Not hearing “Uh vai morrer,” the now iconic greeting given to all fighters battling one of Brazil’s own, is certainly a good thing for Yoder, who can just concentrate on what happens in the Octagon for 15 minutes or less. And with Indiana’s “SpiderMonkey,” it’s been 15 minutes throughout her UFC career, as all six of her bouts have gone the distance. The result has been a 2-4 slate, one that’s frustrating because a couple of those decisions could have gone her way.
But she’s not holding any grudges against the judges.
“No hard feelings,” Yoder said. “I always know the biggest thing you gotta learn as a fighter is fix your mistakes and try to finish fights. So that’s what we’ve been training to do and focus on.”
In her most recent bout last October, it was another one of those nights when Yoder lost a split decision to perennial tough out Randa Markos. One of the judges saw it Yoder’s way, as did many fans, but the bottom line that in the Octagon, the surest way to get a victory is to finish your opponent and leave the judges out of the equation. And Yoder, who finished four of her first five wins before getting to the UFC, knows this. But it’s easier said than done at this level.
“We’re in the UFC,” she said. “Before I got in the UFC, I was finishing a lot of fights, and that’s all great and well, but everyone in the UFC is not an easy opponent. We’re all here for a reason. So one of the biggest things is that we’re just a higher level and you have to just figure out ways to improve your game to get those finishes. It’s gonna happen, it’s not gonna happen, you’re gonna have bad judges, you’re gonna have great judges, so we just have to roll with the punches. It’s very unpredictable and you have to try to adapt as we go. It’s frustrating but, at the same time, it just helps me want to learn more and want to get better. It’s fuel to the fire at this point.”
