LAS VEGAS – Danyelle Wolf competed in her very first MMA fight on one of the biggest stages, claimed the win and walked away with a UFC contract.
Wolf (1-0) earned a UFC deal Tuesday at Dana White’s Contender Series 33, where she defeated Taneisha Tennant via unanimous decision.
Wolf, a three-time USA national boxing champion, was able to show off her hands early as she utilized crisp combinations and a razor-sharp jab to back Tennant up.
But, midway in Round 2, Wolf was tested when Tennant rallied back by letting her hands go and mixing things up in the clinch.
Considering that Wolf didn’t even have an amateur MMA background, going the full 15 minutes proved to be a valuable experience that she plans on growing from.
“Just from this fight itself, I’ve learned so much, and I’m really appreciative of everything I learned,” Wolf told reporters, including MMA Junkie, after her win at the UFC Apex. “I’m almost glad it went all three rounds so that I can really take a lot from this fight, and I have, and I will and, like I said, I’ll be in the gym tomorrow.”
The women’s featherweight division in the UFC is still pretty shallow and growing, which gives Wolf a big opportunity to make an impact quickly. Wolf is unsure of what’s next, but she’s eager to get back into the gym and work on correcting those missteps from her MMA debut.
“I guess we’ll talk to Dana and see what he has in store,” Wolf said. “But, for sure, I’m the type of athlete that I just want to go to the gym right now and work on everything that I saw or missed or didn’t do enough of. My coaches will probably punch me for this, but I want to go back to the gym tomorrow.
“I’m just thinking about everything I should have done, could have done better, that’s how I’ve excelled in all the sports I’ve done and how quickly I excelled in boxing and jiu-jitsu is that I don’t stop, and I get right back to the drawing board and I get right back to work.”
