Though she may not take solace in having only lost to the current champion, two former title challengers (her first UFC loss was to Jessica Eye) and her fellow Brazilian Ribas, who is ranked at both strawweight and flyweight, Araujo was favored in a couple of those matchups and no one went into those fights believing she was going to get blown out.
They were all competitive pairings decided by a smattering of shots landed in each round, and just as she was the better fighter in her matchups with Lee, Modafferi, and the others she’s beaten, Araujo was simply a half-step behind in each of those contests.
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When you’re fighting further down the rankings, you can overcome a night like that with superior athleticism, quality conditioning, and good old-fashioned tenacity, but against the elite in any weight class, a half-step difference leaves you staring at the business end of a unanimous decision loss (or worse), wondering what went wrong.
