‘He Always Tells Me Not To Give Up’ – How MMA Rising Star Victoria Souza Takes Strength From Her Partner

As a professional athlete, an accountant, and now an aspiring dentist, Brazilian rising star Victoria “Vick” Souza has a lot to contend with in life, but she has found the right person to share her journey with.  

The 27-year-old is currently deep in preparation for her atomweight MMA clash with Alyse “Lil’ Savage” Anderson at ONE 168: Denver on September 6, and her much-needed downtime comes at home with her partner, Felipe. 

Despite wanting to keep her professional and personal lives separate, Souza struck up a friendship with Felipe while training BJJ – and it blossomed into something special. 

“Vick” opened up to onefc.com ahead of her matchup with Anderson at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado:

“I met him in 2022, and we started talking as friends because I didn’t want to mix my fighting career with my personal life.

“But, at the end of 2022, we started talking more, and at the beginning of 2023, he asked me out. We went out, had our first kiss, and are still together today.” 

The last thing a professional athlete needs is a life partner who gets in the way of their goals.  

Entering a relationship with a fighter is not easy given all the demands on their time and attention, but Felipe has never wavered in his support for “Vick’s” career.  

Souza said: 

“He is very proud of me being a fighter. In fact, when he met me, I was already a fighter, and I was already in ONE, so he has always supported me. And he has to, right? Especially because he met me as a fighter! 

“He always tells me not to give up and supports me to keep going because he knows how much I love fighting. He always says he is proud of me as a woman, as a person, and as an athlete.” 

Time Outside Of Fighting Important For Souza’s Relationship 

Although they met through a shared passion for martial arts, it wasn’t the biggest factor in Victoria Souza’s attraction to Felipe.  

While he has skills on the mat, it was his interests and personality outside of the gym that drew Souza in:

“He’s not a professional fighter. He trains jiu-jitsu, but he doesn’t make a living from fighting. He has his job, and I have mine. 

“He is very intelligent. In addition to jiu-jitsu, he enjoys reading, understands history, politics, and other subjects. So, what interested me most about him was his intelligence.” 

Along with sharing a passion, it’s important to be able to decompress with a partner away from the mats.

And given that Souza spins so many plates to succeed in combat sports and beyond, it’s crucial that she can find some time to recharge – and that’s where Felipe comes in.

She added:

“We have many interests in common. There’s jiu-jitsu, and now I’m teaching him boxing. We like watching MMA, cooking, and watching TV shows and movies. Most of our interests are very similar. The one I don’t like very much is soccer, but he really likes it. 

“Being with him is a moment of peace. It’s when I can relax. With him, I feel calm. And that’s hard for me because my family [members] work together, so I have to solve everyone’s problems. But with my boyfriend, I feel more at peace.”