‘I’m there to do one thing, and it’s to kill’: Bellator siren Loureda promises violence in upcoming MMA showdown with Hannah Guy

22-year-old MMA star Valerie Loureda has already turned some heads in her undefeated run through Bellator. But as she prepares to face her latest challenge, she also says that she is eyeing the 'Dancing with the Stars' title.

Miami native Loureda, who is of Cuban extraction, has enjoyed a perfect 3-0 start to her professional career under the Bellator banner but is set for a stern test of her credentials at the promotion's event in Connecticut on Friday against the 2-1 Hannah Guy. 

Loureda has become something of a pinup girl in mixed martial arts circles since she went viral last year for performing a dance in the cage shortly after knocking out Tara Graff - but Loureda says that she is a book that you certainly cannot judge by its cover.

"When I get into the cage, I’m there to do one thing – and it’s to kill," Loureda told MMA Fighting.

Cubanitas are built different ???????????? pic.twitter.com/QiuF4NxeSf

— Valerie Loureda (@valerielouredaa) May 20, 2021

pic.twitter.com/8FW1Us0sy2

— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) August 8, 2020

"Once it happens, I turn back into myself. And the dancing is pettiness, because no one wants me to do Tik Toks and this and that bothers everybody, so I’m going to dance in your face."

Such was the media frenzy brought on by her dance, she says she was approached by talent agents and producers – with one company even approaching her to star in her own reality series.

But Loureda wasn't interested and turned down every approach for fear it would collide with her focus on her MMA career.

pic.twitter.com/rwR9zyjQzi

— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) August 8, 2020

"I was like, ‘Hold on, I’m going to be a little patient, because I’m 22 years old and, right now, I still need to focus 100 percent of my time into training.

"When I’m training, I’m training 100 percent. I’m a completely different person than I am outside of the gym. When I feel like the moment is right, I’m going to do something crazy different," Loureda explained.

One potential avenue for something which would be "crazy different" would be a fulfilment of her long-held ambition to be a contestant on the popular television series 'Dancing with the Stars' – the same show which catapulted her women's MMA peer Paige VanZant to superstardom.

Until that day comes, though, Loureda is content on the path that she says will make her one of the most famous female athletes on the planet.

"I told them I’m going to be the most recognized and most influential woman in the world if you give me the opportunity – and they did," she said.

"I brought in a new market: the Hispanic market, Miami, everybody knows who Bellator is, so right now I’m very happy.

"I always give back to those who believed in me when I was nothing and I had no followers, and I’m going to keep doing the same thing and blow it up."

Also on rt.com