Lupita Godinez defeated Ketlen Souza by unanimous decision Saturday at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas.
All three judges scored the strawweight bout 29-28 for Godinez. Souza missed weight by one pound and pressed early, but Godinez controlled the third round with ground-and-pound. Independent scores and fan reaction were split, with many viewing Souza as the winner based on damage.
The fight was part of the UFC Fight Night card headlined by Brendan Allen’s submission of Christian Leroy Duncan. Allen’s fifth-round rear-naked choke closed the main event.
Godinez Reacts to her Controversial Decision Victory
Godinez acknowledged the fight was competitive and said she was not certain she would leave with the decision. “She’s so tough and she hits so hard,” she told Michael Bisping. “I think I may have broke my hand in the middle of the round at some point.” She called the bout “a great fight” and said she was “so happy” with the result despite the close scoring.
The Mexican-Canadian noted the third-round takedown was part of her game plan and credited her corner for the final push that secured it. “She did amazing defending and she threw a lot of punches. At the end they told me to just push a little bit harder, and that’s what I did,” Godinez said. She also pointed out that her parents were in the building for the first time and joked that she was “sorry they had to see this,” adding that the physical nature of the sport “is part of the job.”
