Jessica Eye put a lot of time into her preparations for her TUF 25 Finale fight against Aspen Ladd, because it was such a crucial fight for her. Eye had the chance to snap a four-fight skid in the UFC, something most fighters don’t have the opportunity to do before receiving a pink slip. To say Eye was in a must-win situation is an understatement.
Unfortunately for “Evil,” everything changed when that opportunity was temporarily taken away from her last minute. Ladd was forced off the card with an illness just hours before the event was set to begin, and it was a devastating moment for the Ohio native, who will now have to wait for likely another two or three months to try to get back on track (she said she’s hoping to fight on the New York City card in November).
“We got on the phone (with UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby), and he told me that Aspen had gotten sick,” Eye told the media at TUF 25 Finale on Friday in Las Vegas (via James Lynch). “I just felt a wave of emotion, because I know more than you guys know that I’m on the hot seat. We know this sport is about if you’re not on top, then you’re at the bottom and you’re out. They find someone else to swim better than you. I know more than anybody where my career is at right now, and I wanted to prove to myself more than anything. I left no stone unturned. I came in making weight, I had such a positive camp. It sucks. What else can I say? It hurts.
“I feel like everything was perfect for me this camp. Making weight was so simple. I mean, I was eating a sandwich when I was checking in for the week and stuff. I didn’t see this coming, I didn’t feel this coming. I felt like for once, things were finally going in my direction. I didn’t expect this.”
Eye doesn’t know what caused Ladd’s illness, but she suspects a weight cut gone wrong had something to do with the bout cancellation.
“I have my own speculations — I think it was just a bad weight cut. Unfortunately for her, that is going to cost her a lot of accountability,” she said. “A part of being a fighter is making weight and making it to the fight.
“Anytime I have to drink Pedialyte, I have to get off the scale before I even say thank you, and my mouth is stuck together, you know it’s a bad weight cut. … As fighters, you can kind of see when someone’s been on the struggle bus a little bit. I personally could see it.”
Eye wished no ill will on Ladd, and Ladd isn’t a fighter she’ll be targeting to fight in the future, as she confirmed that her next fight will take place in the new UFC women’s flyweight division.
TUF 25 Finale took place live from T-Mobile Arena on July 7 and was headlined by a “Fight of the Year” candidate between Justin Gaethje and Michael Johnson.