By now, you’ve heard about it. The bet. When Jasmine Jasudavicius was starting out in MMA, her and a friend attended a UFC event in Ottawa, Ontario.
Jasudavicius espoused the belief that some day, she would be a UFC fighter. Her friend replied that should that happen, she’d get Jasmine’s face tattooed someplace rather intimate: right on her backside, to put it nicely.
You can sort of imagine it, right? Jasudavicius says she’ll fight in the UFC some day, her friend comes back with “if that happens, I’ll tattoo your face on my ass!” or something similar.
And so the bet was born. Now, it’s about to pay off: earlier this month, at UFC 270, Jasudavicius made her octagon debut, earning a win over Kay Hansen. The flyweight is now officially a member of the UFC roster, and it’s time for her friend to pay up.
“We’re going to figure out if we’re doing a realistic one, if we’re doing a cartoon, where we’re getting it done. The UFC wants to schedule a media crew to record it,” Jasudavicius told Cageside Press in a recent interview. Yes, her (for now) unnamed friend is going through with it, and there’s likely going to be some negotiating done as to size and style.
“I’m going to try as big as possible, she’ll probably try to go as small as possible,” said Jasudavicius. “We’ll see where the negotiation goes.”
Jasmine herself isn’t sure if she wants it to be a portrait, or even an image of her in her UFC fight kit. “I don’t know. I think I’m going to throw something up on social media and see who puts in the best thing, and we’ll probably do that one,” she suggested.
The payoff of the bet is a fun story, but it’s also the culmination of years of hard work for the St. Catharines, Ontario-based fighter.
“It’s been crazy,” she said of that journey. “Obviously, the main goal was to fight in the UFC, but there was all small goals leading up to be able to actually get to that point. It’s a lot of hard work, and believing that eventually you’ll get there. I’m just so happy with how its come about.”
With a decision win over Hansen under her belt, Jasudavicius is now 7-1 as a pro, having won her way into the UFC on Dana White’s Contender Series. Opponent Hansen already has a fight booked for Spring, so when might we see the Canadian back in the octagon? And at what weight class?
Jasudavicius has suggested she’d be willing to move back to strawweight for the right opportunity, but at the same time, “I want to get four, maybe five fights in this year,” she told us. “If I’m cutting to 115, it’ll be too much on my body.”
In terms of timing, that’s something she’s leaving up to her team. “I haven’t really talked to my coaches yet, so I’m going to just wait til they’re home to decide. We’re going to discuss it together, and decide what the next big step will be.”
There’s also the question of location. The UFC is getting back on the road in March, with shows planned for London, England and Columbus, Ohio. There’s no word yet on any Canadian dates, and Jasudavicius herself hasn’t heard much either.
“No, I haven’t heard anything. Unfortunately, I just fight, I’m not really privy to those conversations. I’m hoping that they come to Canada, that would be awesome, but I have no idea.”
That said, she’s happy to fight anywhere. “I like travelling, and I like experiencing new things, so I’d be fine whatever card they put me on; I’d be happy to go into it.”
