‘Athletes Have To Train Their Minds Too’ – Why Victoria Souza Juggles MMA With Dentistry School
Victoria “Vick” Souza believes in flexing her mental muscles along with her physical ones.
The Brazilian star is hard at work preparing for her atomweight MMA fight with Alyse “Lil’ Savage” Anderson at ONE 168: Denver on September 6 while also continuing her dentistry studies at college.
Although it means life is hectic as she prepares to compete in U.S. primetime next month, Souza thinks her academic journey is benefitting her martial arts career.
The 26-year-old spoke to onefc.com ahead of her clash at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado:
“Studying is something I like, and I believe it helps me. Athletes don’t just have to train their bodies. Athletes have to train their minds, too. It helps me stay focused, maintain concentration, and it’s even improved my training.”
It’s not easy for Souza to balance all the different elements of her days, especially as things ramp up to full throttle for her matchup with Anderson, but she is enjoying the challenge.
Plus, “Vick” won’t let anything stand in the way of her martial arts dreams. After a massive victory over Itsuki Hirata last time out, she is fully committed to combat despite her quest for knowledge in other areas:
“The most important thing to me today is MMA. I am studying dentistry at college, and I will practice the profession in the future when I retire from MMA.”
Souza Wants To Follow Her Passions Over Expectations
Victoria Souza’s dentistry degree won’t be her first. In fact, the Brazilian is already a qualified accountant, which is not a profession you would normally associate with an elite combat athlete.
“Vick” went down that path at the behest of her father and to continue the family tradition, but she admits it was never fulfilling.
A serious illness made her realize that life is too short to stick with something you don’t enjoy – and that prompted her to change lanes:
“I have a degree in accounting, but it’s a profession I never liked. It’s my father’s profession, and it was my grandfather’s profession, but right from the beginning, I realized that it wasn’t what I wanted. I didn’t like it. But I have a habit that when I start something, I finish it.
“After [my victory over] Linda Darrow, I was out of action for a while. At that time there was an outbreak of hepatitis A in Floripa, and I drank some contaminated water and caught it. I was sick for a long time in bed, and I couldn’t even get up to go to the bathroom.
“After I got better, I thought about going to another college because I really like studying and I was kind of forced to study accounting because of family tradition. Now I’m going to study dentistry, which is a profession I’ve always been interested in.”
Looking after people’s mouths is a million miles away from looking after their finances, but Souza is already enjoying the learning process.
Social media was the original catalyst for her interest in the field, and now that she’s taken steps forward, “Vick” knows she’s on the right path with what she wants to do after fighting.
She added:
“I’ve always been interested in watching things about teeth. I used to watch videos of surgeries on YouTube and Instagram Reels. It was an addiction. Then I thought, ‘This is what I want.’ I started doing it, and I loved it.
“I’ve already done the first phase and loved it, and now in August, I’m going to start the second period.”
