Athletes
Viktoriia Dudakova Seeks Answers In The Octagon
Undefeated Russian Eager To Test Herself At Flyweight On Saturday Night In Atlantic City
Viktoriia Dudakova has remained undefeated through her first two appearances in the UFC, yet each of those contests featured incidents that leave room to still be unsure about just where the unbeaten fighter fits as she readies to make her third start this weekend against Melissa Gatto.
The 25-year-old Russian prospect’s promotional debut last July was halted just 34 seconds into the opening round when her opponent, Istela Nunes, suffered a dislocated left elbow when the two spilled to the ground as Dudakova looked for a low single leg. Three months later, she missed weight for her matchup with Jinh Yu Frey at UFC 294, coming in less than a pound over the flyweight limit before earning a unanimous decision win the following evening in Abu Dhabi.
“I cannot wait until the fight,” Dudakova said on Wednesday through translator Sergey Nagorny. “This was a great camp — there is not a lot of weight that I still have to cut, I feel great; the camp was very successful. I cannot wait until Saturday.”
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This weekend’s pairing with Gatto takes place in the flyweight division, the first time Dudakova has ventured up to the 125-pound ranks in her professional career.
After struggling with her health and shedding the final few kilograms prior to her bout with Frey in October, the promising prospect wonders if moving up in weight is part of what has helped her avoid the usual nagging injuries and potential health issues that have cropped up in the past.
“I think maybe that’s why I was able to avoid a certain amount of injuries,” she said of switching divisions this time around. “I think this is great that I don’t have to go that far down, I don’t have to run that much weight off. I’m able to train at this weight, I feel good, I’ve eaten well — I actually feel like I’ve gained a little weight.
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“I feel like I could be a very good competitor at this weight,” added Dudakova, who punched her ticket to the UFC with a unanimous decision win over fellow unbeaten Maria Silva on Season 6 of Dana White’s Contender Series. “Obviously, we’re going to have to wait and see — see what the fight shows — but I feel like I’ll be a good competitor at this weight.”
The flyweight division is brimming with talent and very much in the spotlight at the moment.
Last Saturday, two-time strawweight champion Rose Namajunas affirmed her standing as a potential new force in the 125-pound weight class with a unanimous decision win over Amanda Ribas in last weekend’s main event, while top contenders Erin Blanchfield and Manon Fiorot battle it out in the main event on Saturday night at Boardwalk Hall.
Mix in a recent key victory for Maycee Barber, and a pack of ascending talents that includes Brazilians Natalia Silva, Ariane Lipski, and Karine Silva, as well as Tracy Cortez, Miranda Maverick, and Jasmine Jasudavicius and you have a strong division with a wealth of promising talent eager to keep making waves for themselves
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“We’re gonna have to wait until the fight on Saturday because that’s gonna answer a lot of the questions that we have,” continued Dudakova, who is just as curious about finding out where she potentially fits in her new surroundings and is unsure if she’ll remain at flyweight or return to strawweight in the future. “I don’t know yet. I ask myself the same question — do I want to stay here or do I want to go back down to 115? — but I don’t know yet. I think I’m gonna be able to compete well, but we’ll have to wait and see.
“The fight will show us,” she added. “(The fight) will answer a lot of questions for us.”
Dudakova arrives in Atlantic City in the kind of position that could potentially shake a younger fighter, entering her bout with Gatto on Saturday having never tasted defeat in her career, yet still facing down questions about whether she is able to compete in the UFC.
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She went 6-0 as an amateur, starting her career at bantamweight before shifting to flyweight and winning the 2019 IMMAF European Senior Championship on the same card as fellow future UFC competitors Melissa Mullins, Christian Leroy Duncan, and Shamil Gaziev before claiming bronze at the World Championships later in the year.
Went she turned pro, Dudakova dropped down to strawweight, rattling off five straight stoppage wins to garner her call to compete on the Contender Series where she out-hustled Silva and was invited to join the UFC roster.
“Honestly, I don’t consider myself to be unbeatable,” began Dudakova, wading into what is always an interesting subject to unpack with athletes. “It’s all about hard work in the gym and mental work.
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“In a way, it was hard for me to accept the fact that I have that zero next to me — it made me afraid to lose it, I kept thinking about it; I didn’t want to lose it to somebody,” she admitted. “Now I understand that it’s all about mental work and work in the gym. It’s not something I concentrate on; it’s more about how can I improve my skills and show a good fight.”
Having successfully navigated another fight camp, including wrapping things up in much more favorable and enjoyable surroundings in Miami with the MMA Masters crew, the unbeaten talent from southwestern Russia is keen to make the walk again on Saturday night and deliver a performance that shows her to be a future standout in the Octagon.
“I’m very excited. I feel good; I feel right where I need to be,” she said. “I’m confident in myself, I’m confident in my skills, and I feel like I will be able to show a good fight; doesn’t matter where it goes.
“I don’t want to say it’s going to be easy, I don’t want to get ahead of myself because I always say, ‘The fight will show,’ so I’m happy where I’m at and I’m excited to get in there on Saturday.”
UFC Fight Night: Blanchfield vs Fiorot took place live from Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on March 30, 2024. See the final Prelims & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!
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