Alice Pereira to become youngest woman to fight in UFC at UFC Noche

Alice Pereira will become the youngest woman in UFC history when she makes her promotional debut against Montserrat Rendon at UFC Noche in San Antonio, Texas, on Saturday.

Pereira will be 19 years, eight months and 24 days old on fight night, edging past the previous record held by South Korea's Chan Mi Jeon, who was 19 years, nine months and 13 days old when she debuted in 2017. Pereira, 6-0 as a professional, has finished five of the six opponents she has faced and signed with the UFC in December.

"That was the intention. I had that ambition from the start, the dream of being the youngest girl," Pereira said in an interview with MMA Fighting. "From the moment I realised the UFC wasn't such a distant dream, I started to get ambitious. I set out goals, and one of the goals was to be the youngest girl in the UFC. It felt great that I had achieved this, that my prediction became true."

Her opponent, Montserrat Rendon, is 17 years her senior and has a mixed start to her UFC tenure with one win and one defeat since debuting in 2023. Pereira's entry into the organisation continues a recent trend of very young talent reaching the promotion; Mexican-American Raul Rosas Jr. became the youngest fighter ever to debut in the UFC at 18 years, two months and two days in 2022.

Pereira's rise follows a rapid ascent through regional promotions in Brazil, where she compiled an unbeaten record and established a reputation for finishing fights. The 19-year-old competes at bantamweight and fights under the nickname "Golden Girl." Her contract with the UFC was confirmed in December, setting up her San Antonio appearance as her first opportunity on the sport's biggest stage.

UFC Noche is being staged for the third time and is themed around Mexico, timed to coincide with the country's independence day celebrations. The event is headlined by a featherweight contest between Brazilians Diego Lopes and Jean Silva and features a card built to showcase fighters with ties to Mexico and Latin America.

Historically, the UFC has seen similarly young stars make rapid impacts: Jon Jones became the youngest-ever UFC champion when he defeated Mauricio Rua for the light-heavyweight title in 2011 at age 23. Pereira's debut will test whether her unbeaten record and finishing ability translate to the highest level of mixed martial arts competition.

The fight card in San Antonio is scheduled for Saturday local time, when Pereira will aim to convert her pre-fight ambition into a landmark debut and further build on a career that has so far featured six straight wins and five stoppages.