Las Vegas — Strawweight Denise Gomes had a finish of Elise Reed at UFC Vegas 106 so violently entertaining that she’s leaving Las Vegas with a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus.
The second-round TKO represents the third straight win for Gomes (11-3), who is 5-2 inside the octagon since joining the UFC in 2022. And having walked out to the Cyndi Lauper anthem “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,” it appears Gomes did just that on Saturday.
“The music was to remind me that that’s the point. I gotta get in there, I gotta have fun. And yeah, I had a very good time in there,” the 25-year old told media outlets including Cageside Press following the fight.
Gomes certainly did some damage putting Reed away, after looking strong on the feet and on the ground. She agreed that some of the finishing blows probably weren’t necessary, but that boils down to the ref’s call, not hers.
“I thought that she was out on the first punch because of the way she crumbled,” admitted Gomes. “But my job, I’m always told that I gotta keep on hitting until the referee stops it, and that’s what I kept on doing. Maybe I could have stopped a little earlier, but in any case, I think it sends a good message to the division. If I get you down, I’m going to keep on punching until someone pulls me off of you.”
Gomes isn’t ready to call anyone out just yet, despite her three-fight winning streak. “Honestly right now I don’t think I’m in any position to request anybody, so I’m ready to fight anybody in the division. Whoever they put in front of me, it’s going to be a good fight.” Instead, she plans on continuing to improve, although Gomes does have her eye on a relatively quick turnaround.
“The one thing is, I’m pretty unscathed, I think I could be fighting again in August. If they could give me that date, that would be great.”
Watch the full UFC Vegas 106 post-fight media appearance by Denise Gomes above.
