Juliana
Velasquez is unfazed by a last-minute change in opponent in the
Professional Fighters League flyweight tournament.
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The former Bellator champion was originally supposed to face
Taila
Santos in a first-round matchup on Friday at Universal Studios
in Orlando, Florida. However, on Monday the promotion announced
Santos had pulled out of the bout and would be replaced by Ekaterina
Shakalova.
“When you participate in a grand prix, you know that these kind of
short-notice opponent changes are part of the game,” Velasquez told
Sherdog.com “In my daily routine at Team Nogueira, I train mostly
with men — big ones, small ones, strikers, grapplers. That’s what
MMA is all about. Of course against Ekaterina I´ll change my
strategy a little bit. But I’m ready for any girl in my
division.”
The Brazilian is coming off a TKO win over American Lisa Maudin,
but before that positive result, Juliana was coming from a
sequence of three defeats to Liz
Carmouche — twice in Bellator and once in the PFL. Velasquez is
eager to have another chance against the 41-year-old-veteran.
“For the experience she has, I believe Carmouche will be my
opponent in the final,” Velasquez said. “But this time the result
will be different. I´m training harder than ever and I’m really
focused on my goal. I know exactly where I want to be and how hard
I´m able to train to reach the PFL 2025 [tournament] title.”