UFC: Loma Lookboonmee lands another win over Sam Hughes but admits struggles with confidence, weight
- Thailand’s only UFC fighter takes unanimous points decision over American at UFC Vegas 25 but opens up about ongoing lack of confidence
- ‘It got quite bad this week and I was thinking too much. I worry that I can’t deliver,’ says Loma, who also insists ‘weight is an everyday struggle’
Loma Lookboonmee stretched her record in the UFC to 3-1 on Saturday night in Las Vegas with a dominant victory over American Sam Hughes that showed both how far the promotion’s only Thai fighter has come – and so quickly – and what work still lies ahead.
“I could see my shots were hurting her but I think I still have plenty to learn,” Loma told SCMP MMA. “I’m not overly happy with this performance but my ground game is improving and I was excited to be able to show that.”
The 25-year-old from Buriram (6-2) was lethal in the clinch – as expected from someone with Loma’s rich Muay Thai pedigree – but the surprises came with the takedowns. There were four executed and eight attempted spread across the three rounds as Loma outmuscled Hughes (5-3) and, combined with flurries of knees and elbows when standing, they helped the fight go 29-28 in the Thai’s favour.
Hughes’ game plan seemed basically to get Loma’s back up against the cage, and hope to force her to the floor. But the Thai fighter used superior strength to reverse position, and for the most part stay out of danger.
It was reflection of the work the team at Tiger Muay Thai have been putting in with Loma to expand her skill set but, still, she said there needed to be more to come, physically and in terms of developing the mindset needed to fight the best the game has to offer.
