Ketlen Souza sees UFC Vegas 122 vs. Loopy Godinez as very important fight

LAS VEGAS – Ketlen Souza is confident she carries a vast striking advantage heading into the biggest fight of her MMA career.

The UFC women's strawweight takes on ranked contender Loopy Godinez on the main card of UFC Fight Night 290 (Paramount+) on Saturday at the Meta APEX. Souza (17-6 MMA, 4-3 UFC) believes Godinez (14-6 MMA, 9-6 UFC) will look to wrestle her in the fight, as she believes Godinez to be conscious of her punching power.

"I don't think she's going to be striking with me," Souza said Wednesday at the UFC Fight Night 290 media day. "She knows I've got that firepower. That's why I do believe she's going to deploy the wrestling, and I hope that she's got good cardio because the more she uses wrestling, I'll be ready, and I'll be ready to stuff those takedowns. And the more she's going to get tired, and it'll be easier to catch her with my hands."

This is the first time Souza fights someone in the top 10 of the UFC strawweight rankings. The Brazilian believes a win here could get her into the top 15, setting her up for a title run in 2027.

"I think that this is a very important fight for me, sharing the octagon with her because she's someone that's in the rankings, and that's where I want to be, and I want to be among the best," Souza said. "I want to finish the year in the rankings and in a good position to possibly be making a top-five fight next year, and then possibly getting a title shot."

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Ketlen Souza sees UFC Vegas 122 vs. Loopy Godinez as 'very important fight'