Dream Catcher

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Sometimes, dreams come true. Ask Tamires Vidal, a 24-year-old Brazilian prospect who makes her Ultimate Fighting Championship debut in a matter of days.

“When I was a child, I had three goals,” Vidal told Sherdog.com. “I wished to be a soccer player, I wished to be a firefighter and I wished to get into the UFC. Today, I know that I made it, although it’s still hard to believe. Those who said that I wouldn’t make it will see that anything is possible. My gym family always believed in me and supported me. My mother said I should have been a street sweeper, just like her, but today, she says she is proud of me. It makes me feel good that I made it, despite everyone who didn’t believe in me.”

Vidal will set foot inside the Octagon for the first time when she meets Ramona Pascual as part of the UFC Fight Night 214 undercard on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. It marks the end of one road and the beginning of another for the bantamweight hopeful.

“I’ll arrive in the UFC, and everyone will know who ‘Tratora’ is [afterward],” Vidal said. “I’ll show the kids that if you come from the favela, you can still make it.”

A confrontation with Pascual looks like something of a soft landing on paper. The 34-year-old Syndicate MMA rep has suffered back-to-back losses since joining the UFC roster, dropping decisions to Josiane Nunes and Joselyne Edwards. Time will soon tell whether Vidal can capitalize on the opportunity.

“I studied my opponent closely,” she said. “I saw her flaws and errors. Everyone know who I am—my origins, my determination. I’m focused on winning. No one will stop me. No one will tell me I can’t reach my goals. No one can tell me that I won’t be making history. I will.”

Vidal enters the cage with momentum on her side. The Team Brothers export has rattled off five consecutive victories and last competed in March, when she submitted Queila Pereira Americo Braga with a second-round heel hook under the Legacy Fighting Alliance banner. It served as a steppingstone to the UFC, providing Vidal with some reassurance that she was ready for a big-league call-up.

“LFA was a great door that opened in my life,” she said. “It’s the path to greater promotions like the UFC or Bellator [MMA]. I was very happy. I dedicated myself to training hard while still working in construction. I leveled up. That fight made me stronger. It let me know that children from poor communities can also reach their goals, whatever they may be. With that fight, the doors to the UFC opened up to me.”

As Vidal approaches the most significant moment of her career to date, she admits she has a difficult time wrapping her arms around all that has happened.

“Many said that I wouldn’t make it,” she said. “When I was younger, even my mother said I wouldn’t make it. I lowered my head and started to cry. Then I realized that no one can tell me what I cannot do. I just need willpower and to follow God. It was a childhood dream. All fighters have this dream. Today, to be representing Brazil, my hometown and my origin—that’s an honor. It’s still hard to believe. Once I get there, I will know it’s real.”