UFC Has Found New Brazilian Superstar With Denise Gomes
UFC women’s strawweight fighter Denise Gomes pulled off an upset when she knocked out Yan Xiaonan on enemy soil in the co-main event of UFC Shanghai, which took place on August 29.
Entering the bout as the betting underdog, Gomes earned, by far, the biggest win of her MMA career when she landed a step-in elbow and knocked Xiaonan out cold in the very first round.
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Gomes has now won five straight fights and is closing in on title contention in the 115 lbs women’s weight class.
But more importantly, she is emerging as a superstar for the UFC in Brazil, one of the most important markets for the world’s leader in mixed martial arts.
UFC Needs New Stars in Brazil
The UFC has historically had many of its biggest superstars and world champions coming out of Brazil, but in 2026, there are fewer champions from Brazil than ever before.
Right now, there is only one Brazilian UFC Champion — Charles Oliveira, who is the BMF champion, which is not even a real belt.
Gone are the days when Anderson Silva reigned over the UFC middleweight division, when Amanda Nunes was the top women’s bantamweight and featherweight in the world, when Oliveira was the lightweight champ, when Alex Pereira held multiple titles, when Jessica Andrade was a champion, among many others.
The UFC needs Brazilians to succeed inside the Octagon as it’s an absolutely massive market for them.
Before, the UFC would travel to Brazil several times a year for events. Now, however, the UFC goes at most once per year, which is crazy given what a massive market it has been historically for the company.
That’s why the promotion needs new stars from the country like Gomes to emerge, and why it’s so important that Gomes knocked out Yan in the manner that she did at UFC Shanghai, as it makes it easy for the promotion to push her.
For Gomes’ next fight, look for her to get her first headlining spot on a UFC card — either for a title shot or for a No. 1 contender’s bout at 115 lbs.
Denise Gomes Closing in on Title Shot at 115 lbs
After beating Yan via first-round KO at UFC Shanghai, Gomes improved her UFC record to 7-2 with four knockouts, which is a very high finish rate for the women’s strawweight division.
Gomes entered the bout as the No. 9-ranked women’s strawweight per the Meta UFC Rankings, but she will take over the No. 4 spot that Yan had, so she will move into the top five of the division after this latest victory.
Right now, UFC women’s strawweight champion Mackenzie Dern is slated to fight former champ Weili Zhang in her next title defense.
But Gomes should be up next after her, and if Zhang is not available to fight Dern for whatever reason, then Gomes can get the title shot instead.
But if Zhang does fight Dern, as she is expected to, then Gomes should fight Tatiana Suarez, the No. 3-ranked contender, for the next title shot at 115 lbs.
Gomes vs. Suarez would be an excellent matchup that would serve as a title eliminator, and it’s an intriguing fight because it pits an elite striker in Gomes against an elite grappler in Suarez.
If Gomes has any chance to beat Dern, then she needs to prove she can beat a grappler, so Suarez would be the perfect test.
For Suarez, it’s the same thing, as beating a feared striker like Gomes would prove that she’s ready to fight for the belt.
The UFC knows what to do, so now all they have to do is go ahead and get Dern vs. Zhang and Gomes vs. Suarez booked for either later this year or early 2027, and get the women’s strawweight division rolling once again.
Related: Song Yadong Jumps Into Title Contention With Massive Upset At UFC Shanghai
This story was originally published by Lindys Sports on Aug 30, 2026, where it first appeared in the Other Sports section. Add Lindys Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.