Looking back at that fight Demopoulos credits her tough opponent for coming in strong. However, she also recognizes that she wasn’t the best version of herself that night. Some of that was due to personal issues, but some was because she just didn’t feel settled into her camp.

“I was training out a Factory X at that time with Marc Montoya. I still have a good relationship with Marc Montoya – he’s great,” Demopoulos noted – crediting the entire Factory X team as being amazing. However, they just weren’t what she needed at the time, nor did she have the time to get situated. “I was just going through a lot of things myself and I had just moved to Denver. I didn’t really get myself acclimated.”

So after the loss, Demopoulos decided that she was going to try something a little bit different. Much like Lauren Murphy did before her run to a flyweight title shot, ‘Lil Monster’ has decided to put together her own fight camp.

“I am now training out of [Vegas]. I really put together my own camp. I’m primarily out of the Performance Institute,” she shared. “I am going over to Xtreme [Couture] and training with Dennis Davis, who is my head coach right now. I also have Mateus Nicolau, who came from Brasil and actually was Jose Aldo’s striking coordinator for quite a while.”

There is a large cast of characters who all come together to make her camp a reality. And while this isn’t something we see much of in the world of MMA, this is not new for her. Early in her career, she built a similar thing while travelling around the West coast.

“I have done this before. This is similar to what I dealt with when I was in California,” she said. “I really a la carted my camp out there, so this isn’t something foreign to me. I know this is not for a lot of fighters. Some fighters want to go somewhere and have everything in one place.”

With her first self-made camp in the UFC under her belt, she feels better than ever and couldn’t be happier with her decision.

“This has just worked out great for me. I get to pick the people I want to work with and I jive with the best,” Demopoulos said. “It’s just really awesome.”

She’ll look to show the fruits of that labor this Saturday. She takes on Kanako Murata as part of the UFC Vegas 80 prelims, which starts at 4pm EST on ESPN+.

You can hear the entire audio of this interview at 2:19.

The post UFC Vegas 80’s Vanessa Demopoulos’ Camp A La Carte appeared first on Cageside Press.

Johnny Munoz Jr Interview (2:16)

Kicking off this edition of TTP is our interview with UFC bantamweight, Johnny Munoz Jr. Munoz fights this weekend at UFC Vegas 80. He discusses the fight with Qileng Aori and where he sees his biggest advantages. Plus, we get into the hot topic of MMA judging and what we can do to fix it. Munoz has some personal experiences that he shares thoughts on and suggests some solutions as well.

Fights, Dogs, and Parlays: UFC Vegas 80 (15:59)

After hitting the Apex for UFC Vegas 79 just two weeks ago, the UFC is back for UFC Vegas 80. The fight card is headlined by Grant Dawson and Bobby Green, who throw down in a lightweight tilt. Both men are looking to stake their claim as a threat in the 155lbs weight class. We’ll break down that fight and also give you our thoughts on some of the other biggest fights of the weekend. In addition to all that goodness, we’ll also be hitting you with some betting advice for this weekend’s card. We have both underdogs and parlays that we think can make that wallet a little fatter on Saturday. For this segment, all odds via FanDuel Sportsbook.

Landry Ward Interview (24:42)

Closing out this edition of TTP is our interview with LFA 169 headliner, Landry Ward. Ward prepares for his first LFA headlining spot on this Friday as he takes on Alfred Walker. “The Lonestar Kid” believes that a spectacular finish in the main event should net him a chance at the big show. He shares his thoughts on why he believes it’s all coming together this weekend as well as some of his thoughts on fighting for LFA in general. He talks about his division’s current champion and why he doesn’t feel particularly compelled to chase him down to get the title.

The post TTP Ep. 398 with Johnny Munoz Jr, Landry Ward and UFC Vegas 80 appeared first on Cageside Press.