It’s become common practice in the UFC for debuting fighters to get a fight ahead of the weight class they are typically in, particularly if it’s on short notice. While the former is true for debuting Jamey-Lyn Horth, the latter is not entirely. She’ll have just over five weeks notice prior to he weight cut for her debut this weekend and will be making her move up to 135lbs for the first time as a professional.
Much like many of her fellow debuting fighters though, there was never a question as to whether she was in.
“When we got the call for this fight, just over 4 weeks ago, with the offer at bantamweight – it’s not an answer that you can give a ‘no’ to,” Horth explained. “We weren’t too afraid to take that fight at bantamweight.”
Part of the reason she wasn’t afraid was that she is never afraid of a challenge in the cage. The LFA 125lbs champion has taken on a number of tough opponents and accepted even more. The other half of the confidence comes from the fact that she’s much bigger and stronger than the average flyweight.
“I’m a pretty big 125er,” she said “If anybody has seen me in real life or fought against me, I’m a lot bigger than meets the eye.”
So then that, of course, begs the question – is this a temporary move or one that could be permanent for her? Even Horth doesn’t know what the future holds at this point.
“I don’t really know what the future has to be honest – that’s kind of a really good question. Like I said, I could easily be a bantamweight, no problem,” Horth said. “Outisde of fighting, I don’t typically get overly large. Do I enjoy eating doughnuts and having a scone and a coffee on a dog walk? 100%. But I feel like I’m constantly an athlete everyday.”
Horth will have her first chance to show off that bantamweight-level stength this Saturday at UFC Vegas 72. She’ll take on Hailey Cowan as part of the ESPN+ preliminary card starting at 4:30pm EST.
Listen to the entire audio of this interview at 26:18.
