Victoria Souza Receives Vote of Confidence After Training With Amanda Ribas

ONE Championship newcomer Victoria Souza is entering into her debut in the world’s largest martial arts organization full of confidence, especially since she recently received a huge vote of confidence from a close friend’s father and coach.

“I trained with Amanda Ribas for a week during one of her training camps…I loved training with Amanda. Her father, Marcelo Ribas, invited me to train with her,” Souza said in a recent interview with ONE Championship.

“He was very impressed with my skills. He told me that I was ready for the big stage, that I have the fighting ability and the weapons to shine. That meant a lot to me and boosted my confidence.”

The undefeated 24-year-old will need all the confidence she can get, as she takes on a rising young star, teenage phenom Victoria “The Prodigy” Lee in her next contest.

Souza makes her ONE Championship debut opposite Lee at ONE: Revolution, set to broadcast live from the Singapore Indoor Stadium this Friday, September 24.

For the Brazilian mixed martial arts upstart, the journey to ONE Championship has been a dream come true.

“I was training one day and they showed some live ONE Championship events on the TV sets at the gym. I watched and it hooked me almost instantly. I just loved how the production was and all the fights,” Souza said.

“I love everything about ONE. I was a fan before I even joined ONE. Also, I think the rules are perfect. There are knees [to grounded opponents], everything is perfect. It is my dream to join this organization.”

However, the truth of the matter is, no one expects Souza to beat Lee in her ONE debut. But if she can somehow pull it off, it will certainly send shockwaves throughout the community. 

There’s obviously a lot of hype surrounding Lee, given that the 17-year-old does come from a prestigious martial arts family. Win or lose, though, Souza is happy she’s among the best fighters in the world at ONE, and feels she’s right where she belongs.

“I can say, I’ve been a long time fan of ONE Championship and Asian culture. I’m very happy to be a part of the ONE Championship family. I think ONE treats their athletes very well. They’re very careful with the athletes’ health and weight,” Souza said.

ONE: Revolution broadcasts live from the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Friday, September 24. Christian “The Warrior” Lee defends his ONE lightweight world title against #3-ranked lightweight Ok Rae Yoon in the main event.

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