Emily Ducote feels relieved to have made it to the UFC.
It has been a wild ride for Ducote (11-6) thus far in her professional career, but she finally made it to the UFC after some ups and downs.
“Gordinha” was a staple in the Bellator flyweight division from 2016-2019, challenging for the inaugural flyweight championship belt. She then moved to Invicta, where she really made a name for herself. Ducote went 4-1, winning the strawweight title and defending it once before getting the call to the UFC.
Oh, and she also had one of the best knockouts of 2021 when she brutally knocked out former UFC fighter Danielle Taylor.
Emily Ducote put Danielle Taylor’s lights OUT.
Holy smokes. What a knockout.pic.twitter.com/OVyMsVpy0W
— Alex Behunin (@AlexBehunin) August 28, 2021
When Brianna Fortino pulled out of her fight against Jessica Penne at UFC Long Island, Ducote stepped up on short notice.
The 28-year-old fighter is relieved to be in the UFC at long last.
“It is such a relief. Honestly, like I know people sign [to the UFC], and they get stressed out because, you know, the pressure in the UFC, which I’m fully aware of, but I just honestly feel relieved that I was able to make it,” Ducote told Cageside Press in an exclusive interview recently. “You know, sometimes things don’t work out, and you just don’t make it, and so I’m super excited to have made it and really excited to make my debut.”
Ducote is making her debut against a UFC veteran and former title challenger, but she knew when she eventually made it to the promotion that she would get a tough fight for her first one.
“I’m not surprised at all. I have always accepted fights in my career. Tough fight or fights that maybe I wasn’t sure I was ready for,” Ducote said. “I just feel like it’s so important to do that because then you either learn, or you win, and you get like this really cool experience. So I just always pride myself on taking advantage of opportunities, and this is 100% an opportunity. And I’m not surprised at all that it’s against somebody that is so established in the UFC. So I’m looking forward to it.”
Ducote vs. Penne opens up UFC Long Island on ESPN/ESPN+ this Saturday, July 16, 2022.
Watch the rest of our interview with UFC Long Island’s Emily Ducote above.
