Athletes
Vanessa Demopoulos: Built In The Trenches
The "Lil Monster" Is Excited To Participate In Her First Las Vegas Fight Week Since Moving Full-Time To Nevada
Las Vegas finally got Vanessa Demopoulos. During the course of a nearly six-year pro career, the Ohio native has trained everywhere from California to Arizona to Colorado, but somehow never made it to the fight capital of the world for a training camp.
Until now.
“They finally got me, man,” she laughs. “And they sold me here with the PI and all of the amazing people that are coming here. It's like you could throw a rock and hit a world-class coach here in Las Vegas.”
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That means when Saturday night rolls around and Demopoulos steps into the Octagon to face Japan’s Kanako Murata, it will be a home game at the UFC APEX, where she has won two of her four appearances since joining the roster. The last one, though, was an upset loss to Karolina Kowalkiewicz, and following the fight – her first with the Factory X squad in Colorado – she needed a change of scenery.
“I lost my last fight,” said Demopoulos, who dropped a three-round unanimous decision to the former world title challenger. “It was very unfortunate, and that was an opponent that I was looking forward to fighting, and I felt very good going up against the opponent. I felt very good in my preparations, but I didn't have everything that I personally needed at the gym that I was at. And as much as I loved (Factory X head coach) Marc Montoya as a human, as a coach, I needed a little bit more than what was offered to me over there. So here in Las Vegas, I have a lot more training partners, I have more bodies, I have more attention. I have more specific training for the things that I need and look forward to.”
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It's the voice of experience talking. And at 35, Demopoulos has reached the point in her career and life where she has to put herself first. Then again, seeking out the best situation to add to her skill set and evolve as a fighter has always been a priority.
“I have always done what it takes. I don't have limitations as far as things I won't go for when it comes to this fight game. I have sacrificed everything for this, and it's what I love,” she said. “It's what I'm passionate about. And I'm also a nerd when it comes to learning and growing and evolving. So, this journey for me, I've seen so many things and it's about the people, it's about the coaches, it's about the innovation, it's about creating. And I love learning. I love going to people who can teach me something and who are adding to the clip, who are adding to this skillset that I've already adopted because I don't know it all. And I'm still growing as an athlete even after all of these years, and I love that so much. So it's not so much a challenge for me as an adventure.”
Well, there is certainly plenty of adventure to be found in Las Vegas, and while some would shy away from training there because it is a 24/7 fight town, Demopoulos embraces that aspect of her new home, as well as the fact that when she wants to get away, there are plenty of options to do just that.
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“That's the cool part about living in Vegas, there's always something happening,” she said. “You could find something happening on a Wednesday if you wanted to escape for a little bit and go to a show or go see something amazing, go out to the mountains. But I love being immersed. So this couldn't be more perfect for me, being able to be at the PI. Dennis Davis has been my head coach for this camp, he's over at Xtreme (Couture). So most of my training is done at the PI, but I get to go over there and see him at Xtreme, come back over to the PI, get some recovery in, get some hard training in and do all of the things that are necessary for me. And I do spend about anywhere from four to six hours in a day training focused, whether that's training or recovering. This is a full-time job for me. This isn't something where I go to the gym and then I'm trying to escape it. I love being immersed, but if I do want to get away, there's always something to be done here.”
Demopoulos has never been one to sulk over a loss, or anything for that matter, so if she sounds positive about her latest move, that’s par for the course. But maybe, more than ever, she’s ready to take on the world.
“A million percent,” she said without hesitation. “Yeah, I feel that way.”
And though Demopoulos is well aware of the “what if” game, wondering where she would be if she made this move ten years ago, she’s not dwelling on it since she feels that is finally home.
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“I felt the ‘what if’ every time,” she said. “I felt the ‘what if’ very often when I lived in Denver, which is why it was kind of easy for me to leave. When I moved here to Vegas, I felt like, oh my gosh, I'm home. I loved living in California. I loved living in Phoenix, most of all. And being here in Las Vegas, I was here so often, it was like this just felt too natural for me. I didn't feel this huge transitional period of, where am I going? Where's my favorite coffee shops? I lived here basically without ever actually having a residence. So this has been the smoothest transition for me emotionally that I've had for any of the moves that I've made. And I've moved a lot. So this has been the happiest that I've been going to a new location and feeling completely at home.”
It's almost like the Disney fairytale ending is playing out just like every fighter dreams it will. But let’s not lose sight of the fact that Demopoulos is going to get into a fistfight this weekend and that a lot is riding on it, which means plenty of blood, sweat and tears shed over the last several weeks. Some can’t handle that reality amidst the good vibes.
The “Lil’ Monster” can.
“I was built in the trenches,” she said. “I was built before anybody saw me. I was the person in the gym doing the work when no one was watching. I don't care about the lights and the media and all the interviews. I mean, they're amazing and I love them so much. I love the attention, but that's not what I'm about. That's not how I got here. I got here because I was working. I was working my ass off in the dark, in the trenches. That's where I'm from. And if anything, this motivates me to remember who I am, what I'm about, and why I'm here. Because I'm not here to show off for nobody. I know who I am, and I'm that girl who's willing to work every single day, whether the eyes are on me or not. And all that (the loss to Kowalkiewicz) did was remind me of exactly all the things that I've overcome and become to be in the position that I'm in right now. And I can't wait to show the world that it doesn't matter. You can watch me struggle, but you'll never watch me quit. I'm still here.”
UFC Fight Night: Dawson vs Green took place live from the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada on October 7, 2023. See the Final Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!
