Watch: Valerie Loureda's corner tells her to stop 'the stupid s*** with the spinning back fist' during first Bellator loss
Valerie Loureda, previously touted as one of MMA's rising stars, picked up the first loss of her career at Bellator 259. In a classic striker vs. grappler matchup, Loureda had some early success but was overwhelmed by Hannah Guy's relentless takedown and submission attempts.
According to Loureda's corner, a key reason for her defeat was the 22-year-old's insistence on throwing unorthodox strikes. Watch her trainers ask Loureda to stop "the stupid s***" below:
Hannah Guy capitalized on a spinning back fist attempt to bring Loureda to the canvas. Watch this moment of the encounter below:
After the second round came to a close, Valerie Loureda's coach was clearly not happy with what he was seeing. The corner-cam footage picked up what he had to say to his fighter, who was clearly on the losing end of a fight many expected her to win.
"You can't get taken down this round, ok? You gotta box. You have to punch. Stop the stupid s*** with the spinning backfist and box her. Stop running away. The ground work is atrocious. Stay off the ground with her. Every opportunity you have to get up, get up. And if you don't punch, you will lose. You have to throw fifty punches this round. Yes? Five zero. And it better be smart. You gotta go and do this."
Unfortunately, Loureda's corner advice was not enough to change the outcome of the fight. The 22-year-old fought a more intelligent third round but was let down by her stamina. Hannah Guy enjoyed more takedown success and controlled the rest of the fight for the unanimous decision victory.
Valerie Loureda's future in MMA
Loureda is still young and will undoubtedly bounce back from this upset loss. She possesses a high level of striking and her taekwondo black belt serves as testimony. However, the kryptonite for many practitioners of the discipline is that they are susceptible to wrestling-heavy attacks.
Hannah Guy was able to get takedowns in each round. While Loureda defended Guy's submission attempts, the 22-year-old suffered ground- and-pound repeatedly.
However, the fight was only Loureda's fourth professional bout, and her first as the main card opener. This push in promotion is likely due to the substantial social media following Valerie Loureda has amassed because of her modeling career outside the Bellator MMA cage.
Also read: How would Paige VanZant do in Bellator?