Ashley Yoder is “Open to being anywhere” ahead of UFC 252
Interview with Ashley Yoder above
Ashley Yoder took value from her split-decision loss to Randa Markos at UFC on ESPN+ 20 this past October.
Yoder plans to use that experience into her UFC 252 women’s strawweight bout with Livinha Souza at UFC 252 on Aug. 15. She learned to focus more on herself from the Markos fight.
Not a bad thing to take away right before a national pandemic.
“It’s really just about being the best fighter and I think that’s one of the biggest eye openers, no matter what. Something can happen last minute, they can change your opponent and in every situation, you just have to be the best you,” Yoder said. “That’s what I took out of that. I had to be more confident in every aspect and just be open to being anywhere.”
No shield
Yoder considers herself style, ‘Very MMA.” She is comfortable standing and on the ground.
The six-time UFC veteran is ready to take her fight with Souza just about anywhere. She has fought half of her professional bout inside the octagon.
Souza has three more fights than Yoder at 13-2, but has less UFC experience. The Brazilian is coming off her first octagon defeat, a unanimous-decision loss to Brianna Van Buren at UFC on ESPN+13 in July 2019.
Yoder expects a competitive fight and is not overlooking Souza, despite having twice the amount of UFC bouts.
“I put all that stuff aside, she could have a better record than me, she does,” Yoder said. “Those numbers aren’t going to give you a shield. I’m ready to put on a performance.”
Yoder picked up gardening during the pandemic. She also taught private training sessions via Zoom for free up to this last week.
Now, it’s back to business for Yoder. After having a two-fight win streak snapped against Markos, Yoder is prepped to put on a vintage performance.
“I think it’s going to be a fun fight, I really like this fight,” Yoder said. “There’s going to be a lot of punching and there could be grappling. I think for the both of us, it’s a great matchup.”
