When she steps into the cage at UFC Houston, Carli Judice will be looking for her third straight UFC win and her fourth straight bonus payment. That run is impressive enough on its own, but even crazier when you consider the path to getting there. After earning a contract on Dana White’s Contender Series in a losing effort, she dropped her UFC debut in a close decision. The turnaround, for her, was all about staying composed.
“That’s crazy to think, especially where I came from and losing my first two fights, Contender Series and debut. It’s crazy to come back the way that I did,” Judice said. “I’m proud of myself for it because I know how much work it took – to be to do that and mental, work too, to be able to go in the cage and stay calm under all the pressure and everything.”
Of course, with collecting three straight bonuses comes some decisions. While pocketing an extra 150k in those fights, on top of her show and win payments, Judice had some financial freedom not many have that early in their career. She started by taking care of something that she always dreamed of.
“I’m 26 years old and it’s always been, growing up, I always played house and family and stuff with my sisters. So one of my dreams was to have my own house. So we recently just purchased a house,” she said. “So yeah, that’s one of my first big purchases with those few bonuses I got.”
However, it wasn’t all practical and savings for the Lousiana-born fighter. She also has been digging into her passions outside of the cage – passions that satisfy her sweet tooth.
“I’ve been buying a lot of sweets and stuff to bake because I’m a baker. So big purchases is a house and little purchases is just little things to feed my hobbies,” Judice said. “I’m on a sourdough kick. I’m baking sourdough right now. My weight’s really good so I can still eat some sourdough bread three weeks out. So that’s great.”
Now, with a chance to add on to her historic run of bonuses, Judice heads to UFC Houston and a date with Ultimate Fighter winner Juliana Miller. Her prediction? Same as before.
“Man, I say first round knockout every time because why would I say anything else? This is sounds like the only right answer, but I’m definitely trying to find a finish in the first round,” she said. “But I’m definitely also going to be patient. So whatever comes, I’m going to look for it, but it’s about being patient. That’s when I really find it, but I’m just excited to go in there and have fun.”
You can catch her fight with Juliana Miller as part of the UFC Houston prelims. That fight card begins this Saturday at 5pm EST on Paramount+.
