Brazil military police battalion to raffle off gun to help pay for surgery of Invicta FC fighter Faelly Vitoria

Brazilian strawweight prospect Faelly Vitoria needs to go under the knife to fix a complete ACL tear in her left knee before finally making her Invicta FC debut — and an unusual raffle will contribute to paying the costs for the procedure.

The military police battalion of Macapa, Brazil, is raffling a Taurus G2c .40 gun on May 31, and will give the fighter 50 percent of the money if she’s able to sell 1,000 tickets on her own. Each ticket costs R$ 10, which is less than two American dollars. If the winner doesn’t have a license to carry or possess a firearm, the person will pocket R$ 4,000 ($728).

“It’s a good prize,” Vitoria told MMA Fighting. “People look and be like, ‘Wow, a gun or R$4,000.’ It’s an interesting prize to raffle and get some money to pay for the surgery.”

Vitoria trains in a social project in Brazil funded by the local military police to help underprivileged kids through martial arts. She jokes that she would prefer to take the cash prize instead of the gun because of the costs of her life as a fighter. She also doesn’t have a license to carry or possess a gun.

Vitoria is 4-0 as an MMA fighter and 5-0 under kickboxing rules. She is managed by MMA legend Urijah Faber and Team Alpha Male coach Fabio Prado, and signed a deal with Invicta FC in late 2020. Invicta FC has only held four shows since, and Vitoria wasn’t able to make her international debut due to her injury and travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The strawweight prospect expects to make her first appearance inside the Invicta FC cage in the second half of 2022. Prado told MMA Fighting that Invicta FC has cleared her to compete in Brazil in the meantime, and Vitoria is scheduled to face Iranilde Lima at Black Glory MMA on March 12 before going under the knife later that month.