Karol Rosa will open the show against Lina Lansberg at Saturday’s highly-anticipated UFC 280 card.
The Brazilian is confident she can rebound from a loss to Sara McMann in her last outing to continue her rise in the bantamweight division.
“I had four straight wins until my last fight,” Rosa told Sherdog.com. “I know Lina likes to fight on her feet and so do I. She is coming off two straight defeats, I am coming off one, but I don't feel pressure. I'm really hungry to get back in the win column.”
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If she is victorious against Lansberg, Rosa already has her next potential opponent in mind.
“I really wanted to fight Raquel Pennington. She's fifth in the [UFC] rankings and it would be a good fight for me because her fighting style fits well with mine. But she already has a fight scheduled [against Ketlen Vieira]. So, I have in mind Pannie Kianzad, who is above me [ranked seventh] and I'm sure it would be a great fight fight too.”
The Parana Vale Tudo fighter will be missing head trainer Gilliard Parana in her corner at UFC 280. Parana could not travel to Abu Dhabi due to personal issues, but Rosa says his absence will not affect her performance.
“This will be the first time without my master Parana,” Rosa said. “I'm sad because he won't be there, but he trusts me and I'll win for us. And, of course, I will dedicate the victory to him.”
Rosa will be cornered by PRVT head coach Daniel Oliveira, muay thai coach Antonucio Conceição and physical trainer Marcos Menezes, all of whom are traveling from Rio de Janeiro. Rosa was initially scheduled to leave Las Vegas on Sunday and arrive in Abu Dhabi on Monday night, but a flight cancellation altered those plans.
“I was supposed to go from Las Vegas to Chicago and from there, to Abu Dhabi,” she said. “With the flight canceled, now I'm going to London and I'll only arrive in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday. But those troubles just motivate me more. Nothing in my life is easy.”
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