Tag: Loopy Godinez

Loopy Godinez vs. Virna Jandiroba joins UFC’s March 30 lineup

Loopy Godinez will look to continue her rise in UFC’s strawweight division against Virna Jandiroba in March.

[autotag]Loopy Godinez[/autotag] will look to continue her momentum when she takes on a top 10 ranked strawweight.

Godinez will next face [autotag]Virna Jandiroba[/autotag] at an unannounced UFC Fight Night event on March 30, which doesn’t yet have a publicly known venue or location.

MMA Junkie verified the matchup with a person close to the situation after Jandiroba confirmed the matchup on social media after an initial report from MMA Melotto. The person requested anonymity because the promotion hasn’t made an official announcement.

Winner of six of her past seven bouts, Godinez (12-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) went 4-0 in 2023, capping the year off with a split decision win over Tabatha Ricci at UFC 295. Prior to that, the 30-year-old scored a Performance of the Night submission of Elise Reed.

Brazil’s Jandiroba (19-3 MMA, 5-3 UFC) has also had recent success, but hasn’t matched Godinez’s activity. The former Invicta FC champion is coming off back-to-back wins over Angela Hill in May 2022, followed by a unanimous decision of Marina Rodriguez at UFC 288 this past May.

Loopy Godinez predicts UFC title shot in 2024, or at least contention

Rising UFC contender Loopy Godinez sees big things ahead in 2024.

[autotag]Loopy Godinez[/autotag] thinks 2024 is will be a key year in her fighting career, and she’s excited for it.

The rising UFC strawweight contender is confident big things will come with the new year. And by new things, she means fighting for the undisputed belt in her weight class – or least being close to it, at the very least.

“Yeah, I really think so,” Godinez told MMA Junkie in Spanish when asked about challenging for a belt in 2024. “I think 2024 is going to be a very important year for me and my team. I do see myself fighting for the title or knocking on the door of the title.”

Godinez is coming off a split decision win over Tabatha Ricci at UFC 295 earlier this month. The victory put her on a four-fight winning streak and 6-1 in her past seven bouts.

Her fight against Ricci was her second bout full-time under Lobo Gym. She’s extremely confident she’s where she needs to be to become champion.

“Yeah, of course, especially now that I have an amazing team,” Godinez said. “We’re in the thick of it, and we’re all hungry, and we’re all giving it our all. Just as I’m giving them my all, they’re giving me everything they can. We’ll be ready for whoever they give us next.”

With the win over Ricci, Godinez broke the record for the most wins in a calendar year by a woman in the UFC. She intends to give her body a break for what’s remaining in 2023, but she angles for a February return.

Godinez has no opponent in mind for her next outing, but would like it to be against someone in the top 10 of the official UFC rankings.

“I don’t have a specific name in mind,” Godinez said. “I look at the rankings list and go, ‘Wow, any of those fighters is going to improve me as an athlete. I saw that Mackenzie Dern fought and she lost, but maybe her? I don’t know, whoever they want me to fight.”

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UFC 295 medical suspensions: Jiri Prochazka, Sergei Pavlovich among 19 suspended indefinitely

Nineteen indefinite suspensions were handed out after UFC 295, per the New York State Athletic Commission.

UFC 295 took place Nov. 11 at Madison Square Garden in New York and featured 13 fights.

On Monday, MMA Junkie acquired a list of athlete medical suspensions from the New York State Athletic Commission, the sanctioning body that oversaw the event. Most injury specifics were not disclosed.

Nineteen of the 26 combatants were given indefinite suspensions and will need to be cleared by a doctor before they return. That’s a high number of indefinite suspensions compared to the average UFC event, although the NYSAC may have different safety protocols compared to other regulatory bodies. All 26 fighters were also given mandatory suspensions, which vary from seven days to 90 days.

Check out the full list of medical suspensions from UFC 295 below.

Loopy Godinez reacts to historic fourth win in calendar year: ‘I’m making records by accident’

At UFC 295, Loopy Godinez became the first woman in the promotion’s history to record four wins in a calendar year.

NEW YORK – UFC strawweight [autotag]Loopy Godinez[/autotag] has set a record by just showing up and doing what she does best. If you ask her, it happened by accident.

At UFC 295 in Madison Square Garden, Godinez (12-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) set a record in the promotion by becoming the first woman to win four fights in a calendar year.  She picked up a split decision win over Tabatha Ricci (9-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC), a result which had a controversial scorecard in her opponent’s favor.

Setting the record is just something that happened while simply trying to be an active fighter in the UFC who is doing what she loves.

“I’m making records by accident I think, because it’s not like I’m doing it like, ‘Oh, I want to do this,'” Godinez told reporters at a post-fight news conference. “I just love fighting. That’s what I do every day, I don’t do anything else. That’s my life. So of course, I just put all of my love and heart into this, and of course, good things are going to come out of this.”

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The fight against Ricci appeared to be a clear decision win in her favor after the final horn in the third round. However, one of the official cageside judges gave everyone pause when Bruce Buffer announced a score of 30-27 in Ricci’s favor. Godinez thought she won the fight, but knows MMA judging can produce some wild results.

“You never know with the judges, and we’ve seen it in so many fights, like weird decisions,” Godinez said. “I wasn’t surprised because of that reason, because never leave the fight to the judges. We all see different things and we all root for different people. So, that happens.”

Making Godinez’s new record even more impressive is that she didn’t have her first fight of 2023 until April. If she has it her way and stays healthy, she would like to see what happens in 2024 if she begins earlier in the year with a similar pace. It’s all a part of her plan to eventually become the first Mexico-born UFC strawweight champion.

“Of course, my goal is to get the strap and be a dominant champion and we’re working for that,” Godinez said. “I know I have a lot to improve, a lot to learn and a lot to do, but we’re doing it. I recently made the move to Guadalajara to change camps, and I feel like I can see it, I can feel it. We’re just getting better. I’m just showing that I’m in. I’m 100 percent in this game.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 295.

5 biggest takeaways from UFC 295: Should Tom Aspinall’s win scrap plans for Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic?

Analysis of the biggest storylines coming out of UFC 295, from Alex Pereira’s historic run to Tom Aspinall’s bid for getting Jon Jones next.

What mattered most at UFC 295 at Madison Square Garden in New York? Here are a few post-fight musings …

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UFC 295 post-event facts: Alex Pereira joins exclusive two-title club in record time

The best facts from UFC 295, which saw Alex Pereira join the two-division title club in less fights than the eight names before him.

The UFC’s penultimate numbered event of the year, UFC 295 from Madison Square Garden in New York, proved to be arguably the best of the bunch.

Two new champions were crowned to close out a lineup that saw eight stoppages in 13 fights. In the main event, [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag] (9-2 MMA, 6-1 UFC) picked up the vacant light heavyweight title with a second-round knockout of [autotag]Jiri Prochazka[/autotag] (29-4-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC), while [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] (14-3 MMA, 7-1 UFC) claimed the interim heavyweight strap in the co-main event with a 69-second knockout of [autotag]Sergei Pavlovich[/autotag] (17-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC).

For more on the numbers behind the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC 295.

UFC 295 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Title fight athletes net $32,000 each

Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 295 took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $272,500.

NEW YORK – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 295 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $272,500.

The program, a comprehensive plan that includes outfitting requirements, media obligations and other items under the fighter code of conduct, replaces the previous payments made under the UFC Athlete Outfitting Policy.

UFC 295 took place at Madison Square Garden. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPNews and ESPN+.

The full UFC 295 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

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[autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag]: $32,000
def. [autotag]Jiri Prochazka[/autotag]: $32,000

[autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag]: $32,000
def. [autotag]Sergei Pavlovich[/autotag]: $32,000

[autotag]Jessica Andrade[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Mackenzie Dern[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Benoit Saint-Denis[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Matt Frevola[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Diego Lopes[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Pat Sabatini[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Steve Erceg[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Alessandro Costa[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Loopy Godinez[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Tabatha Ricci[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Mateusz Rebecki[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Roosevelt Roberts[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Nazim Sadykhov[/autotag]: $4,000
vs. [autotag]Viacheslav Borshchev[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Jared Gordon[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Mark Madsen[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]John Castaneda[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Kyung Ho Kang[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Joshua Van[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Kevin Borjas[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Jamall Emmers[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Dennis Buzukja[/autotag]: $4,000

Under the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program’s payout tiers, which appropriate the money generated by Venum’s multi-year sponsorship with the UFC, fighters are paid based on their total number of UFC bouts, as well as Zuffa-era WEC fights (January 2007 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2011 and later). Fighters with 1-3 bouts receive $4,000 per appearance; 4-5 bouts get $4,500; 6-10 bouts get $6,000; 11-15 bouts earn $11,000; 16-20 bouts pocket $16,000; and 21 bouts and more get $21,000. Additionally, champions earn $42,000 while title challengers get $32,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-30 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2023 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $7,305,500
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $21,824,500

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 295.

UFC 295 video: Hear from each winner, guest fighters backstage

Check out what the UFC 295 winners and guest fighters had to say backstage at Saturday’s event at Madison Square Garden in New York.

NEW YORK – UFC 295 took place Saturday with 13 bouts on the lineup. We’ve got you covered with backstage winner interviews from Madison Square Garden in New York.

You can hear from all the UFC 295 winners by checking out their post-fight news conferences below.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 295.

UFC 295 results: Loopy Godinez displays sharp striking in record win over Tabatha Ricci

Loopy Godinez earned a potentially breakthrough win and made some UFC history in the process Saturday night.

[autotag]Loopy Godinez[/autotag] earned a potentially breakthrough win and made some UFC history in the process.

Godinez displayed superb striking Saturday night at UFC 295 where she secured a split decision over [autotag]Tabatha Ricci[/autotag] in their strawweight bout at Madison Square Garden. Godinez, who was No. 13 in the official rankings, earned scores of 29-28 from two judges, but Ricci, ranked No. 10, was awarded a questionable score of 30-27 from judge Bryan Miner.

“I knew it was close,” Godinez said afterward. “For sure, yeah, she’s a tough opponent. She’s (No. 10) for a reason.”

While that description of Ricci shouldn’t be questioned, neither should Godinez’s performance as she displayed a clear advantage striking for 15 minutes and defended all six of Ricci’s takedown attempts.

Godinez (12-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) got off to a strong start in the first round, looking sharper on the feet and landing the crisper punches. She dropped Ricci (9-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) with about two minutes remaining, although Ricci clipped Godinez with a left hand just before the buzzer that might’ve swayed Miner.

Godinez remained composed and balanced with her attack through Rounds 2 and 3 as Ricci struggled to consistently find her range. But the moments Ricci did land, they were significant. It just wasn’t nearly as frequently as Godinez.

With the win, Godinez became the first woman in UFC history to win four fights in a calendar year. Her streak began with Cynthia Calvillo in April, then continued with Emily Ducote (May) and Elise Reed (September) before the win over Ricci, who had a three-fight winning streak snapped.

“I’m super happy,” Godinez said. “To be able do four fights in a year and actually go through and win, it takes a lot of work. It takes discipline. It takes a great team. I recently did the move to Lobo, and I’ve never been happier with my career, with my life.”

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Up-to-the-minute UFC 295 results include:

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 295.

Loopy Godinez def. Tabatha Ricci at UFC 295: Best photos

Check out the best photos from Loopy Godinez’s split decision win over Tabatha Ricci at UFC 295 at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Check out the best photos from [autotag]Loopy Godinez[/autotag]’s split decision win over [autotag]Tabatha Ricci[/autotag] at UFC 295 at Madison Square Garden in New York. (Photos by Wendell Cruz, USA TODAY Sports)