Who is former UFC and bare-knuckle fighter Pearl Gonzalez?
American fighter Pearl Gonzalez is a mixed martial artist who has competed in the UFC, bare-knuckle combats, and most recently, professional boxing.
Pearl Gonzalez is an American fighter who has tried her hand at mixed martial arts, bare-knuckle combats, and has now won her professional boxing debut at Gamebred Boxing 2. She prevailed in her bantamweight fight against fellow first-timer Danielle Wynn via decision.
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Gonzalez was born in Chicago, Illinois and got into combat sports when she was 11 years old- a way to deal with her troubled childhood. She learned to box, and in 2008, she became the Golden Gloves amateur champion. She became an MMA fighter the following year, then turned pro in 2012. Gonzales had racked up a 6-1 record when Ultimate Fighting Championship signed her up.
No success at UFC
She made her debut with the organization in April 2017 via UFC 201 versus Cynthia Calvillo, who defeated her with a rear-naked choke. Her next fight took place six months later against Poliana Botelho at UFC 216. Gonzalez lost once again and UFC released her.
She then signed up with Invicta Fighting Championships, where she ended with a 4-2 tally. She was scheduled to fight for the vacant Invicta flyweight championship in November 2020, but she contracted covid-19 and the fight had to be postponed.
It ended up never taking place, because in April 2021 she shifted to bare-knuckle boxing. She signed a contract with Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship, and won her debut against Charisa Sigala two months later.
Gonzalez had her second fight against Brain Hart in November last year which she lost, after which she declared she would be leaving the sport.
Success at OnlyFans
Hart questioned the priorities of Gonzalez as a fighter, saying she was not focused on the sport. The American had signed up with OnlyFans, a subscription-based social media platform where users can generate income for providing original content.
Gonzalez was reported to be earning as much as $500,000 a month, which was supposedly why she left her MMA career.
Hand surgery to keep fighting
The 36-year-old had surgery on her hand in December, and she said the operation was to correct an injury that had affected her ability to grapple, which made her focus on boxing. The procedure may have helped her performance, judging from her latest victory in the ring.
After her successful boxing debut, it remains to be seen if she will pursue this combat sport, or if she will choose to focus all her energies on her successful social media platform.