Valerie Loureda was born on July 19, 1998, in Miami, Florida. She is of Cuban descent.[3]
Daughter of a Taekwondo master, Loureda herself is a 4th dan black belt in Taekwondo and was part of the US Olympic Taekwondo team before becoming an MMA fighter.[4]
Mixed martial arts career
Making her MMA debut, Loureda faced Colby Fletcher on February 16, 2019, at Bellator 216.[5] She won the fight by technical knockout.[6] Loureda faced Larkyn Dasch on June 14, 2019, at Bellator 222.[7] She won the bout via unanimous decision.[8]
Loureda next faced Tara Graff on August 7, 2020, at Bellator 243.[9] She won the fight via technical knockout.[10] Loureda was scheduled to face Hannah Guy at Bellator 258 on May 7, 2021, but was moved to Bellator 259 on May 21.[11] She lost the bout via unanimous decision.[12] Loureda faced Taylor Turner on November 12, 2021, at Bellator 271, winning the bout by split decision.[13]
Professional wrestling career
In March 2022, Loureda attended a three-day-long WWE tryout during WrestleMania 38 weekend. In August, she signed a contract with WWE and reported to the WWE Performance Center.[14][15] She made her in-ring debut by participating in a battle royal at an NXTlive event on October 28.[16][17][18] On December 6, Loureda announced that her new ring name would be Lola Vice.[19]
Vice made her on-screen debut on the January 27, 2023, episode of NXT Level Up, losing to Dani Palmer.[20][21] She first teamed up with Elektra Lopez on the April 14 episode of NXT Level Up, losing to Katana Chance and Kayden Carter.[22] On the June 13 episode of NXT, Vice officially allied herself with Lopez, establishing herself as a heel.[23][24] On the September 12 episode of NXT, it was announced that Vice would take part in the fourth edition of the NXT Women's Breakout Tournament, which began on the October 3 episode of NXT.[25][26] She defeated Dani Palmer in the first round and Karmen Petrovic in the semifinals, the latter which was held on Night 1 of Halloween Havoc on October 24 and advanced to the final on Night 2 of NXT Halloween Havoc on October 31.[27][28] Vice defeated Kelani Jordan in the final to win the tournament, earning a contract for an NXT Women's Championship match at any time of her choosing.[29] On the January 16, 2024 episode of NXT, Vice ended her association with Lopez when she eliminated her from a battle royal and the two then fought to the back. The following week on NXT, Lopez confronted Vice during a Supernova Sessions segment and proceeded to attack her, thus setting up a match for the following week, which Vice won.[30] At Vengeance Day on February 4, Vice cashed in her contract during the ongoing NXT Women's Championship match between Roxanne Perez and champion Lyra Valkyria, turning the match into a triple threat; however, Vice was unsuccessful as she was pinned by Valkyria.[31]
At Week 1 of Spring Breakin', Vice was accompanied by Shayna Baszler for her NXT Underground match against Natalya, who was accompanied by Karmen Petrovic.[32] At Week 2 of Spring Breakin', Vice won the match.[33] After that, the rivalry between the two teams continued, and on the May 14 episode of NXT, Natalya and Petrovic challenged Vice and Baszler to a tag team match on next week's episode, which was made official.[34] There, Natalya and Petrovic won the match. After that, Vice turned on Baszler, and a brawl started between the two. NXT General Manager Ava then announced a match between the two at NXT Battleground, where Baszler proposed an NXT Underground match, which was made official. Vice won the match by knockout.[35] On July 7 at Heatwave, Vice unsuccessfully challenged Roxanne Perez for the NXT Women's Championship; prior to the match, Vice cut an emotional promo about her life prior to WWE, turning face for the first time in her career.[36] On the July 9 episode of NXT, Vice defeated Jacy Jayne before being attacked by her allies Fallon Henley and Jazmyn Nyx, cementing her face turn. Soon after, Vice started a feud with Jaida Parker, which culminated in an NXT Underground match at NXT Deadline on December 7, where she emerged victorious.[37]