Vanessa Demopoulos came back from the brink of defeat in her UFC 270 prelim, snatching an armbar from after nearly getting knocked out by Silvana Gomez Juarez in the first round.
Overcome with joy, Demopoulos then did the splits and then surprised UFC commentator Joe Rogan by climbing into his arms during her post-fight interview.
Check out the finish below.
If you only saw the finishing sequence, you’d scarcely have an idea of how close Demopoulos was to losing. A smashing overhand right from Juarez cracked her on the chin early in the opening frame. As Juarez landed hammerfist after hammerfist, it looked as though the bout would be stopped.
“I woke up on the ground for a second, so…” said Demopoulos when asked how badly she was hurt.
But then, the UFC up-and-comer saw an opportunity with Juarez’s leg exposed, and she quickly hooked it up and trapped her opponent’s arm with her legs. Leverage sent Juarez spilling to the mat, her arm torqued awkwardly.
Rogan wasn’t the only one on the receiving end of Demopoulos’ love. A California State Athletic Commission official also got a hug as the crowd went wild.
LFA vet Demopoulos gets her first octagon win after a debut loss against JJ Aldrich in her debut. Juarez, meanwhile suffers the second straight setback via armbar and remains winless in the UFC.