UFC fighter Eduarda Moura returns to the flyweight division to face Veronica Hardy at UFC 309, but she says she has not given up on the strawweight division.
Moura recounts her harrowing experience when she dropped the weight for her fight with Denis Gomes in June. The fighter disclosed that the weight drop took a lot from her, and she almost didn’t survive it. Since then, she and her team have been searching for an easier way to cut the weight, but for now, the fighter is sticking to her current division seems more doable and healthier for her.
“My body rejected it and I felt so many cramps I basically didn’t sleep during fight week,” Moura said in an interview with MMA Fighting. “I’m traumatized, but I’ll go back to 115—but not right now [laughs]. I think we can change a few things and study more. The truth is, I just want to fight. I think I’ll have more fights at 125, and I need to work.”
“I left to vomit before the faceoff, and Denise got a bucket to help me,” Moura said. “I’ve never experienced something like that before, to feel that way. That weight cut affected me a lot, and it definitely gave her more confidence [to see me like that]. I kept remembering that scene, her getting me a bucket. That was the first time I felt like crying before a fight. I was so frustrated I couldn’t make weight. I was so nervous, and I kept trying to disguise. But, I was singing as I walked out to play cool, and I never did that. I was completely lost. I felt in my heart something was wrong.
“As soon as I shot for a takedown and she got the guillotine, brother… I wasn’t back to normal yet, and I felt the cardio after that guillotine. But, I was fighting my mind and body to keep going. I didn’t feel like standing and trading with her. I was so desperate to take her down that I was frustrated. I had no energy, I was slow. And I wasn’t ready for a real war. Maybe I underestimated Denise a little bit after seeing some of her fights and thinking I would be ready to take her down, and that also frustrated me.”
Moura says the experience taught her a lot, and her defeat taught her some lessons she will be holding on to moving forward.
“I want to be champion and I believe I have great advantage at strawweight,” Moura said. “I’m tall and have good reach, and the power, too, but I’m still traumatized [laughs]. We will think about it. It depends on the opportunity. [Hardy] is very technical on the feet and has good kicks, and I’ll cut the angles there. Maybe I’ll place some doubts in her head [laughs]. I’m ready for everything she brings. This time I’m not going there thinking like I have to take her down at all costs.”
Her opponent, Hardy, is coming off a three-fight winning streak, and Moura expects this to be a challenge for her. Moving forward, the fighter says she still has plans on switching divisions, but for now, she plans on building her legacy and career in flyweight.
