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Elise Reed’s Chance To Break The Trend
Strawweight Elise Reed Is Determined To Put Together Her First UFC Winning Streak By Defeating Loopy Godinez At Noche UFC
Through six UFC appearances, strawweight Elise Reed has alternated wins and losses.
Currently sitting at 3-3 in the promotion, Reed is determined to break that trend this weekend at Noche UFC when she faces Loopy Godinez.
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Beating Godinez, and earning her second win in a row, was the resounding message all throughout her camp for Noche UFC. Even so much that Reed and her team treated training camp as if she lost her most recent bout against Jinh Yu Frey – which she won by unanimous decision.
“We are looking to get two Ws back-to-back,” Reed told UFC.com “That hasn’t happened yet. As much as coming off a win is nice, we are looking to piece two together so I kind of went into this fight almost as if I lost the last fight to get my head right.”
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The ups and downs taught Reed much needed lessons, especially when it comes to finding that perfect balance between being patient and being aggressive. Two examples of this came in her defeats to Sam Hughes and Loma Lookboonmee. In both fights, Reed felt like she was doing some good things prior to losing her rhythm in the fight.
She thinks bringing those lessons into this bout will pay dividends, especially considering Godinez’s aggressive nature.
“You don’t want to be too patient. You don’t want to be too cautious, but you don’t want to be too reckless,” Reed said. “That’s what I’m trying to find, the tenacity of what we call ‘Old School Reed’ where we just drove through people and hit them as hard as I can. Also, knowing that these opponents are extremely skilled and well-rounded, I have to be a little more patient sometimes. It’s finding that good throttle where I’m pushing the pace but also not giving them any opportunity to take advantage.”
If Reed can find that throttle, she’s confident that she can leave T-Mobile Arena with her first UFC win streak. And she believes beating someone as talented as Godinez will prove that she’s a real player in the ultra-competitive strawweight division.
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Noche UFC is UFC’s first annual Mexican Independence Day event, and considering the fact that Reed is fighting a Mexican, she’s expecting to hear plenty of boo birds when she steps into the Octagon.
And she can’t wait to hear them.
“I think it’s going to be crazy. Every time I’ve had an away game type fight, I expect to get booed. This might be the time where I walk in and they don’t necessarily like me,” Reed said. “I love the crowd, good or bad, so I’m really excited to feed off that energy.”
Reed hopes that energy will fuel her to deliver her best UFC performance to date, one where she feels like she can handle Godinez’s solid boxing and stop her takedowns, showcase that she’s improved in all facets of mixed martial arts, and that she is more than capable of winning back-and-forth exciting fights.
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“I know the gameplan for most fighters coming against me,” Reed said with a smirk. “Everybody that wants to start striking with me doesn’t end up wanting to strike with me and that shows the level that I’m at in terms of the striking game.”
When picturing the perfect fight, Reed expects to be “like a shark” pushing the pace and hunting Godinez down with heavy strikes and kicks until the referee jumps in to call the fight. That’s the “Old School Reed” way and would be the perfect way to finally break through from prospect to potential contender.
“Me getting a W over Loopy shows that I’m well-rounded and that I capable of making an impact in the division,” Reed said. “I just can’t wait to make it happen.”
UFC Fight Night: Grasso vs Shevchenko 2 took place live from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on September 16, 2023. See the Final Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!
