Prospect Zoe Nowicki in no rush, but looks for UFC deal in 2026: ‘It’s a marathon, not a sprint’
MMA Fighting
February 27, 2026
Zoe Nowicki | Photo via Invicta FC
Zoe Nowicki will make her LFA debut Friday night, battling Mariana Piccolo in a flyweight bout in Ventura, Calif., and hopes this is the year that leads to a contract with the UFC.
Undefeated in 19 MMA bouts, three of those as a pro, Nowicki has a very patient approach to the game. The 125-pound talent had a long and very successful career in wrestling growing up in Michigan, clinching multiple state championships. Nowicki did great in powerlifting, too. The focus longterm was wrestling until she fell in love with mixed martial arts.
While others prospects dream of becoming the youngest champion in UFC history, Nowicki wanted to be ready. The 25-year-old first entered an amateur MMA bout in 2022, and has since won 16 bouts. Nowicki went 3-0 as a professional under the Invicta FC banner between 2024 and 2025, winning more amateur GAMMA tournaments in between and since.
“I think a lot of it just has to do with my coaching as well,” Nowicki told MMA Fighting. “Why do we have to rush into anything? I’m 25. You see a lot of women fighters, some of them are fighting even in their late 30s. I have a long career ahead of me so what is the point of rushing it into burnout, injury, whatever? And I think he’s had experience with other fighters and other female fighters and he’s seen it, so he wants to take the best possible route for my career and my longevity, and I’ve just trusted in him in that.”
“And my wrestling career was definitely a slow build,” she continued. “I started wrestling when I was 11 and it’s a little different because you’re a kid and all that stuff, but I saw how long it took for my wrestling career to flourish so I know that my ceiling is just way higher and there’s no need to rush. Sometimes just the type of person I am I want to rush, I want to rush, but I just have to be reminded, remind myself, have my coaches remind me that it’s a marathon, not a sprint.”
Nowicki wants to be “very active” as a professional in 2026 with the new LFA contract, and impress the scene enough to earn a deal with Dana White’s Contender Series by 2027.
“I like to take things one step at a time and not look too far ahead,” Nowicki said. “That’s just how I was trained and raised in my athletic career. But I do have goals for by the end of the year to have something booked with a bigger promotion. I would love to be in the UFC by the end of the year, or have like a Contender Series fight at least booked by the end of the year, so early 2027 I’ll be rolling into that. I want to have a very active year with LFA, finish that up, maybe win a belt for them. Maybe even like re-sign and do a couple fights. But by end of the year, 2027, really looking into bigger promotion, UFC specifically.”
Even though her upcoming opponent has more experience as a professional, entering LFA 227 with a record of 5-3, Nowicki sees her amateur career bringing challenges that Piccolo and others have never faced.
“It’s not easy to fight three times in three days,” Nowicki said. “That’s an accolade I’m really proud of, and I don’t think doing maybe like one other pro fight really would have put me in a much different position. … You’re gonna get put in the bracket and you’re going to fight who you’re gonna fight. You can’t do anything about it. You have to go in and do your game plan and what you do best. I think that there’s different pressure with having fight night and fighting this one person that you’re thinking about, you’re preparing for.”
Verticals
sportsmma
Originally published on MMA Fighting on 2/27/2026