Athletes
Denise Gomes Sees A Big Step Ahead
Strawweight Denise Gomes Believes She Took The Right Lessons Away From Her Last Bout And Expects Great Things From Herself At UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs Imavov
For young fighters, or any fighter for that matter, a loss can cause quite a bit of doubt. It can make them question their training methods, their approach and their skills as they look for any reason to explain why they didn’t get their hand raised. Too much change can be a bit problematic, however. A balance of consistency and new challenges is that special mix to squeeze the most out of one’s potential, athletic or otherwise.
Denise Gomes, despite her relatively young age of 24, has seemingly found a decent headspace regarding losses of which she has three. After dropping her professional MMA debut, she ripped off six consecutive wins that led her to the UFC roster. She dropped her UFC debut but bounced back with a pair of finishes and a Performance Bonus. After losing a decision result to Angela Hill, Gomes knew she just needed to get back into the lab and get to work.
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“I feel like there's no arguments against facts,” Gomes told UFC.com. “Every time I take a step back, I feel like I learn a lot, and I take a big step forward. So, you know, I've been able to look at it as to if it doesn't go my way, if I can't take a step forward, then I'm taking a step back for a reason, and it is to advance a lot more.”
In this case, Gomes took plenty away from the veteran Hill. First of all, she saw Hill as an inspiration, a high-level example of what someone could do in their late-30s.
She also realized she needed to take a look at the mental aspect of fighting a bit more closely, and that’s what she spent the better part of seven months doing.
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“I focused a lot on maturing and on a lot of the tactical side and strategy,” she said. “When you stay away for a long time, you have a lot of time to think. I was able to think a lot more tactically and think a lot more about my game plan — studying my opponent and doing all that. I feel like I've changed a lot, and you're going to see the improvement in this fight.”
Facing the undefeated Eduarda Moura at UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs Imavov, Gomes holds more Octagon experience than the 30-year-old Moura, but she doesn’t look too deeply into where that advantage may help.
Rather, she feels confident in her evaluation of Moura, a grappling-inclined fighter who boasts five submissions and four knockouts out of 10 professional wins.
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“She doesn't scare me,” Gomes said. “She's going to try to grapple a lot and I'm ready for that. And she's going to come in and she's going to try to take me down. And I'm going to assure that that my takedown defense is a lot better and I'm going to show her all the improvements I made.”
Gomes, who picked up six of her eight pro wins via knockout, certainly knows how to find the sweet spot on the feet, and in front of an eager crowd in Louisville, she expects to light up the crowd on June 8.
Denise Gomes Gets Her First Career UFC Win | UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs Allen
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Denise Gomes Gets Her First Career UFC Win | UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs Allen
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When prodded about what fans can expect, she humbly said it’ll look something “like Michael Jordan in his best game.”
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Whether that means proverbially dunking on her opponent or closing the show in the way only His Royal Airness could, Gomes is setting the bar high for herself. Now all that’s left for her to do is back up her words.
UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs Imavov took place live from KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky on June 8, 2024. See the final Prelims & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!