LAS VEGAS – Julia Avila knew going into her struggle in opposition to Jacqueline Cavalcanti at UFC Struggle Evening 251 this previous Saturday it was going to be her closing struggle.
However that didn’t make issues any much less emotional within the aftermath. Cavalcanti (9-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) beat Avila (9-4 MMA, 3-3 UFC) with a unanimous resolution on the preliminary card on the UFC Apex and despatched her into retirement on a loss.
Cavalcanti was a 10-1 favourite within the struggle, however Avila stated the pains of coaching performed their half properly earlier than Saturday.
“I keep in mind one time after a tough coaching session, it was actually troublesome for me to select up my daughter,” Avila stated after her loss at a post-fight information convention. “We simply sat down on the bottom and cried as a result of I couldn’t raise her up. I used to be so injured and I knew it was time then.”
Her daughter now can have her mother round extra typically, too – one other main issue, Avila stated. She joined her on the desk.
“I’m taking time away from watching her develop up. The cash, the power, the time – z simply don’t have sufficient of it,” Avila stated. “I’ve to decide on between being a mom and an athlete, and her wants far outweigh my desires. It was time to place another person as a substitute of me.”
Avila, from Los Angeles, will flip 37 in Might. She turned professional in 2012, however didn’t begin combating commonly till 2016. Though she by no means was in title rivalry within the UFC’s ladies’s bantamweight division, her resume consists of wins over Marion Reneau, Nicco Montano, Pannie Kianzad and Gina Mazany.
Take a look at Avila’s full post-fight interview within the video above.
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