Monique Bastos used her jiu-jitsu skills to stop a robbery in September, and that earned her a shot at Jungle Fight.
The 115-pound mixed martial artist locked a triangle choke to stop Wesley Sousa de Araujo from stealing her and her friend’s phones in Acailandia, Brazil, holding him on the ground for 15 minutes until the police came.
Right after the video of the entire scene was posted online, and watched by millions around the world, Bastos, who claims to hold 5-3 MMA record while Sherdog lists her as 0-3, received an offer from Jungle Fight.
"Right after everything happened, my coach called me saying he got me a fight, so I was really thankful to God and Wallid Ismail for the opportunity to show my work," Bastos told MMAFighting.com. "I never thought all of this could happen. It happened, and God opened doors for me so I could fight at Jungle Fight."
Back in September, Bastos explained to MMAFighting.com how she managed to stop the thief.
"I was going to my jiu-jitsu training when they arrived on a motorcycle and said they wanted our phones," Bastos said. "I tried to hold my phone, and I realized they were not armed. When they tried to escape, I lifted the rear wheel of the bike and they fell on the ground. The guy who took my phone ran away, but I was able to get the other one."
Bastos is scheduled to take on Jennifer Gonzales at Saturday’s Jungle Fight 82 in Sao Paulo, and moved from Maranhao to Sao Paulo to train with the likes of UFC featherweight Charles Oliveira at Bronx Gold Team.
"Training was perfect. I’m on weight, waiting for Saturday night," she said. "(Gonzales) has a good striking, so I worked on that, but I’m well prepared standing and on the ground."
Jungle Fight 82 will be headlined by Ciro Rodrigues (18-5) putting his lightweight title on the line against Eric Barbosa (16-7), while Bruno Cappelozza takes on Sergio Bezerra for the vacant 220-pound championship in the co-main event. Completing the trio of title bouts, Amanda Lemos vs. Caroline Cunha crowns the new women’s bantamweight champion.
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