Hong Kong MMA star Ramona Pascual gets taste of the UFC life, and says ‘it’s just a matter of time’
- Pascual is helping to prepare Na Liang for the Chinese strawweight’s debut at UFC 261 in Jacksonville
- ‘All my chips are in, but I gotta take it one step at a time,’ insists bantamweight after moving to Las Vegas to pursue UFC dream
Hong Kong’s Ramona Pascual will be closer than ever to the UFC this week – without actually stepping inside the Octagon.
The 32-year-old bantamweight prospect is in Jacksonville, Florida this week to help prepare her fellow former UFC China Academy star Na Liang for the Chinese strawweight’s promotional debut on Saturday night’s stacked UFC 261 card.
“Dragon Girl” will kick off the festivities in the opening bout of the prelims against Ariane Camelossi (12-2) at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena.
“It’s very exciting for her to be the first female from the UFC Academy to get signed with the UFC and be able to show the world the talent that China MMA has,” Pascual told SCMP MMA.
“The sky is the limit. Her grappling is on another level as everybody’s seen, and her striking is getting up there. She has a lot of power, a lot of athleticism, and she’s only going to get better.”
Pascual (4-2) is relishing the big fight week experience, having made a huge shift since leaving her home city – via a couple of stints at the UFC’s Shanghai Performance Institute – to move to the fight capital of the world in Las Vegas, Nevada.