Vancouver's Godinez wins via unanimous decision in Mexico City strawweight bout

MEXICO CITY - Vancouver-based Lupita (Loopy) Godinez snapped a two-fight losing streak with a decision win Saturday over Brazil's Julia (Psycho) Polastri in an entertaining bout on the undercard of a UFC Fight Night show in Mexico City.

All three judges scored it 29-28 for Godinez, giving her the first two rounds on each card. Polastri rallied in a violent third round but it was too little, too late.

"The UFC knows I'm ready and I will fight anybody, any time, anywhere," said Godinez who did a little dance in the middle of the cage after the win.

The 31-year-old Godinez, who stepped in for injured Mexican fighter Yazmin Jauregui against Polastri, is ranked 11th among strawweight contenders, one spot above fellow Canadian Gillian (The Savage) Robertson.

Godinez was 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.

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.

She was greeted with cheers and chants of "Loopy, Loopy" by the Mexican crowd.

The main event at Arena CDMX saw former UFC flyweight champion Brandon (The Assassin Baby) Moreno, a Mexican currently ranked No. 2 among 125-pound contenders, win a unanimous decision over No. 8 Steve (Astro Boy) Erceg of Australia.

Saturday's card marked the UFC's seventh trip to Mexico City.

Godinez (13-5-0) came forward from the get-go and, after catching a Polastri kick, slammed the Brazilian to the canvas. When they got back to their feet, Godinez connected with some big punches then took Polastri down again.

Polastri (13-5-0) defended well on the ground but the round went to Godinez.

Godinez took Polastri down twice in the second round but got cut in the process, bleeding from the forehead.

The two stayed on their feet in the third round with Godinez looking unsuccessfully for a takedown after eating some big blows from the Brazilian. Godinez clinched at the fence, temporarily ending the barrage, and took Polastri down as the round ended.

Each fighter landed 58 significant strikes in the action-packed third round, according to UFC Stats. Polastri had a 14-11 edge in the first round with each fighter landing 15 significant strikes in the second. 

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, improved to 8-5-0 in the UFC. 

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 fell to 1-2-0 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 5-2-0 since that defeat.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 29, 2025.