Las Vegas, NV — UFC strawweight Vanessa Demopoulos, fresh off her second win inside the octagon, has zero doubt that she was indeed the winner her fight with Jinh Yu Frey.
The strawweight tussle took place last month at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, and went the distance, ending in a split decision. When the dust had settled and the scorecards were read, it was Demopoulos with her hand raised.
“There’s no controversy. I won that fight. One of the judges had it 30-27. I did believe I had done enough to win,” Demopoulos (8-4) told Cageside Press during Thursday’s UFC Hall of Fame 2022 Induction Ceremony. “I think the first round was kind of close, but still I solidified it with a takedown. I had a lot more cage control, I had a lot more damage done, a lot more significant damage, versus the point-fighting and the point-striking. So I felt like I had that fight in the bag, personally.”
While “Lil Monster” has now won two straight, she’s taking a little break from fighting — busy with a broadcasting gig on UFC Fight Pass, plus an upcoming vacation.
“I’m looking forward to fighting in MMA prior to the end of the year. Right now, my full focus is being able to go on this vacation with my family, which I promised them for so many years now, that as soon as I made it to the UFC, I’ll go to Greece with you guys. So that’s coming up at the end of this month. I couldn’t be happier to spend family time, and then once I get back, I’m gonna be right back into gear and ready to rock n’ roll.”
Putting on her analyst cap, Demopoulos gave her thoughts on the two title fights topping UFC 276 this weekend.
“Jared Cannonier, he’s got such huge knockout power, right? I feel like Izzy’s never fought, aside from Jan [Blachowicz], a competitor who’s so strong. But Izzy, outside of Cannonier, he fought at light heavyweight. So he does have enough mass to be able handle Cannonier’s power, but Cannoner’s so powerful! And I feel like he’s so dialed in, but I think Izzy’s got this one in the bag.”
Demopoulos believes featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski will hear “and still” this Saturday.
“I’m also looking forward to Volkanovski winning,” said Demopoulos. “Ahh, and that’s so hard because Max is such an awesome fighter, and he’s never been put away, and he’s known for going out there and being in these wars. And the reason why he doesn’t spar is so that— I mean I don’t know why he doesn’t spar, I don’t know personally, but it’s so that he can have all of that finesse for the cage. I’m really looking forward to that match-up. Every fight they’ve had has been fireworks.”
Watch our full interview with Vanessa Demopoulos above!
