Sabina Mazo well aware of UFC implications ahead of LFA title fight

Sabina Mazo understands what could come with a convincing win in her next MMA bout.

The Colombian fighter, who’s considered by many to be one of the brightest Latin American prospects in women’s MMA, will be vying for the vacant women’s flyweight title at Friday’s LFA 37 show in Sioux Falls, S.D. The 21-year-old Mazo will be taking on Shannon Sinn in the co-main event of the card.

“The Colombian Queen” is currently unbeaten in her professional MMA run with a 4-0 record that includes two first-round head-kick knockout wins. The fight with Sinn will be the first time Mazo competes for a belt in career.

Yet, despite being a first for her, Mazo doesn’t feel the novelty.

“No, sincerely, I think that this fight is like any other fight,” Mazo told MMA Fighting. “I give all my fights the same importance, the same intensity, the same amount of work, whether it’s for a title or not. I never take a fight lightly or underestimate an opponent. So yeah, it’s just another fight for my career. That the title is on the line is just a plus.”

Mazo and Sinn will be competing for the LFA strap that was vacated by Andrea Lee after Lee got the call to sign with the UFC.

Being undefeated and coming off back-to-back viral head-kick knockout victories, Mazo understands that she too could very well be called up to the big leagues if successful at LFA 37.

“Yeah, obviously,” Mazo said. “I think that that opportunity is there and it could be. And like I’ve said, I have my mind open, and after getting the title it’s possible that I might take the step there. It’s the best event that there is, so it’s a goal of mine for the future.

“But the main focus at this moment is the belt, the fight. Right now, I’m focused on the fight and anything that comes after that will come, whether it’s the UFC or defending my title. So the possibilities will present themselves, but at this moment it’s the fight, capture my title, and then see what comes next — whether it’s defending it or take the step to the UFC.”

Mazo, who trains out of Kings MMA in California, is just 21 years old and still working her way through college. She has only been fighting professionally for three years, but she already feels ready to compete in the UFC if given the opportunity.

“I feel ready,” Mazo explained. “I’m going to go for my title and after this fight, physically and mentally, I feel ready to go to the UFC. But as I said, other opportunities can present themselves, whether it’s another event or fighting for another company, but I’m always ready to listen to new opportunities and new paths. So right now I do feel ready to go to the UFC, but my focus is on the fight here at LFA.”

Given everything that’s on the line on Friday night, it seems more than obvious that this is the biggest fight in Mazo’s young fighting career. However, Mazo doesn’t really like to see it that way.

“I think all my fights are big,” Mazo said. Obviously, in the eyes of many people, they might say that this is my biggest fight, but I believe that every time I fight they’re always going to say the same thing, ‘Oh this is the biggest fight of her career, oh no, it’s this one,’ so I don’t consider it to be my biggest fight. I think the biggest fight is to be always training and to be fighting oneself with day-to-day factors. The fight is like the easy part of the journey.”

So can Mazo score another head-kick knockout finish in the biggest stage of her career? That’s a question many wonder given her last two impressive performances.

Mazo will not make any promises, but she believes it’s a possibility.

“I’m not crazy about finding the knockout,” Mazo said. “In a fight, any blow can end it. Obviously there is the possibility, whether it’s a punch, a kick or a knee, there is always a possibility because a fight is a fight.

“I like things to flow. I don’t like to go in there like, ‘I have to land the kick, I have to land the kick,’ because I can get frustrated. So the truth is that it’s not something that I search for, but if the opportunity arises, then yeah, it can happen again.”