Loopy Godinez: 'I'm not afraid to go to the ground' with Mackenzie Dern at UFC Abu Dhabi

Mackenzie Dern arguably has the best jiu-jitsu in women’s MMA, yet, her opponent, Loopy Godinez, is not fazed by it.

Saturday, a pivotal women’s strawweight bout goes down on the main card of UFC on ABC 7 with Godinez (12-4 MMA, 7-4 UFC) clashing against Dern (13-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC). Many look to avoid the ground and any type of grappling when it comes to fighting Dern, a decorated jiu-jitsu champion. However, Godinez is eager to put her own grappling to the test and welcomes the challenge.

“The truth is that I’m not afraid to go to the ground with her because I’ve also worked a ton on my jiu-jitsu, and also on stopping a jiu-jitsu fighter from doing their things,” Godinez told MMA Junkie in Spanish. “That’s also very important – it’s not just about me doing jiu-jitsu. We’re focused on that a lot, and obviously our hands are always improving and that’s going to show. The truth is that I want to work my wrestling, but we’ll see how things go down.”

Both Godinez and Dern, although ranked names in the 115-pound division, are coming off losses and are looking to get back in their winning ways so they can make a run for the title. Dern is coming off a loss to Amanda Lemos and Godinez to Virna Jandiroba.

Despite their defeats, the Lobo Gym product is convinced she’ll enter back into title contention with a win on Saturday.

“Nobody likes to lose, obviously, but I just take it how it is – a lesson,” Godinez said. “I can just try to do things better this time around. This is not the first time I’ve lost, but it is more crucial because I’m high in the rankings. But it happened, and it signals I need to adjust things, and I think it’s better to find out now than later on when I’m more ahead.

“Again, a loss is never good, but if I do something big in my performance, you never know – maybe I just get one more, and then I’m fighting for the title. Someone can also get injured, and then I get a shot. This sport is just too unpredictable. All I can do is stay positive and keep moving forward.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ABC 7.