UFC veteran Pearl Gonzalez returns to action next month at Invicta FC 29 and she’ll be facing Barbara Acioly on that night.
The UFC vet made her promotional debut at Invicta FC 28 and she defeated Kali Robbins on that night, but the fighter knows adjustments need to be made before Invicta FC 29.
“I was satisfied with it, but I think I can do better. There are some things that I have been working on already, to make some adjustments and improvements. I’m grateful for the win and I’m grateful for the opportunity, I had a good time in there and I’m ready to do it again,” Gonzalez said in an exclusive interview with Fightful’s James Lynch.
Gonzalez did go winless during her tenure in the UFC though, dropping bouts to the duo of Cynthia Calvillo and Poliana Botelho.
A huge change for the fighter heading into Invicta FC 29 is that she’ll be competing at flyweight instead of strawweight, but Gonzalez will only stay at flyweight if it is worth it in the long run.
“I’ve been back on my diet, I took a week off and I ate everything you could imagine…I did not feel very well the week after. I’ve been back on my diet since, just training really hard and my weight is amazing. I’m under ten pounds and I’ve been under two pounds for two weeks now. Its really amazing that I can go into this fight now walking and eating and not having to starve myself and not focusing on just the weight cut. I think this is a big test for me, we don’t know the effects yet on weight cutting or the long term effects of weight cutting…especially for women and our reproductive system. Its very important for me to try this out and see how I feel walking into a fight extremely healthy and fully fed and not overworked. I’m testing the waters to see if the weight cut is really worth it,” says Gonzalez.
Invicta FC 29 takes place on Friday, May 4 from the Scottish Rite Temple in Kansas City, Missouri with Sarah Kaufman and Katharina Lehner headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, which airs live on UFC Fight Pass.
