When she reached the sport’s elite in May 2024, Carol Brunacio stepped into the role of a high-performance prospect. That same year, competing in the gi, she won a superfight at ADXC 6 and then, over the 2025 season, took bronze at the Brazilian Nationals and silver at the IBJJF Worlds in California.
Now the athlete is fully focused on her professional development as a grappler. Training intensively at Pirâmide Grappling, a reference in the discipline in Rio de Janeiro, Brunacio is facing the biggest visibility opportunity of her career since she began dedicating herself more to no-gi Jiu-Jitsu.
Carol was booked to face Mona Bailey at UFC BJJ 5, scheduled for next Thursday, the 12th, in Las Vegas. The athlete, who will compete at flyweight, is already in the United States wrapping up her final preparations to compete in the promotion’s bowl.
“When UFC BJJ started, I already pictured myself there someday. So I’m happy about this opportunity, and I’ve been working to have a good match and do my best,” she told The Mat Nation in an interview.
PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE IN NO-GI JIU-JITSU TOURNAMENTS LED TO CAROL’S UFC BJJ BOOKING
For Carol Brunacio, staying active in the circuit’s top No Gi competitions put her on the UFC’s radar for the grappling event’s card. Last year, Carol won the IBJJF Pan No Gi in New York and took silver at the Worlds in December. With a special fondness for training in the gi, putting it away in the closet for a while was not an easy decision, she says. Still, there’s no denying the path has been paying off in terms of professional opportunities.
“Honestly, it wasn’t an easy decision, but it’s paying off. If I had kept focusing on the gi, I wouldn’t have competed at the No Gi Pans and Worlds, and I probably wouldn’t have this opportunity to compete at UFC BJJ. I like the gi, I haven’t abandoned it, but No Gi at black belt has a lot of different positions and different rules. I learn something new every day, but I’m enjoying the process,” she explained.
NEXT THURSDAY, BRUNACIO WILL FACE MONA BAILEY, A BLACK BELT ACTIVE ON THE U.S. COMPETITION SCENE
Carol’s UFC BJJ 5 opponent, Mona Bailey, is a black belt who trains in Texas at a local Carlson Gracie affiliate. With wide competitive experience on American soil, Bailey has double golds at ADCC Opens in the country, in Austin and Chicago, on her résumé. Soon after, she was promoted to black belt in December 2024. According to Carol, studying her opponent’s strategy is important, but specific parts of camp matter more, such as adjusting training to the length of the rounds.
“I always study my opponents, but I don’t focus 100% on them. We made adjustments and did our studying. The biggest change was the three five-minute rounds we had to add to training,” she said.
Controlling the match and finishing it with a submission is every athlete’s goal, and Carol is no different. She said every competition experience has special value when it comes to growth. At the UFC, the experience is priceless, but a win definitely has the power to boost her reputation even further.
“After every competition, regardless of the result, I always feel I come back different the next time. I’m training hard to go for the submission and dominate the match. My part of the preparation is being done; now it’s just the final adjustments and putting it in God’s hands,” she concluded.
This article was originally published in Portuguese: read the original version.
