstanding, she saw the loss as an opportunity to improve her skills and fighting techniques. She has worked on her wrestling, grappling, and jiu-jitsu. She also changed her head coach to Thiago Alves.
She is now a completely different fighter.
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3. Her Desire to Become An MMA Fighter Was Ignited After Seeing A Woman MMA Fighter in the Cage
She realized that MMA is what she wanted to pursue after seeing it on TV for the first time. But, she didn’t know what it was at that time. She only knew it was cage fighting. Similarly, she had Goosebumps the first time she saw a woman MMA fighting in the cage. According to her, she looked at her sister Nancy and said she wished she could do that.
The following week, she joined a jiu-jitsu class and three years later, she became an MMA fighter. However, her gut was telling her from the very first moment that she was born to be one.
4. She Was A Kickboxing Teacher Before Her Contract With Bellator
Valeria was teaching kickboxing before her contract. To her, before going into MMA as a woman, start with boxing, kickboxing, and a healthy diet. To go the extra mile, a lit bit of wrestling is not bad.
5. She Has Nutrition Rules
Her nutrition is based on vitamins and supplements. She eats healthy and doesn’t consume a lot of carbs. However, she is much more disciplined when it comes to her vitamins and blood work.
She works out daily and uses Vital Performance Recover for her every workout. She also loves guava lime. She always does this after every training to keep herself at optimum levels for the next. The amino acids help her body to recover.
6. How Rich Is She?
The American MMA fighter earned a decent amount from her MMA career. She earned the biggest money of her career in the fight with Guy. She reportedly made $70, 000 from the fight, which included a sponsorship fee of about $40, 000.
Similarly, she earned a total of $50, 000 and $35, 000 from her fights with Tara Graff and Larkyn Dasch in 2020 and 2019 respectively. She also made $30, 000 from her fight with Colby Fletcher in 2019.
Different sources have given different sources for net worth, which should be close to a million dollars. She recently bought a house for herself.
7. How Tall is She?
Valerie Loureda is not quite tall. She stands at a height of 5 feet 4inches (1.63m) and has a body weight of 57kg (127lbs).
8. Valerie Loureda has a boyfriend
The taekwondo specialist is said to be dating Donovan People-Jones, an American football wide receiver and return specialist for the Cleveland browns of the national football league(NFL).
The couple reportedly made their relationship public on Instagram in June 2021 even though they had been dating for a while before announcing it. The couple does not shy away from flaunting their photos together on social media.
9. She was accused of using “sex” to find fame in the MMA
The 26-year-old was accused of portraying the wrong message to her fans through a striptease video she released by UFC star Macy Chiasson. The video clip showed the fighter dancing to the camera in her training wear.
The two were engaged in a word war on social media for a while before they both cooled off.
10. She became a homeowner at the age of 22
View this post on Instagram
As part of her achievements, Valerie took to her Instagram handle to share her success in life. In the caption of the post, she revealed how hard work and discipline have helped her transition from a waitress to an amateur in 2018 and then to a homeowner in 2021.
Complete profile of Valerie Loureda
| Valerie Loureda | |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Valerie Loureda |
| Date of Birth | 19 July 1998 |
| Age | 26 year-old |
| Zodiac Sign | Cancer |
| Birth place | Miami, Florida, United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Fran Taekwondo Academy |
| Profession | Mixed Martial Artist |
| Father | Frank Loureda |
| Mother | Mily |
| Siblings | 2sisters |
| Marital Status | Single |
| Spouse/Partner | NA |
| Boyfriend | Donovan People-Jones |
| Kids | NA |
| Religion | NA |
| Estimated Net Worth: | NA |
| Source of net worth | Martial Art career |
| Height | 5feet4inches(1.63m) |
| Weight | 57 kg |
| Eye color | Black |
| Hair color | Brown |
| Social media | Instagram YouTube |
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