From Accounting to MMA: The story of MMA Fighter Victoria Souza

Victoria Souza is a Brazilian MMA fighter.

Souza appeared to be bound for a career crunching statistics in the office, but an unintentional encounter with martial arts transformed her life forever.

Souza was born in 1997 in Florianópolis, Brazil, to a busy family that included her mother, father, grandparents, and uncles. "Vick" adored every minute of her parents' supposedly frantic existence, but she moved away when her younger sister was born.

Yet, she was nurtured by a loving family, had all she needed as a youngster, and had a wonderful childhood.

“My mother was a housewife and my father was starting to work in his own accounting firm. Everything was a little more difficult [during that period], but nothing was ever lacking for me or my sister. I never went through any kind of need in my childhood,” she said in an interview with ONE Championship.

While her parents divorced when she was 13, Souza had no academic or social problems as a result of it. She had two more younger siblings on her mother's side, and life at school went on as usual.

Becoming an Accountant

She succeeded in her studies and laid the groundwork for a career in a solid vocation, following in her father's footsteps as an accountant.

Souza sped through her examinations and majored in accounting in college. She was also working on the job at the same time to gain first-hand experience.

This was a heavy burden, and by her late teens, "Vick" recognised she needed a method to get away from the daily grind. She liked the notion of dancing her worries away, so she went to a local gym that offered Zumba sessions with a buddy. But then her path went another path.

“Work stressed me out a lot because accounting is stressful, so I wanted to do something to alleviate that stress. Me and another co-worker went to a gym that had a sign advertising dance classes. When we arrived at the gym, there was no dancing, only Muay Thai and jiu-jitsu. Then, I ended up enrolling in Muay Thai,” she recalled.

Breaking into competition and ONE Championship debut

After a while of training at the gym, one of the professional fighters urged her to try out some sparring, which started the ball moving for Souza.

The rush of sparring gradually morphed into a desire to compete.

Souza began her career in kickboxing, where she won numerous regional, national, and Pan-American titles. The new motivation for the Double Attack representative was getting her hand raised, and accounting seemed much less gratifying after that.

Although she knew what she wanted, convincing others that pursuing MMA was the best option was difficult.

In reality, Souza's parents were wary about the job, knowing that it could be dangerous. "Vick," on the other hand, was resolved to follow her heart.

Souza's big break came when she joined with ONE Championship and faced the late Victoria Lee at ONE: REVOLUTION in September 2021, after having success on the Brazilian MMA scene.

Though her opponent's exceptional submission skills helped her win that night, the experience convinced "Vick" that this was the vocation for her, despite the ups and downs.

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