About Viviane Araujo

Viviane Araújo Gomes (born November 21, 1986) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist. She is a former Pancrase strawweight champion and currently competes in the women's Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of August 27, 2024, she is #9 in the UFC women's flyweight rankings.

Background
Araújo started playing soccer and spent much of her time away from home to forget about problems at home after witnessing her alcoholic father beating her mother on a daily basis. She later started Brazilian jiu-jitsu and fell in love with the sport after an invitation from her jiu-jitsu coach. She later became a jiu-jitsu teacher and transitioned to mixed martial arts as she was tired of watching her father abuse her mother. Araújo uses the octagon as the platform to voice her support to reach victims of domestic violence.

"The UFC is such a gigantic and powerful platform. A word from a woman can change your life and self-esteem. We have so many people going through things like that that I felt the need to talk about it. We're suffering with domestic violence and violence against women. I lived that reality since I was a kid. I've suffered with that, and I managed to turn the table with sports. My mom is a warrior."