Her confidence isn’t unwarranted. Her lone Octagon loss when was to veteran Angela Hill, a short-notice replacement for her original opponent, Hannah Goldy. Hill is a tough out at any stage of a career, let alone your sixth professional MMA fight. But the strawweight still managed to go the distance when they tangled back at UFC Auckland in February 2020.
She took what she learned from 15 minutes with one of the division’s best and bounced back with a dominant win over former Invicta FC champion Jinh Yu Frey on the October incarnation of UFC Fight Island.
Her potential had been obvious long before that fight, but the performance sealed the deal for the UFC, who gave Lookboonmee an extension soon afterwards. The future is looking bright for the 25-year-old.
“I have to admit, at the beginning I was a little bit scared they wouldn’t renew my contract. I just made sure to bring my best each and every fight to show everyone what I’m made of. I trained so hard—I always train hard—every single fight I don’t take for granted. When I got the contract renewal, I was just so ecstatic.”
