Despite fighting in Angela Hill's hometown, Loopy Godinez expects fan support at UFC San Diego

Loopy Godinez is fighting in Angela Hill’s hometown, but she still expects the crowd to be on her side.

Godinez (8-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC) meets Hill in Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 41 main card opener, which takes place at Pechanga Arena in San Diego. The card airs on ESPN and streams on ESPN+.

Hill trains out of Alliance MMA in San Diego alongside the night’s headliner, Dominick Cruz, but with a big Mexican presence near the U.S.-Mexico border, Godinez doesn’t see it as hostile territory.

“When I started my pro career, I’ve been always going to other people’s homes, so I’m familiar with this,” Godinez told MMA Junkie Radio. “Also not really because there’s so many Latin people here, so many Mexicans here that I’m sure I’m gonna have a lot of people cheering for me.”

Godinez competed four times when she signed with the UFC in 2021. Her fight with Hill came together on short notice, but if she can make it three straight with a win over Hill, she expects her schedule to slow down.

“I definitely love to be active, love to fight,” Godinez said. “As I said, I’d fight every weekend if I could, but of course, now that we’re getting into the top rankings, you gotta get smart. And, of course, that’s not my job, that’s my management’s job, and I think they are doing an amazing job and the reason why they offered me this fight like on short notice – we already knew I was gonna fight her in October, but the reason is because they know I’m ready. They see me training all the time. I don’t do anything else, so why not? Might as well get it done early.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 41.