Las Vegas, NV — Brazil’s Denise Gomes had no idea she had set the record for fastest finish in UFC strawweight history at UFC 290 until well after the fact.
Gomes, who knocked out highly-touted prospect Yazmin Jauregui in just 20 seconds, was clearly excited by the news, speaking to media outlets including Cageside Press following the fight.
“I didn’t know. It was a surprise for me,” exclaimed Gomes (8-2), who improved her record to 2-1 inside the octagon on Saturday. “I knew I was going to come into the UFC and break some records, but to actually start like this, it’s a very cool thing.”
Gomes was a sizable underdog in the fight, but doesn’t appear to have been bothered the those betting against her.
“People are going to doubt you, it doesn’t matter what happens. If people want to doubt, I have a lot of respect for the opponent, but I’m coming to win no matter what. If people think I’m going to lose, if they think I’m going to win, my respect is going to be the same, my actions are going to be the same.”
The 23-year old from Sao Leopoldo, Brazil was also unaware that Jauregui’s last wins had come at the expense of her Brazilian compatriots. So there was no extra motivation to win one back for Brazil.
“Particularly I do not know who she fought against, that’s something we do back in the gym. I don’t what she did,” explained Gomes. “We came in there to do our thing, and that’s kind of the theory that I had, to actually come in with what I bring.”
Having been the first to defeat Jauregui as a pro, Denise Gomes wants to get back to work as soon as possible, she added.
“Obviously the sooner the better. I want to show people how much I’ve evolved. We were looking to evolve, and as soon as we can fight, we’re gonna do that. We have plans when we go in there, and I want to show with each fight that there’s been evolution as a fighter.”
“Even though we have a game plan, and we do, believe me,” she continued, “whenever we get in there, there’s a surprise. Even for myself. As long as it’s a good surprise, I’m in for it.”
The energy of International Fight Week, and the big UFC 290 card capping it off on Saturday, was a different sort of experience, Gomes later told Cageside Press.
“It’s different. The energy is up there, it’s so high. I worked to prepare myself, to not let it get to me, but I can’t lie— there energy there is just surreal, it’s pretty amazing in the fight.”
Watch the full UFC 290 post-fight press conference with Denise Gomes above.
