LAS VEGAS – Julia Avila knew going into her fight against Jacqueline Cavalcanti at UFC Fight Night 251 this past Saturday it was going to be her final fight.
But that didn’t make things any less emotional within the aftermath. Cavalcanti (9-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) beat Avila (9-4 MMA, 3-3 UFC) with a unanimous decision on the preliminary card on the UFC Apex and sent her into retirement on a loss.
Cavalcanti was a 10-1 favorite within the fight, but Avila said the pains of coaching played their part well before Saturday.
“I remember one time after a tough training session, it was really difficult for me to choose up my daughter,” Avila said after her loss at a post-fight news conference. “We just sat down on the bottom and cried because I couldn’t lift her up. I used to be so injured and I knew it was time then.”
Her daughter now could have her mom around more often, too – one other major factor, Avila said. She joined her on the table.
“I’m taking time away from watching her grow up. The cash, the energy, the time – z just don’t have enough of it,” Avila said. “I even have to choose from being a mother and an athlete, and her needs far outweigh my dreams. It was time to place another person as an alternative of me.”
Avila, from Los Angeles, will turn 37 in May. She turned pro in 2012, but didn’t start fighting often until 2016. Although she never was in title contention within the UFC’s women’s bantamweight division, her resume includes wins over Marion Reneau, Nicco Montano, Pannie Kianzad and Gina Mazany.
Try Avila’s full post-fight interview within the video above.
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