Even though Valerie Loureda is in a cast, her anticipation of a summer 2021 return hasn’t waned.
In a recent Instagram story, Loureda (3-1 MMA, 3-1 BMMA) revealed she suffered torn ligaments in her right arm – the limb that her opponent Hannah Guy torqued multiple times last Friday at Bellator 259. Though she survived Guy’s lengthy submission attempts, Loureda lost a unanimous decision – the first defeat of her professional career.
Despite the injury and the loss, Loureda is optimistic she will recover quickly and voiced a sense of relief having gone through the adversity of a mid-fight injury. At 22, Loureda indicated the best is yet to come.
“I feel like a real f*cking fighter now,” Loureda said in the since-expired Instagram story. “Try being in that submission with your arm basically broken for like three minutes and not tapping out. I feel like a real fighter now. I fought on the ground, you know? I’m 22. This is just the beginning. I’ve had so much fun. I want to fight again like, right away – like, in two months. I just have some ligament damage, but I’m good, man.”
Currently, Bellator has one event scheduled for July 16 at Mohegan Sun Arena. The promotion’s schedule beyond that is unknown, but company president Scott Coker has said he intends for Bellator to hold two events per month for the remainder of 2021.
Loureda was booked twice in 2019 and twice in 2020, though one of the latter fights fell through when she suffered an undisclosed injury. The loss to Guy (3-1 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) was Loureda’s first fight of 2021.