New Iberia native “Crispy” Carli Judice earned the first win of her UFC career with an emphatic showing against Venezuela’s Yuneisy Duben at UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas last weekend. 

Judice, 26, now holds a professional MMA record of 4-2-0.

The fight began as expected, with each competitor getting a feel of both the octagon and their opponent. Judice entered the fight with both a three-inch height advantage and reach advantage over Duben. 

Judice looked to use her reach and height advantage to great effect almost immediately, setting up punch combos and dialing in the range on her left legged head kick. Duben, a 6-0 standup fighter, attempted to do damage inside and capitalize on Judice’s pressure. Neither fighter looked interested in taking the fight to the ground.

With 4:04 remaining in the fight, Judice connected with a powerful left hand, knocking Duben off balance and reeling back to the cage.

Judice continued delivering the left hand shots to Duben’s face while tossing in front and side teep kicks to keep the Venezuelan at the proper range. 

At 3:23 in the first round, Judice delivered the winning strike. After pushing Duben onto her leading foot, Judice connected with a brutal head kick from the left and began to rain down punches, scoring a TKO finish. 

The win came after a pair of defeats, first at Dana White’s Contender Series and at Judice’s first UFC event in June. After tasting victory for the first time as a UFC fighter, Judice said the win was especially sweet.

“Coming off of two back to back losses…you kind of feel hopeless in a way,’ Judice said after the fight. “I knew all of it was going to pay off and I was going to get my win because I’m born for this. I step in that cage and I’m on fire. It’s my favorite place to be, so I knew that a win was going to come if I kept showing up and having a positive attitude about everything I’m doing.”

Judice’s fighting style against Duben marked her return to the aggressive, in-your-face style that she showed so often as both an amateur and a rookie professional mixed martial artist. According to Judice, returning to what she knows best was key to finishing the fight in such an exciting way. 

“In my last two fights I got away from being aggressive and I really tapped back into just trying to hurt the person in front of me,” Judice explained. “That’s what this sport is about. It feels great to have the old me back.”

Judice’s electrifying finish earned her a Performance of the Night bonus, the latest recognition for her superb performances in the octagon. 

“I’m meant to be here, I’m made for this,” said Judice. “I am a top-tier athlete, a world-class athlete, and I can hang with all of these high level fighters because I am a high level fighter. I proved that to myself tonight and I’m going to continue to prove that to the world.”