Carli Judice is one of the very few contestants on Dana White’s Contender Series to lose a fight and get a contract. Her split decision loss to Ernesta Kareckaite was deemed one of the greatest fights in the show’s history. However, after dropping that one and then her UFC debut – also by split decision – Judice was left doubting whether or not she could hang.
“I didn’t like losing. Obviously, no one does, but especially two in a row in the biggest stage,” Judice said. “In the UFC and [Dana White’s] Contender Series, it sucked. And it makes you wonder if I’m meant to be in the UFC.”
After having those back-to-back negative results, Judice was booked againt on a UFC Apex card back in March against Yuneisy Duben. The result was exactly what she had been looking for, a head kick KO, and everything came back to her in a rush.
“Dude, it was amazing. It was amazing to get my first UFC win. It was amazing to get another knockout because most of my amateur wins and then my first three pro wins were knockouts,” she recalled. “And to come back and win like that, it’s just very nostalgic – it felt very familiar.”
Now she looks to build on that feeling. Having shown she could do the thing, and do it emphatically, she’s found that mental edge she had before the UFC. Plus, she has a slew of people to remind her just how nasty she is anytime those doubts creep back in.
“I’m coming off that win with even more confidence because I know I belong in the UFC, and I’m going to continue to put in the work to make sure that I continue to belong in the UFC,” Judice explained. ” Anytime I doubt myself publicly, someone’s like, Carli, you got two bonuses back to back. And it’s like, okay, all right. I can’t doubt myself too much because the work is showing even with the losses. It does show with the bonuses show that I’m an interesting fighter that I go out to give fight of the night performances every time.”
The added bonus of that success, more than just the confidence, was getting in the good graces of the bosses. With rumors that the UFC was coming to New Orleans, which is just 30 minutes from where Carli Judice grew up, she knew that the head kick KO was her ticket in.
“When I landed that head kick, I was like, ‘oh, Nola sound good right now,” she said. “I figured it would be awesome, you know, and here we are and it’s awesome.”
Her fight at UFC 318 will be against Nicolle Caliari. That fight takes place on the ESPN+ prelims, which start at 6pm EST.
