Valerie Loureda (born July 19, 1998) is an American mixed martial artist, wrestler, model, and social media influencer. Her ascent to fame has been nothing short of inspiring. Hailing from a family passionate about martial arts, she took up taekwondo, and after diligently training for years, she achieved her lifelong dream by signing with Bellator MMA.
After recording multiple victories and bagging some awards while fighting in the MMA, she signed a new multi-year contract with World Wide Entertainment (WWE) in June 2022. Following the enforcement of her contract, she became the first Cuban-American female fighter to join the World Wide Entertainment (WWE) scene. Here is all you need to know about the new WWE signee Valarie Loureda.
Profile summary of Valarie Loureda
- Full Name: Valarie Loureda
- Stage Name: Master Valarie Loureda
- Date of Birth: July 19, 1998
- Place of Birth: Miami, Florida, United States of America
- Ethnicity: Mixed (Cuban-American)
- Nationality: American
- Zodiac Sign: Cancer
- Education: Florida International University
- Profession: Mixed Martial Artist, Social Media Influencer, Model, and Wrestler
- Net Worth: $1.5 million
- Height: 5 feet 4 inches
- Weight: 58 kg (128 lbs.)
- Marital Status: Unmarried
- Valarie Loureda’s boyfriend: Donovan People-Jones
- Siblings: Natalie Loureda and Francesca Loureda
- Instagram: valerialoureda
Valarie Loureda was Born on July 19, 1998
Valerie Loureda is one of three children born to Martial Arts lovers Milagros ‘’Mily’’ Loureda and Frank Loureda. She was born under the cancer birth sign on July 19, 1998, in Miami, Florida, United States of America. She holds an American nationality and belongs to the Cuban-American ethnic group.
Valerie grew up alongside her two younger sisters (Natalie Loureda and Francesca Loureda) in a family that has deep roots in Martial Arts. Just like Valeria, her sisters are also skilled in Taekwondo. Francesca holds a fourth-degree blackbelt, while Natalie is also a blackbelt artist.
Valeria Loureda attended a local high school in her hometown, after which she joined Florida International University. She graduated from the University with a degree in broadcast journalism in 2020.
Valerie Loureda Hails From a Family with Deep Roots in Martial Arts (Taekwondo)
Valerie’s father, Frank Loureda, is extremely passionate about martial arts, especially Taekwondo. He began training in taekwondo at the age of 5, and years later, he relocated to the United States of America, where he began training in an after-school taekwondo class at W.R. Thomas Middle School in Miami-Dade County. He coached the class for 15 years before eventually founding his taekwondo school called Master Franks Taekwondo Academy in Miami, the academy was founded back in 1985.
Being the founder of the academy, her father has led the school with the mission of instilling discipline and confidence in the children through taekwondo, and this has, in turn, led to the school’s reputation as one of the best martial arts schools in Miami.
Her mother, Mily Loureda, a teacher for disabled children, did not take the backstage when it comes to taekwondo, she is also a Taekwondo artist. She competed for her black belt while she was pregnant with Valerie back in 1998.
Although Valeria’s parents are both martial arts lovers, her mother wanted her to develop her feminine side and grow as a woman rather than just fight professionally. Despite the area of conflict regarding what her parents wanted for her, she found passion and love in Martial Arts.
Valeria Suffered from Myeloid Leukemia
Raised by martial arts enthusiasts, Valeria developed an interest in Martial Art at a very young age. She subsequently received training from her father, who was an eight-time grand master in Taekwondo. At the age of 14, Valeria had already competed and recorded several victories in junior martial arts competitions, including her master status award in Taekwondo, a high honor awarded to the highest caliber, Olympic-level artist.
While Valeria’s career saw immense progress, things took a different turn for the family as her mother, Milagros Loureda, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), and 90% of the cancer had already developed in her bone marrow. Acute Myeloid Leukemia is a type of cancer of the blood and bone marrow.
During this time, despite being a teenager at the time, Valeria took on the role of a substitute mother taking care of both her sisters Natalie and Francesca, while also taking care of her sick mother. Her mother relapsed three weeks after her first aggressive chemo, and the family was told that without a bone marrow transplant, she was not going to survive. Fortunately for the family, a donor was found, and a bone marrow transplant saved Mily Loureda.
Valeria Loureda Had a Decent Professional MMA Career
Valeria Loureda was inspired to pursue a career in the MMA after watching Ronda Rousey, a WWE superstar and a former UFC women’s bantamweight champion, fight in a cage. At the time, she wasn’t aware of what it was, but she was attracted to the sight of a woman MMA fighting in the cage. The sight undoubtedly stirred something in Valeria, who told her sister that she wished she was an MMA fighter.
Driven by what she saw and the desire to achieve her new-found dream, Valeria enrolled in a jiu-jitsu class where she received intense training. After consistently training for three years, she joined the amateur MMA circuit, where she competed in 3 fights and recorded 2 victories and a loss.
Her hustle and passion for the sport eventually earned her a contract with Bellator MMA, which was a new start to her professional career. Throughout her professional MMA career, she recorded 4 victories out of 5 bouts. Valeria made her professional debut in 2019 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, against flyweight Colby ‘Dreamcatcher’ Fletcher, and she won the fight by first-round TKO.
Following her debut, she competed against Larkyn Dasch at Bellator 222 in New York. She fought three rounds and eventually recorded a unanimous victory over Dasch. She also fought against MMA fighters Tara Graff and Taylor Turner. She recorded the first defeat of her professional MMA career in a bout against Hannah Guy on May 21, 2021.
According to Valeria, the defeat was because she lost her grandfather to Covid-19 just before the fight. The Mixed Martial Artist further stated she spent most of her training time arranging the funeral and was not in any position to fight, but she showed up for the bout for her fans.
She Signed a Multi-Year Contract with World Wide Entertainment (WWE) in 2022
Valeria Loureda made headlines after announcing on Ariel Helwani’s MMA hour that she is leaving MMA and that signed a multi-year contract with WWE in June 2022. This announcement came shortly after she passed her WWE tryout during WrestleMania Week in Dallas.
According to Valeria, before her appearance at WrestleMania 38 in April 2022, she was not interested in pursuing a career as a wrestler. However, she developed an interest and got goosebumps the first time she saw WWE on TV after she witnessed the glamour, production, organization, and storytelling within the WWE. She stated that all that she saw in WWE was everything she was good at in one place.
Her entry into the World Wide Entertainment (WWE) makes her the first Cuban-American woman in history to sign with WWE. The former MMA star stated in an interview that it was an honor to represent her culture and bring a touch of Latina glamour into the WWE. Since she joined the WWE circuit, Valeria has been training hard with other athletes at the WWE Performance center with the goal of appearing on NXT TV by the end of the year. Despite joining WWE, Valeria will remain under contract with Bellator MMA.
Valarie Loureda Worked as a Waitress and Kickboxing Teacher Before Joining Bellator MMA
Besides martial arts, Valeria has served as a waitress at Tijuana Flats in Coral Springs, Florida, to support her MMA training. In a tweet, she revealed that she trained every morning and served as a waitress at night while also studying at college.
Prior to her contract with Bellator, she also served as a kickboxing teacher and avenue she used to train herself. Besides waitressing and kickboxing, she also has experience in the entertainment industry. She starred as Ninja Body Double in the series Ninja Bitch Killer back in 2015. She also featured in a twerking music video ‘’WAP’’ by Cardi B and Megan The Stallion. After her twerking video went viral, she received several offers from the movie industry.
Likewise, she was offered her reality show featuring herself and her sisters after her victory dance went viral. This was after she defeated Tara Graff at Bellator 243 and celebrated her victory. Valeria explained that she turned down the offer because she wanted to focus on her MMA career.
She was the Subject of a ‘’Sex for Fame’’ Scandal in the MMA
Valeria Loureda was trolled by UFC Macy Chiasson after she posted a striptease video of herself online. In the video, Valeria was dancing to the camera while decked in her training wear. Macy Chiasson accused the MMA fighter of portraying the wrong message to fans across the world with her striptease video. Valeria on her path did not hold back as she revealed that she loves dancing, and that was simply what there was to the video.
How Much is Valeria Loureda’s Net Worth?
Valeria Loureda worked extremely hard to get to where she is now. From waitressing to coaching she has scaled her way up from MMA to WWE. She reportedly has amassed an estimated net worth of around $1.5 million from her career. Although this amount has remained unconfirmed, it is estimated that it will be relatively close to her actual net worth.
Throughout her career in the fighting scene, Valerie earned the most amount of money from her bout against Hannah Guy. According to reports, she made $70 000 from the fight, this included a Scholarship fee of $40,000. Likewise, she earned a total of $30,000 from her bout against Colby Fletcher, $35 000 from her fight against Larkyn Dasch in 2019, and a total of $50,000 in a bout against Tara Graff in 2020.
Besides fighting, she has also accumulated a significant amount from her modeling career as well as endorsement deals. At the age of 22, Valeria became a homeowner after having lived in a studio apartment without a kitchen.
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