After a “rough two years” Ashley Yoder is “excited” to finally fight again as she faces Emily Ducote at UFC Vegas 81

Ashley Yoder is finally ready to fight.

Yoder hasn’t fought since July of 2021 when she lost to Jinh Yu Frey by decision to drop her to 8-8 as a pro and 3-7 in the UFC. Since then, Yoder had an injury that resulted in surgeries, as well as filming a yet-to-be-released reality TV show.

“I had two surgeries and it ended up being a lot worse,” Yoder said on Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com. “The first surgery was kind of a botch. Then, healing and made sure I was 100 percent before I decided to pick back again. It was a long layoff, but it being such a long layoff, I was able to just train and learn new things instead of being focused from one fight to another.”

After undergoing one surgery, the injury was still there which forced Ashley Yoder to go under the knife once again. It was tough news to deal with, but Yoder knew she was always going to fight again.

“Not at all, I just think they misdiagnosed what was going and I think the first surgeon wasn’t the best surgeon. So, not at all, I didn’t have the thought. But, I did have the thought of is it worth it? You don’t have the paycheck, it was a rough two years but I’m definitely excited to be on the high side of it,” Yoder said.

Once Ashley Yoder was ready to return, she was booked against Emily Ducote at UFC Vegas 81. Yoder is quite familiar with Ducote and is excited about the matchup.

Yoder is excited to show off all her skills and at UFC Vegas 81, she’s confident she will snap her win streak and prove the doubters wrong.

“It really is going to be over the place, it won’t just be a striking fight, it won’t just be a ground fight, I think it will be a true MMA fight with a lot of scramble exchanges, landing some punches and kicks,” Yoder said. “Just really excited to get back in there… I’m just really excited to get out there and compete and put a show on for the fans. Of course, I want to win, that is the ultimate goal, but the focus is on the process. Just focusing on being the best version of myself.”

If Yoder does get the win, she believes it could get her someone just outside the rankings at strawweight.

“I think it puts me in the right direction to get me closer to fight a ranked opponent,” Yoder concluded.