Jessica Eye headed to flyweight for bout against Paige VanZant
Jessica Eye / Photo credit: Jeff Sherwood/Sherdog.com
Our friends over at FloCombat are reporting that a big-time women’s bout will go down at UFC 216, as both Jessica Eye (11-5) and Page VanZant (7-3) head to the newly-formed flyweight division. The event takes place on October 6 in Las Vegas and is shaping up to be a massive night.
Eye looks to improve on her 1-5 record inside the Octagon, as the Ohio native will finally get to compete in her natural weight class at 125 pounds. She mostly competed at 125 before signing with the UFC in 2013, including a couple of impressive wins in the Bellator cage. Her only official win in the UFC at bantamweight was a victory over Leslie Smith at UFC 180, although she also did win her bout against Sarah Kaufman at UFC 166, but that bout was eventually overturned. Eye was scheduled to compete against UFC newcomer Aspen Ladd last month at The Ultimate Fighter 25 Finale, but the bout was cancelled on fight day when Ladd fell ill. Instead, she will now focus on her flyweight debut.
VanZant will make the move in the other direction, moving up from the strawweight division to flyweight. The popular fighter made her UFC debut in 2014, winning her first three bouts before losing via submission against Rose Namajunas. After a win over Bec Rawlings, she came up short in her last outing against Michelle Waterson in December.
There still isn’t a main event for UFC 216, but it’s rumored that Eye’s Strong Style teammate Stipe Miocic could defend his heavyweight title against Cain Velasquez in the marquee fight.
