Strawweight Denis Gomes finds herself fighting in the co-main event at UFC Shanghai this Saturday, taking on a former title challenger in China’s Yan Xiaonan.
While Yan has competed for gold in the UFC previously, coming up short against Weili Zhang, Gomes doesn’t see her as the biggest threat she’s had to face.
“She is a threat, but she’s not the biggest threat yet,” Gomes (12-3) said during the UFC Shanghai media day. “I’m going to use my aggressiveness, my intelligence in my favour. So yes she is a threat, but there’s going to be bigger ones.”
Gomes won her way into the UFC in 2022, and just four years later finds herself in a co-main event. As to what that progress means, she stated on Wednesday that “it means that what I’ve been doing is showing results, and I think that looking back, the girl who fought at Contenders would be very proud of who I’m becoming now. It’s just one step at a time, and it’s the fruits of our labour.”
Gomes outlook on the fight is that she’s not just fighting Yan. “This is the biggest fight in my career, but I think I’m not only fighting her, I’m fighting everyone that she has fought, and all the girls that I’m still going to fight,” she stated. “She is the biggest right now, but it’s just proof that all the work that we’ve been doing is showing results.”
Watch the full UFC Shanghai media day appearance by Denise Gomes above.
