Bellator flyweight Emily Ducote comes into Friday night's Bellator 195 on the heels of her first title fight at Bellator 186, where she faced Ilima-Lei Macfarlane.

Unfortunately for “Gordinha,” she lost the November 3 fight in the fifth round via submission due to a triangle armbar. The loss was a tough one for Ducote, as she missed out on becoming Bellator's inaugural flyweight champion and snapped a solid two-fight winning streak with the promotion. 

“Losing sucks, but I do think it's a key,” Ducote told FloCombat. “It's not all bad. It's not all negative. Does it suck? Yes. You can't learn the same things in a win. So coming out with a loss, I was upset, I was bummed. You get back to work and move on. 

"I learned my lessons. I learned some physical and mental lessons. That's what I've been working on.”

The most important part of every loss is identifying the mistakes made and then fixing them. Ducote says she's been working on that aspect of her fighting career extensively.

“A lot of little mistakes, I don't think it was one big mistake that I made,” Ducote said. “Some little mistakes that made a big difference. The last four months, that's what I've been working on — fixing those mistakes — and just getting better.”

Now, Ducote is set to face Kristina Williams at Bellator 195 in Ducote’s home state of Oklahoma. While many fighters study their opponents' styles and game plans extensively, Ducote says that strategy is just not for her.

“To be honest, I don't have that many thoughts about her,” Ducote said. “I'm less concerned with Kristina (Williams) and what she might be doing or might do in the cage. I'm more concerned with myself and sharpening my skills and just being ready to go.”

But that doesn’t mean Ducote has never watched her fight.

“I watch all the fights, so when she was fighting Heather (Hardy) we were there,” Ducote said. “It looks like she's a striker, she's long. I'm just focused on getting myself better and ready to go. This fight could potentially go anywhere. I'm comfortable and ready to do that. I'm not thinking that this fight has to go somewhere or something has to happen. I'm just relaxed and ready to go anywhere.”

With the title fight not going her way, Ducote’s revamped her focus heading into this contest. She now wants to remain as active as possible — whether that gets her another quick title shot or not. 

“Me and Ilima have the most fights,” Ducote said. “We're pretty active, we've fought a lot of fights. I'm not concerned with rankings and being thought of as a contender. Really, I just want to be active and fight as much as possible. Hopefully, I can stay active and close to the top."

Ducote’s first stop on that mission comes Friday night against Williams. While predictions aren’t her thing, Ducote assures her fans and supporters she'll get the job done.

“I don't do predictions, but the goal is to put the puzzle pieces together and to just be comfortable wherever it goes,” Ducote said. “That's exactly how I'm feeling. I'm just ready for the fight.”

By Lucas Grandsire