All in Good Time for Stephanie Luciano

A mentor can make all the difference. For Stephanie Luciano , it was Cesar Gordin.

“He supported me from the start and believed in my work,” Luciano told Sherdog.com. “He helped me trace a beautiful career trajectory. He was very encouraging. I’ve had incredible people help me along the way. He was my biggest supporter.”

Gordin soon gets to see some of the fruits of his labor, as his 24-year-old protege will make her Ultimate Fighting Championship debut opposite Talita Alencar when their women’s strawweight rematch helps bolster the UFC on ESPN 61 undercard this Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Luciano’s first assignment inside the Octagon was delayed twice—she was scheduled to compete at UFC on ESPN 53 in March, first against Shauna Bannon and later against Julia Polastri —due to injuries and illness.

“We dealt well with the cancellations,” she said. “They all had their reasons. We know that we’re dealing with human beings. We’re not machines. I was sad when my opponent got hurt. Last time around, I caught dengue fever. I felt pretty bad, but we don’t worry about it. These things are part of our sport. I contracted dengue 10 days before the scheduled bout. My coaches and I decided that since I’m 24, I have time and there was no reason to do something as crazy as to fight sick.”

Alencar represents a familiar face. The two women fought to a draw on Dana White’s Contender Series on Sept. 19, and while Luciano earned a UFC contract, Alencar managed to beat her to the Octagon. The multiple-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion was called upon to fill out the UFC Fight Night 233 roster in December and eked out a split decision over Rayanne dos Santos . Her countrywoman looked on and took notes from afar.

“I’m OK with the fact that she already had her UFC debut,” Luciano said. “Today, I’m a much better fighter than the person who first faced Talita. Without a doubt, Talita will want to bring the fight to the mat. Maybe she won’t have the same strategy as last time since it didn’t work out. In the end, once things get tough, I believe she’ll resort to grappling again. I expect my win against Talita will come via knockout. I’m a much better striker. To get me down, she’ll have to strike first. I won’t allow her to play her game.”

Ahead of her second encounter with Alencar, Luciano split her training between the Gordin Fight Team, CT Rules and the Caio Gregorio Team.

“My camp has been incredible,” she said. “I’m feeling strong, confident and happy. I’m surrounded by incredible high-level athletes. My entire team is dedicated to helping me. Everything is awesome.”

Luciano views her rematch with Alencar as a potential springboard.

“My plan is to grow in the organization,” she said. “I have a lot of room to grow. I only have seven professional bouts, so I want to fight often. My dream is to get a title shot one day. My dream used to be to get into the UFC. Now that it’s a reality, I wish to take it one step at a time so I can ultimately capture the belt.”