Emily Whitmire Says TUF 26 Finale Loss Prepared Her For UFC 226 Win

Emily Whitmire spoke with MMAjunkie following her win over Jamie Moyle at UFC 226 and how her debut UFC loss prepared her for it. Whitmire, who lost her UFC debut to Gillian Robertson at TUF 26 Finale, told the site that she viewed the loss as a test to prove she was ready for the company.

“I do think my fight with Gillian, I went out there, and I was performing, and I think I did just get caught up in something there,” Whitmire said. “That was kind of the fight where like, ‘This is a test.’ I know that I put so much into that camp, and I felt so good mentally going in there, and so I think that was, like, kind of my test. Like, ‘OK, you’re at this point where you’re about to do really well, but we’re going to test you one more time and then see how that goes. So I just got right back in the gym right after that, and I just knew that that wasn’t like the end of the road for me, and I knew I had to get this win. Like, I wasn’t letting that go, especially on that card. I wanted to be on that card so bad. It just was my night. I knew it.”