Athletes
Loopy Godinez's Homecoming
Strawweight Star Preps For His First Fight In Her Home Country Saturday At UFC Mexico
After several training camps in her native Mexico, Loopy Godinez decided it was time to go home to her adopted Canada to get ready for the next fight in her UFC career.
Them she got a call to fight that fight in Mexico City.
RELATED: View Loopy Godinez's Athlete Profile
This is the world of mixed martial arts. But Godinez wasn’t turning down the short notice call to face Julia Polastri this weekend at Arena CDMX in what will be her first bout in her home country.
“It’s a big deal,” said Godinez. “It's on my bucket list to check off and it is a great place to fight. I was there last year, and it was a lot of fun. I know everyone is going to be with so much energy, going crazy, screaming, and the crowd is really amazing.”
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That energy has always pushed Godinez to new heights, and it is expected to have even more of an effect on the native of Aguascalientes, who moved with her family to Canada when she was a teenager. There, she found her calling in mixed martial arts, and though she’s recently been working with former UFC flyweight champion Alexa Grasso and the Lobo Gym squad in Guadalajara, after an August loss to Mackenzie Dern, the 31-year-old returned to Vancouver.
Loopy Godinez Submits Reed To Cap Off A Dominant Performance | Noche UFC
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Loopy Godinez Submits Reed To Cap Off A Dominant Performance | Noche UFC
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“I'm here for a few months and then I have to go back (to Mexico), and I have to rent a house there, I have to fly out with my dog, and it's so much stress on top of the other stress,” Godinez said. “So then I'm like, you know what? I'm going to go home. I love Mexico, but I also love here. I love my house and my family's here and I'm really enjoying it, and I have a great team."
Full Mexico Fight Card Preview
Now working with WKX Gym and PTT Vancouver, while also training with fellow UFC standout Jamey Lyn Horth (who she fought twice as an amateur), Godinez is seeing rapid improvements on a fight game that has already landed her in the strawweight Top 15.
“I feel like my game really changed. “It's been four months and I've been seeing a huge difference the way I'm moving and the tools I’ve added to my bag. I'm really excited for this fight, to be honest. I don't know what people think, but I feel like I am reaching a whole different level. Even though I have two losses, I still feel like I have reached another level.”
MORE UFC MEXICO: Homefield Advantage
Reaching another level in a stacked strawweight division when you’ve already earned a spot in the rankings is impressive, and while Godinez isn’t happy with the back-to-back defeats to Virna Jandiroba and Dern that snapped a four-fight winning streak, she’s not dwelling on them, either. She knows what she didn’t do right on those two nights, and she’s bene putting in the work to fix those tactical errors.
Loopy Godinez Fight Week Interview | UFC Mexico
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Loopy Godinez Fight Week Interview | UFC Mexico
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“Of course, I had to see my mistakes and see what was happening, and I think I changed myself without knowing I was changing myself,” she said. “I improved in little ways, but I also didn't follow my game. My game is to come forward, I’ll take you down and maul you. And I feel like I was trying to use just standup instead of using my own game on my own terms. Maybe I was worrying too much about what other people are going to do to me.”
RELATED: Julia Polastri Interview
Not anymore. Now, it’s back to full Loopy style, with some new wrinkles thrown in the mix. All that remains is a trip to Mexico City, a fight, a win, and in typical Godinez fashion, a request for three more fights in 2025 after this one.
“I'm really happy,” she said. “For me, the happier I am, when everything is where it’s supposed to be, I do the best.”
UFC Fight Night: Moreno vs Erceg took place live from Arena CDMX in Mexico City on March 29, 2025. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
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