Ilara Joanne developed her identity early in the process.
The Brazilian started her formal martial arts training in capoeira at the age of 10, moved to muay thai and jiu-jitsu at 14 and gravitated to MMA as soon at was available to her. Joanne made her professional debut two months after her 19th birthday and, interestingly enough, started her career 0-2 with back-to-back losses to Viviane Pereira and Priscila de Souza. Adversity mattered not.
“One thing led to another,” Joanne told Sherdog.com. “After I had my first fight, I decided this was what I wanted for the rest of my life.