Bellator women’s 115 pound champ Zoila Frausto Gurgel (12-2) fought her third straight bout at flyweight (125 lbs.) Friday night at Bellator 83 in Atlantic City, N.J. where she faced fellow Buckeye Jessica “Evil” Eye (9-1), who came into the bout riding a five-fight win streak.
Eye dropped Gurgel early with a punch, there was a scramble to the feet and Gurgel got caught in a standing arm triangle choke that left her unconscious just 58-seconds into the opening frame. Only the second defeat of her 14-fight career, it was Gurgel’s first loss inside the Bellator cage after riding a seven-fight win streak.
After competing at Grapplers Quest the very next day and after having a couple days to let everything sink in, Gurgel took to her Facebook and Twitter today to share her thoughts on her first Bellator loss and why it won’t stop her:
“12hr road trip back home leaves a lot of room to think. Thankful to all my family & friends for the amount of love & support I’ve received through-out my mma career, & life. I’m so incredibly happy today because I have the power to choose to be happy.
I’ve received many messages from people about keeping my head up. Well, even after waking up on the Bellator canvas, I still held my head high. Disappointed for a bit, took mental notes of my mistakes, & moved forward right away.
Even stepped into the fires of competition the following day at Grappler’s Quest World Championship in New Jersey & did pretty good. I will always be proud of myself, no matter the outcome, ’cause I did & will continue to do what many people in this world will never do, & that’s take big risks in life, especially in front of the whole world to see.
‘Cause after all the dust settles, I know what I did to get to where I am. I’m thankful to God for giving me the opportunity, to not just be able to do what I love to do, but for allowing me to come back from injury as soon as I did.
The sport that I chose & love to do is a double edge sword. I put my body through hell day after day, from anywhere between 4-12weeks at a time, to prepare to step in the cage against another athlete who has done the same.
All that preparation, all that sacrifice, all for one night, one fight, where (obviously, no matter how prepared you are) anything can happen, for pennies compared to most professional athletes.
I will continue to hold my head high because I know what I bring to the table, I know how far I’ve come, I know how hard I work, & I sure as hell KNOW I’m nowhere close to being done yet! I’ll eventually get another fight or hopefully a rematch.
Regardless, I’ll fight again & again & again. I have no problem with going out there & exchanging punches with ANYBODY. Sh*t happens. I made a mistake & I paid for it with a loss. Big F’n deal. I’m still not afraid, nor will I ever be of fighting anyone on this earth.
I have ZERO worries about getting punched in the face, & now, ZERO worries of being put to sleep. I know for a fact that I will never stop fighting til my lights are out ;) Even then, I’ll get up & fight another day. I am a fighter! Sign me up… I’m ready to fight again asap.
I’m always winning in life ’cause I am blessed to have an amazing family, friends, love, & God by my side, & I will always keep pushing forward, happily.”
Zoila apparently took out her frustrations on Beatrice Branson at Grapplers Quest in Asbury Park, N.J. the very next day, leaving her unconscious on the mat. Check out the match below:
Zoila’s awesome. My thirteen year old twin girls adore her.Love and prayers from the Bernhardts.
Everyone suffers loss either inside the cage, outside the cage, or both and Zoila handled it like a champ. She was respectful in defeat, then got right back on the mat the next day and performed great. 125 lbs. may be a little big for her. Those girls are a lot bigger than 115 lbs. where she’s the champ. But that’s her decision to make.
Classy!