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At weigh-ins, Eye missed weight and the fighters agreed to a catchweight bout at 131 pounds. Then Araujo broke her hand in the first round. Things clearly weren’t going her way. She wasn’t able to focus on the fight – through all the pain from her hand – and went on to lose by unanimous decision. But what Araujo learned from that experience may help her for years to come in the Octagon.
“The opponent not making weight did upset me,” Araujo said. “It is a commitment that we have to fulfill; it is the first step for the whole world to see you as a professional. When the opponent does not make weight, we get a little hesitant. It is an advantage that the opponent has, so it messes with your head a little.
“But I learned a lot from this fight. I broke my hand in the first round and was unable to focus on strategy after that. She used her experience to dominate the following rounds, so I learned that despite all adversity, always stay focused. And also, don’t leave the result in the hands of the judges.”
That new mindset came into play recently, as well. Araujo had seen two fights this summer with Jennifer Maia get scrapped, the first due to travel issue and the second due to a positive COVID-19 test.