The UFC has taken Vancouver-based strawweight Lupita (Loopy) Godinez to Abu Dhabi as well as Atlantic City, N.J., New York City, Miami, San Diego, Phoenix and Las Vegas (six times).
But Saturday night will be special as Godinez (12-5-0) takes on Brazil's Julia (Psycho) Polastri (13-4-0) on the undercard of a UFC Fight Night show in Mexico City.
Born in Mexico, Godinez was 14 when her family moved to Vancouver. Her father's car business had received threats from a drug cartel so he decided to move the family to safety, telling the kids they were going to Disneyland on vacation.
"I'm so happy. It's going to be great," Godinez said of fighting in Mexico City. "I was there last year as a guest fighter (for a Fight Night card in February 2024) and got to feel the energy of the event … I was wishing I was fighting (on the card). One year later, I'm on the card."
The 31-year-old Godinez, who is stepping in for injured Mexican fighter Yazmin Jauregui against Polastri, is currently ranked 11th among strawweight contenders, one spot above fellow Canadian Gillian (The Savage) Robertson.
Saturday's card marks the UFC's seventh trip to Mexico City.
The main event at Arena CDMX pits former UFC flyweight champion Brandon (The Assassin Baby) Moreno, a Mexican currently ranked No. 2 among 125-pound contenders, and No. 8 Steve (Astro Boy) Erceg of Australia. In the all-American middleweight co-main event, recently announced UFC Hall of Famer Kelvin Gastelum takes on Joe (BodyBagz) Pyfer.
Pyfer is coming off a KO win in June over Canadian Marc-Andre (Power Bay) Barriault.
Godinez fights out of Vancouver, by way of Aguascalientes, Mexico. She regularly returns to Mexico, holding fight camps at former UFC flyweight champion Alexa Grasso’s gym in Guadalajara, but trained in Canada for this fight.
Godinez, who has been busy since making her debut in the promotion in April 2021, is 7-5-0 in the UFC. But she is coming off back-to-back decision losses last year to No. 3 Virna Jandiroba of Brazil in March and No. 6 Mackenzie Dern of the U.S. in August.
"I have learned a lot from my last two fights … To be honest, this camp has been amazing," Godinez said. "I have improved a lot and I'm excited to show my new skills."
Godinez had won six of seven fights before the two losses and became the first woman in UFC history to record four wins in a calendar year when she beat Americans Cynthia Calvillo, Emily (Gordinha) Ducotte and Elise Reed and No. 10 Tabitha (Baby Shark) Ricci of Brazil in 2023.
The 27-year-old Polastri is 1-1-0 in the UFC, since earning her contract with a win on "Dana White's Contender Series" in September 2023. Polastri lost a decision to Canadian Jasmine Jasudavicius, now ranked ninth among UFC flyweight contenders, in her first appearance on the Contender Series in September 2021.
The Brazilian has gone 5-1-0 since that defeat, with the lone blemish being a decision loss in her UFC debut to Sweden's Josefine Lindgren Knutsson last June. Polastri bounced back with an October split-decision win over Wales' Cory McKenna in September.
"I expect her best version of herself," said Godinez. "She's strong in the clinch and I think it's a great matchup for me."
Godinez comes from a sporting family.
Sister Ana Godinez wrestled for Canada at last summer's Paris Olympics. Karla Godinez, another sister, was a bronze medallist at the 2022 world wrestling championships.
Having started in judo in Mexico, Loopy Godinez returned to the sport in Canada. That led her to jiu-jitsu. But mixed martial arts grabbed her attention when she saw (Rowdy) Ronda Rousey, an Olympic bronze medallist in judo, fight in the UFC.
She found a gym and made her amateur debut in November 2016 (losing a split decision to future UFC fighter Jamey-Lyn Horth). After winning the LFA strawweight title in October 2020, Godinez got the UFC call, stepping in on short notice to face former strawweight title challenger Jessica Penne in April 2021.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 27, 2025
Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press
