Aline Pereira, sister of former UFC two-division champion Alex Pereira, has missed out on a UFC contract after losing on Dana White’s Contender Series.
The former kickboxer was hoping to follow her brother into the UFC, but she lost a unanimous decision to Sweden’s Smilla Sundell. The 36-year-old Brazilian was overwhelmed by Sundell’s pressure and the volume of her punches. It leaves her with three wins and three losses in MMA since turning professional in 2022. Her last win came in May on the undercard of Ronda Rousey v Gina Carano on Netflix.
Sundell, 21, didn’t get an immediate offer. After the fight, White said he was unsure about signing her because of her inexperience, before his team convinced him.
“I was scared but I believe everything happens for a reason and I’m really happy it worked out,” said Sundell.
Pereira’s 39-year-old brother, Alex, is one of the most successful fighters in UFC history, with titles at middleweight and light-heavyweight. In June he tried to become the first fighter to win a belt in a third division, but he lost to heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane, per BBC Sport.
Elsewhere, Dana White hit back at Sean Strickland’s claim that UFC fighters aren’t paid enough. He pointed out that the middleweight champion signed a new contract in May. Last week, Strickland said his “heart isn’t in MMA anymore” and that he’d prefer to move to boxing because there’s “more money to be made”.
“When isn’t Sean Strickland upset about something or doesn’t have something to say?” said White.
“Sean Strickland just signed a new contract in May. It is what it is.”
“If we were in a situation where he’d been under the same contract for a year, two years, but he just signed a contract in May.”
