UFC strawweight Loopy Godinez made a big step in her MMA career after her dominant win at Noche UFC.

Godinez entered the UFC’s official rankings at 115 pounds after badly beating and then submitting Elise Reed at the Mexican Independence Day event last month in Las Vegas. Godinez (10-3 MMA, 5-3 UFC), who currently sits at No. 13, was caught off guard by her placement despite being 5-1 in her past six UFC outings.

“I didn’t know because she (Reed) wasn’t ranked, and to tell you the truth, I didn’t expect it, but it was something that was coming sooner or later,” Godinez told MMA Junkie in Spanish. “I thought that maybe after the next one then maybe, but I didn’t know that I was going to enter the rankings after this one. I’m happy. And if things are working out this way, it’s for a reason. The UFC knows I’m ready to be there, and they know I have that level.”

Even though Godinez was a bit surprised to see her name in the rankings, she does feel like she’s deserving. Apart from her wins, Godinez believes her losses in the UFC carry an asterisk given she took all those fights on short notice.

“The truth is that this makes me very happy, and I’m very satisfied with the work that we’ve done,” Godinez said. “Clearly I’ve put in the work, even before Lobo when I was taking all those short-notice fights.

“Yes, I’ve had some bumps along the way, but if you look at the fights I had my falls, the first one was against Jessica Penne, who many saw me winning, and it was on short notice, and I cut a lot of weight. And even then people really liked the fight. I also had Luana Carolina, which was a week after (my win against Silvana Gomez Juarez) and at 125 pounds. I almost got the armbar, but the time ran out. And the last one, which was against Angela Hill, I took that on short notice, and I wasn’t even training, and I was hurt.”

Godinez is 5-1 in her past six fights and on a three-fight winning streak. This run includes decision wins over Cynthia Calvillo, Loma Lookboonmee, Ariane Carnelossi, Emily Ducote, and the stoppage win over Reed.

The 30-year-old believes this spot in the rankings comes with a responsibility. And now with Lobo Gym, she’s determined to show improvement.

“The only thing that this changes is that I need to demand more from myself: better diet, better trainings, better strength, and physical conditioning,” Godinez said. “I just need to work harder than before.”