Athletes
Fighters On The Rise | UFC Fight Night: Dern vs Hill
Three Can't-Miss Combatants To Watch For On Saturday's Las Vegas Event
Originally slated to be headlined by bantamweight contenders Raquel Pennington and Irene Aldana meeting for a second time and now featuring ranked strawweights Mackenzie Dern and Angela Hill in the main event, this weekend’s return to the UFC APEX still feels like a spotlight event for competitors on the women’s side of the roster.
There are three additional bouts featuring women on Saturday’s fight card ahead of the main event, and it only make sense to showcase one fighter from each matchup in this edition of Fighters on the Rise.
Two are developing strawweights stepping into intriguing, competitive matchups, and the other is a Brazilian flyweight that has already registered a pair of dominant victories to kick off her UFC tenure, and all three are athletes you should be paying close attention to when they make the walk this weekend.
Loopy Godinez
Godinez has been one of the most active competitors on the UFC in the two years since she first touched down inside the Octagon. She fought four times in her rookie campaign, registering two wins and two losses while showing promise, following it up with a victory over Ariane Carnelossi and a loss to Hill in 2022.
Earlier this year, Godinez wrapped up her second full year on the roster with a victory over veteran Cynthia Calvillo in a competitive, back-and-forth scrap in April. Now, the Mexican-Canadian jumps into a catchweight bout at 120 pounds against fellow hopeful Emily Ducote, looking to collect a second victory and take another step forward in her quest to crack the rankings.
Saturday's Full Fight Card Breakdown
There are a number of things that make Godinez an intriguing developing fighter. First, she’s tough as nails and doesn’t mind a scrap, as she showed in her punch-up with Calvillo last time out. Second, she’s a powerful grappler when she opts to use her grappling, having impressed against Jessica Penne in her debut, as well as using it to garner her victory over Carnelossi last year. Third, she’s clearly learning and improving, as her hands have come a long way from her initial forays into the Octagon, and serve as a quality compliment to her powerful wrestling.
Saturday’s matchup with Ducote will be a strong test for Godinez, as the former Invicta FC champion is a more fluid, nimble athlete with a more polished game. She too has shared the Octagon with Penne and Hill, defeating the former while losing to the latter, and has more overall experience than her counterpart this weekend.
It’ll be interesting to see how Godinez opts to approach this contest and how well she can build on her April triumph over Calvillo. If she can secure herself another victory, Godinez will find herself with a 4-1 mark in her last five fights, and pushing for a place in the Top 15.
Vanessa Demopoulos
After a 5-1 run on the regional circuit that included an LFA title win over Sam Hughes, Demopoulos earned a chance to compete on Dana White’s Contender Series, dropping a close decision to Cory McKenna before returning to LFA and suffering a majority decision loss to Godinez.
She bounced back by re-claiming the belt when Godinez was called up to the UFC, than followed her to the biggest stage in the sport, dropping a short-notice assignment up a division against veteran JJ Aldrich. Since returning to the 115-pound weight class, however, Demopoulos has embarked on a quality run of success heading into Saturday’s clash with resurgent Polish standout Karolina Kowalkiewicz.
“Lil Monster” kicked off her run of success with a first-round armbar win over Silvana Gomez Juarez, eating a massive right hand before scrambling to clamp onto the submission before the midway point of the round. She followed that up with a hard-fought win over Jinh Yu Frey, and closed out 2022 by edging out Maria Oliveira on the scorecards to move to 9-4 overall.
Fight Pass Invitational Returns To Vegas June 29
Now doing her training camps with the crew at Factory X in Denver, Demopoulos gets the biggest opportunity of her UFC run this weekend, squaring off with Kowalkiewicz.
The former title challenger from Lodz got back into the win column last June with a unanimous decision win over Felice Herrig, snapping a five-fight losing streak. She followed that up by out-hustling Gomez Juarez at UFC 281 in November, giving Kowalkiewicz her first winning streak since posting back-to-back victories over Jodie Esquibel and Herrig.
Demopoulos has continued to work tirelessly on developing her striking, showing some pop along the way. Much like Godinez’ fight with Ducote, it’s going to be curious to see how things play out here, as Kowalkiewicz is a quality grappler in her own right and the more technical striker of the two.
But the streaking 34-year-old is brimming with confidence, and if she can collect a fourth consecutive victory by toppling Kowalkiewicz, it’ll be time for Demopoulos to face someone with a number next to their name.
Natalia Silva
Natalia Silva Lands Spinning Back Kick KO | UFC Fight Night: Nzechukwu vs Cutelaba
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Natalia Silva Lands Spinning Back Kick KO | UFC Fight Night: Nzechukwu vs Cutelaba
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Silva is one of the brightest emerging prospects on the roster, part of the ultra-talented class of flyweights lead by Erin Blanchfield that also includes Casey O’Neill, Maycee Barber, and Miranda Maverick. If you’re not sure the Brazilian merits inclusion in that group, check out her last couple efforts and be sure to tune into her scrap with Victoria Leonardo this weekend, as Silva looks to pick up a third straight UFC win.
The 26-year-old rattled off six straight wins to get signed by the UFC, but then was stuck on the sidelines for a couple years dealing with injuries, visa issues, and the global coronavirus pressing pause on the world’s activities. When she finally made the march into the Octagon for the first time last June, Silva pushed her winning streak to seven with a unanimous decision win over Jasmine Jasudavicius.
But her real breakout performance came in November, when she squared off with DWCS alum Tereza Bleda, shutting down the Czech fighter’s grappling attempts and ultimately finishing her with a spinning back kick to the face.
Yeah — a spinning back kick to the face.
This weekend’s pairing with Leonardo was first scheduled back in January 2021, but Silva was forced to withdraw. Since then, the 33-year-old American suffered consecutive stoppage losses to flyweight contender Manon Fiorot and talented Brazilian Melissa Gatto before finally breaking into the win column with a unanimous decision victory over Mandy Bohm last July.
FREE FIGHTS: Dern vs Markos | Hill vs Ducote
Silva has looked exceptionally good through her first two UFC outings, flashing athleticism, speed, and a diverse arsenal off skills that could possibly carry her towards the rankings and beyond in the next couple years. Another dynamic effort against Leonardo this weekend should land the talented Brazilian in the cage with a more established name next time out, and convince those that aren’t on board yet that she’s very much deserving of being considered one of the best prospects in the promotion.
UFC Fight Night: Dern vs Hill took place live from the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada on May 20, 2023. See the Final Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!
