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Vanessa Demopoulos continues to become a fan-favorite after beating Maria Oliveira at UFC Vegas 65.
Demopoulos continued her impressive 2022 run with a unanimous decision win against ‘Spider Girl.’ The 34-year-old strawweight now holds a 3-1 UFC record after winning all three fights in the calendar year. ‘Little Monster’ dominated Oliveira with her superior grappling, almost finishing the fight several times.
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She joined Heidi Androl of ESPN MMA for a post-fight interview and had this to say about being close to winning inside the distance:
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“Yeah, I love submissions, so I really wanted to go for something like an armbar or something of that nature, but my coaches were like, ‘drop elbows, drop elbows.’ I stuck with the ground and pound even though it was really hard and went against everything I usually do.”
Demopoulos has established a reputation for being a grappler, despite her tendencies to brawl. During the same interview, ‘Little Monster’ said this about her performance:
“Extremely. The grapplers got some hands too, so look out. I’m a powerful little person, and I’m always continuing to evolve in all of my skills. Not just my grappling.”
Watch Vanessa Demopoulos' interview with Heidi Androl below:
What’s next for Vanessa Demopoulos?
Vanessa Demopoulos has a fun personality and loves to stay active, which tends to be a recipe for success. At 34, ‘Little Monster’ is not a young prospect but has enough time to go on a run. While speaking with Heidi Androl, Demopoulos detailed what to expect from her in 2023:
“In 2023, I’m gonna be doing a lot more announcing stuff. I look forward to getting into the cage at least four times. I love being active. I love fighting. I like training. It doesn’t matter if I have a fight coming up or not. There’s no such thing as fight camp for me. I’m always consistently in the gym.”
It’s time for Demopoulos to be seen as more than an entertaining fighting style. At first, ‘Little Monster’ got fans’ attention for jumping into Joe Rogan’s arms. Since then, the 34-year-old has proven to be worthy of a ranked opponent after three consecutive wins. The opportunities are endless when you’re a strawweight willing to fight four times a year.
