Loopy Godinez Is Ready For The Heat

Godinez, born in Mexico and raised in Canada since she was a teenager, has been a citizen of the world her entire life, with Abu Dhabi just the latest stop. And while she now trains in Mexico with UFC flyweight champion Alexa Grasso and the Lobo Gym squad, she did have to pivot before her last fight and get that passport out as the team aided Grasso during the filming of The Ultimate Fighter in Las Vegas in March.

“Yeah, it was not that great for my camp, to be honest,” said Godinez, who lost a three-round unanimous decision to Virna Jandiroba, snapping a four-fight winning streak. “I was already set up in Mexico. I have my Airbnb, I have my routine going, my training set, my food, everything that I like, except my dog. But now my dog is with me this time. (Laughs) And then they asked Alexa (about coaching TUF) and the team was like, ‘Yeah, what do you think?’ I'm like, ‘Oh yeah, sure, let's go. What's the worst that can happen?’ I was trying to be positive and when I got there the first day, I was like, that was a mistake.”

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Godinez appreciated the accommodations, the food and everything else set up for the team during filming, but those two weeks were the ones where she wanted to get dialed in with no distractions and no change to her usual routine, and that didn’t happen.

“That was the two longest weeks of my life,” she said. “I felt like in those few weeks it was like three fight camps in one. It was stressful for me. I'm sure a lot of people had fun and loved it, but I didn't. Maybe if it was in the beginning of the training camp, that would be a little bit different, but it was at the end. So you’re already tired from the last month and all the hard work that I was putting in. And then now you get this other new chapter, and you have to be good. You have to set yourself up right. But you know what? It was fine. It helped me to know that I'm not going to do that again.”

The loss stung, especially considering that she was on a nice winning streak and moving steadily up the 115-pound rankings, where she currently sits at No. 10. But in getting a main card bout with the No. 7-ranked Dern, it’s almost like the Jandiroba loss didn’t happen, because Godinez is right back in a fight that can move her up the ladder with a victory.

“A hundred percent,” she said. “I honestly think they gave me a step-up, and I love it. I learned a lot from my last fight. I fought a grappler, and I just see the UFC trusting me with the performance and having me there representing Mexico. So yeah, it means they believe in me. You can’t always be perfect, and people fail, but it's all about how you get up and how you are going to improve. And I think they want to see how I'm going to get better from my last fight.”

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If history has proven anything, it’s that Godinez rebounds better than most from a defeat. But will the aggressive battler let the devil on her shoulder dictate whether she attacks Dern on the mat, where the decorated jiu-jitsu black belt is most dangerous?

“I have to be smart; that's the word,” said Godinez. “Play my game and don't play so much of her game. I'm not scared of her grappling, of course, because I'm also a grappler. I can capitalize on things and I can defend things and I've been working on all of that. And I’m also a wrestler - I can pick you up, dump you on your head, and do all of these things. And jiu-jitsu in the cage with punches, elbows, knees on the stomach, it's so much different.”

Hmmm, sounds like that little devil has his pitchfork out.

“No, I'm leaving the devil home and I'm just going to play smart,” she laughs, before correcting herself. 

“Smart and aggressive.”