Lucia Szabova Calls Nina Milosevic Her “Inspiration” Ahead of UFC Debut

Lucia Szabova and Nina Milosevic Bonded During UFC Belgrade Camp

In a clip shared by UFC Europe ahead of UFC Vegas 123, the unbeaten Slovakian spoke about her friendship with the Serbian, who made her own UFC debut three months ago.

Nina Milosevic built her camp in Serbia ahead of her UFC debut at UFC Belgrade on Aug. 1. Szabova then travelled to Serbia to join the same camp, and the two have been closer ever since.

The camp ended with both women winning on the same night. In Belgrade, “Queen Beast” stopped Hailey Cowan with body shots in the first round and earned a Performance of the Night bonus in front of her home crowd. On the same night in Prague, “Silent Killer” defended her OKTAGON bantamweight title with a five-round decision over Lucie Pudilova.

Before they ever trained together, the two had already shared an opponent. Milosevic's only pro loss came in her 2023 debut, a split decision against Cecilie Bolander. Two years later, Szabova stopped the Norwegian in the first round to win the OKTAGON bantamweight title.

Lucia Szabova Explains Why Nina Milosevic Means So Much to Her

Looking back on how their friendship began, Szabova sees the Serbian as more than just a training partner. She said:

“Nina is a very close friend to me. We met two months ago in Serbia because I came for her camp for UFC debut, and from that, our paths crossed. And I think she’s like my inspiration. She’s a very nice person and also a very good fighter. And we can train together. We can always push each other, so that means a lot in this sport. There are not many girls you can train with and also be a good friend.”

Check out Lucia Szabová’s comments below:

Since the camp, the two have stayed side by side. For their latest camps, both trained under coach Renato Subotic in Sydney.

Lucia Szabova Makes Her UFC Debut This Saturday

This time, it is Szabova’s turn to make the walk. The 28-year-old brings a perfect 12-0 record into her Octagon debut against Brazil’s Tainara Lisboa on the prelims of UFC Vegas 123 on Saturday . As per the UFC, she is the promotion’s first female fighter from Slovakia.

So far, Szabova has won titles in two OKTAGON divisions, and now the former double-division champion will compete at flyweight in the UFC. Speaking to the promotion during fight week, she said:

“Once I tried the flyweight, I figured out that for me, it’s a big advantage. Like, I’m tall, I’m big, fast, faster. And for me, it makes sense to take this advantage.”

Milosevic, meanwhile, is not far behind. The two-time IMMAF world champion returns a week later against Priscila Cachoeira at UFC Vegas 124 on Nov. 7, at Meta Apex in Las Vegas.