UFC 270: Vanessa Demopoulos Survives Knockdown, Submits Silvana Gomez Juarez

Vanessa Demopoulos, UFC 270
Vanessa Demopoulos, UFC 270 ceremonial weigh-in Credit: Gabriel Gonzalez/Cageside Press

Vanessa Demopoulos officially has her first UFC win, in dramatic fashion, defeating Silvana Gomez Juarez via comeback first round submission.

Originally scheduled for UFC Vegas 46 a week ago, Silvana Gomez Juarez vs. Vanessa Demopoulos was pushed back a week, but finally arrived as part of Saturday’s UFC 270 early prelims.

Arrived in style, frankly.

The strawweight bout had Demopoulos returning to her natural weight class of 115lbs, after making her debut on short notice at flyweight last year. With Juarez having come up short against Loopy Godinez in her own promotional debut back in October, both fighters were looking to get back in the win column.

Juarez opened up active, landing a couple of leg kicks as well as a massive right hand that caught the attention of Demopoulos. Demopoulos tried to return fire but was caught by another, even more massive right hand and was sat down badly as a result. Juarez landed some massive shots on the ground, but referee Frank Trigg didn’t call an end to the fight. Demopoulos then pulled guard and quickly began an armbar attempt that was sunk in almost immediately. Juarez tried to gut out of the submission but once Demopoulos torqued on the arm that was it! An incredible comeback victory for Vanessa Demopoulos.

With the come-from-behind win, Vanessa Demopoulos officially has her first win in the UFC, and in amazing fashion. Having to rally, “Lil Monster” even admitted in her post-fight interview with Joe Rogan that she actually woke up on the mat after being knocked down by Juarez in the early exchange. She then proceeded to have Rogan lift her up in celebration.

On the other end, Silvana Gomez Juarez showcased a lot of power in her second fight in the UFC, especially for a strawweight— but she now drops to 0-2 in the promotion.

Official Result: Vanessa Demopoulos def. Silvana Gomez Juarez by submission (armbar), Round 1, 2:25