25-year-old strawweight Denise Gomes was puffed up within the UFC after scoring back-to-back knockouts towards Bruna Brasil and Yazmin Jauregui in 2023, the latter in simply 20 seconds, after which misplaced to skilled veteran Angela Hill.
And that setback modified her strategy to the sport.
Gomes rebounded with a pair of selections over Eduarda Moura and Karolina Kowalkiewicz to go 4-2 within the firm and 10-3 general as a professional fighter, and sees her 115-pound conflict with Elise Reed on Could 17 as one other alternative to develop as an athlete.
“I’m getting higher, and I’m fascinated with the longer term,” Gomes instructed MMA Combating forward of UFC Vegas 106. “I had an enormous coronary heart however I wasn’t mature or sensible, so I used to be in search of that now. That’s the Karolina combat. Individuals mentioned, ‘Oh, you may have knocked her out.’ I actually may, however possibly if I appeared a lot for the knockout I wouldn’t have advanced as a lot as I believe I did. I’m making an attempt to grow to be a whole fighter. I’m working onerous behind the curtains. I’ve to check myself. Prefer it or not, I’ve to consider the longer term. Possibly individuals don’t get that. As a result of I’ve an enormous knockout energy, that’s all I’ve to make use of? I’ve to work to grow to be a whole fighter.”
Reed, a former Cage Fury strawweight champion with a previous win over Jasmine Jasudavicius, has been bouncing between wins and losses within the firm from the beginning. In her most up-to-date match, the 32-year-old scored a call over Jessica Penne to enhance to 4-4 within the UFC.
Gomes sees evolution in her personal recreation, however it’s nonetheless a protracted course of.
“These final couple of fights have been superb for me as a result of it gave me confidence, however I’m nonetheless on that path,” Gomes mentioned. “One step after the opposite. I’m not aiming at cash, I’m not aiming at rankings, I’m aiming at changing into higher than I used to be in my final combat as a result of I do know the remaining is consequence. For this yr, that’s the larger objective as an athlete and an individual.”
On the similar time MMA is a sport, it’s additionally leisure. Gomes is aware of that placing on performances that could be perceived as unexciting may harm her model in the long run. She asks followers to be affected person, although.
“It’s particularly onerous due to the boos,” Gomes mentioned. “Individuals wish to see fighters actually breaking one another in there. And we like that, too. And when it’s time for us to grapple as a substitute of buying and selling on the toes, individuals boo. At that second it’s good to have self-control and be like, ‘No, I’m preventing for me first, after which for the followers.’ However that can all have a goal sooner or later.”
Gomes remains to be in a “transition” from all-action entertainer to well-rounded athlete, however feels assured sufficient to lastly say she’s a MMA fighter now. With a win Saturday, Gomes plans to ask the UFC for a slot on a card on the street to place herself out of the consolation zone and in entrance of a bigger viewers away from the APEX.
“I’m exhibiting that each time I combat, that I’m not only a striker,” Gomes mentioned. “My motto is aggressiveness with intelligence. Aggressiveness introduced me right here, however I imagine that that alone gained’t take me the place I need to go. That’s what separates those on the high. I believe I’ve that aggressiveness and I’m a bit smarter for this combat.
“I don’t assume [Reed] will final three rounds as a result of I’ve a great eye for a knockout, however I may also grapple. I wanna go in there and really feel the combat and be in management. The knockouts I had have been pure intuition — with intelligence, too. However I need extra. I’m not pleased with solely that. The fights I misplaced pushed me to assume, ‘What if the technique doesn’t work, what am I going to do?’ I used to be underestimated earlier than and I don’t underestimate anybody, however I do know myself. I do know I’ve the means to complete her.”
