Jodie Esquibel will make her Octagon debut this Saturday in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night 118 vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz.
Esquibel earned her spot with the promotion following a March victory over DeAnna Bennett at Invicta FC 22. She is 6-2 in her career and 3-1 over her last four.
“What a great opportunity and position to be in. This is the best opportunity that I’ve ever had – I love the match-up, I love travelling – there was just no question over it,” she said. “I’m going to have some fun, be myself and when I allow myself to do that I am victorious.”
A member of the Jackson-Wink camp out of New Mexico, the 31-year-old has competed 14 times in boxing matches, going 7-7. She was a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter in 2016, falling to Ashley Yoder in a qualifying round match.
“I think the match-up is favorable to myself honestly. She’s never really faced anybody like me stylistically. I’ve been competing MMA at a high level for a long time now. Now it’s a bigger venue and a bigger opponent and I’m ready to rise to the occasion,” she said. “I feel like I’m better all around. She’s really, really great at a few things, but it’s the world of MMA and that means you have to be well-rounded and I feel like I am.
“On Saturday, we’ll see a really calm, collected and beautiful debut.”
