Vanessa Demopoulos aims to break into UFC rankings by returning to ‘wild little monster’ roots
Vanessa Demopoulos credits learning how to be poised and composed for her career turnaround, but maybe it’s time to add a little crazy into the mix again, too.
Now training at Factory X ahead of a May 20 bout against Karolina Kowalkiewicz (14-7 MMA, 7-7 UFC) at a UFC Fight Night event, Demopoulos (9-4 MMA, 3-1 UFC) thinks her in-cage intelligence is advanced enough to revert back to her old fighting style – a hybrid of the calm and the storm.
“I feel like I really did a good job of following the gameplan of what my coaches were requesting of me to do inside the octagon,” Demopoulos recently told MMA Junkie Radio. “I was a great listener and I think moving forward I’d like to listen to my own instincts a little bit more. I went from being a super crazy, fun, wild fighter to being a little bit more reserved, which was good and necessary and needed. I look forward to being a little bit more of the wild little monster that I’ve always known and came up as.”
In 2022, Demopoulos went 3-0 with wins over Silvana Gomez Juarez, Jinh Yu Frey, and Maria Oliveira. In her estimation, she knocks on the door of the top 15. The only obstacle that stands between her and an official UFC ranking is a former promotional title challenger.
“She’s a contender in her own right. She’s been amongst the best. She’s fought all of the top 15 almost,” Demopoulos said. “… I’m personally looking forward to jumping forward in the rankings and making my way. I’m so excited for this fight for so many different types of reasons. We signed a tough opponent.
“As we saw, Silvana has been known for her knockout power and she wasn’t able to put KK away. In fact, KK did end up winning that fight via decision. She’s a contender in her own right. She has been amongst the best. She has fought all of basically the top 15 almost. So, I’m personally still very much looking forward to this fight and getting into the rankings myself after the victory May 20.”
