UFC bantamweight Jessica Eye is ready to scrap—but there’s a problem with that.

The 30-year-old Ohioan can’t get a fight. Despite a well documented Twitter feud with fellow UFC vet Lauren Murphy, there’s nothing official on Eye’s plate.

She exists in fight purgatory, and she genuinely has no idea when she’ll bounce back to the cage.

“I’m just in limbo,” Eye told FloCombat in an exclusive interview. “I’m training steadily. I’m doing grappling tournaments. There’s really no change. I’m waiting for whatever fight they want to give me.

“The last conversation my coach had with Sean Shelby was to keep me in the gym, keep me training. They’re working on bringing up another female that they would like to see that is a prospect that is doing really well for herself and basically give her a chance against a UFC fighter. Then, I’ll see if I still have it, if I can put a win together, if I can put a finish together.”

The fight they want to give Eye is obviously not against Murphy. Despite the heated online exchanges, the UFC hasn’t put that fight together. And they won’t, according to Eye.

“I’ve already talked to [UFC Matchmaker Sean] Shelby about that. I already asked for that fight," Eye said. "I already asked for that fight at UFC 210. I already asked if we can do that. They don’t want to put two f*ckin’ losers like her and me both against each other. There’s nothing to gain for the UFC by doing that. As much as she wants that, as much as she wants to put herself, in her mind, back on a winning track, it’s not happening.”

Taking things a step further, Eye said the fight doesn’t interest her all that much even if it was put through.

“I don’t even f*cking know her,” Eye said. “She just all of a sudden popped up and it was like, ‘Okay.’ She doesn’t like me and wants to fight me, but I don’t even know her. Just shut up. Go away. The UFC doesn’t want the fight, dude. When she tweeted about USADA and all that, she doesn’t have a contract.

“It’s not even a fun fight. She’s not going to kick my ass. It’s crazy that she thinks she’s just going to come out here and maul me. I mean, Miesha Tate, multiple other girls I’ve fought, I haven’t seen any of those girls kick my ass yet.”


​(Photo Credit: Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports) 

What does interest Eye, however, is the creation of a women’s 125-pound flyweight division in the UFC. A former standout at 125, Eye feels this division suits her size and skills perfectly, and she eagerly anticipates the opportunity to head 10 pounds south and do work for MMA fans across the globe.

“I really want to fight at 125,” Eye said. “I really want the UFC to find everything behind the 125 division. I want them to focus on that, and that’s what my focus is on, is that right now. It’s not Lauren Murphy.

“I’ve texted [UFC President] Dana [White] about it before. I’ve asked. I’ve made multiple pushes for it, and that’s why everyone sees my hashtags and sees all that.”

To Eye, it’s not even a debate: She performs her best at 125, and people would see a different version of her in the flyweight division.

“I’m not the greatest ‘35er, but I am the greatest ‘25er,” Eye said. “I never lost at flyweight. I got submitted one time when I was beating the snot out of Aisling Daly, which, you know, happens. Sometimes you get caught.

“I was one of the best females out there at 125. There wasn’t anybody that could beat me. Had Bellator not gotten rid of their 125-pound division, who knows if I would be here. I don’t think I would be on a losing streak. I think my fighting ability keeps me in these fights, and that’s something to be proud of. It just sucks that I’m fighting in a division where I’m one of the smallest girls because I should be at 125.”

While names such as former UFC bantamweight title contender Liz Carmouche and UFC strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk have also campaigned for a flyweight division, Eye believes there’s a dark-horse contender that could ultimately force the UFC’s hand.

“I know Dana and all those people are paying close attention to Mackenzie Dern, so I’m hoping that maybe because she can’t make ‘15, and, obviously at ‘35, it’d be one of those things where ‘35 is way too big for her,” Eye said. “I’m hoping they’ll want to make that happen. I would gladly fight Mackenzie. Not because I don’t like her but because she’s world-class and she’s great. That would be a reason to start a 125 division.”

When asked if Dern was, in fact, that “prospect” she referred to earlier, Eye didn’t confirm the notion, but she did say it’s a fight that would interests her.

“I mean, I’m not saying that [I was talking about Dern], but I think it should be something that should be addressed,” Eye said. “Mackenzie is just getting into MMA but she’s been around for years, everyone knows who she is, and she’s great. She can’t make ‘15, so why not bring down one of the other girls that’s been in the business for a while?

“I’d love to fight at 125 against another high-level girl. I miss fighting at 125. I miss the weight cutting in that aspect that made me hungry and made me good. It’s just not the same at 135 anymore, and that contributes to the losing. I know it does...not to mention the bad judging, but that’s another story.”

While Dern is the number-one female competing in sport Brazilian jiu-jitsu today and undefeated at 3-0 in MMA, Eye believes the grappling star would be in for a rougher time inside the UFC Octagon.

“No [I don’t see Dern at a top level right now],” Eye said. “It’s hard, because there’s a lot that comes with the UFC. There’s a lot of people. There’s a lot that comes with it. Everybody thinks they can handle the way it feels to walk out of that tunnel and get in the cage and hear the crowd cheering, booing, screaming, but that’s a lot.

“I know she’s done world championship grappling matches, but it’s different when you get in the UFC and Bruce Buffer is saying your name.

“[But] she is more qualified than so many people, even other females between ‘35 and ‘15,” Eye said. “I think she could still do it, but against some of the highest level competition, I don’t think she’d do the best.”