Vanessa Demopoulos hopped on Saturday’s UFC Atlanta card on somewhat short notice to replace Tereza Bledá against Canada’s Jamey-Lyn Horth, with the fight kicking off the card at the State Farm Arena.
Bledá had suffered a staph infection that had forced her from the fight, giving Demopoulos a chance to snap a two-fight skid in her second bout of 2025.
Horth had the clear height and reach advantage over Demopoulos, who was moving up in weight for the fight. Not surprisingly, Horth used that length to land an early leg kick, but Demopoulos showed no fear when charging forward, looking to punch her way inside. Being able to bully her way forward soon had Horth circling outside, though kicks to the body from Horth did find their mark.
Demopoulos would catch one of those and back Horth up to the fence, where the pair reversed a couple of times before breaking, Horth cracking the smaller fighter a couple of times off the exit. A heavy body kick from Horth followed. Now it was Demopoulos circling out of the way, backing up consistently for the first time in the fight. In the final minute, Horth would go on the attack again, landing several hard shots before the pair went to the mat, Demopoulos on her back to the horn.
Vanessa Demopoulos was showing some damage around the eye between rounds, and was in need of adjustments. Early in the second, she’d tie Horth up along the fence again, but the bigger, stronger Horth was able to reverse as she had in the first. Demopoulos, with a strong jiu-jitsu skillset, simply couldn’t get the fight down, and was well behind in all areas on the feet. Horth finished the frame with more front kicks, a puzzle Demopoulos simply couldn’t solve, gutsy as she might be.
Round three, Demopoulos went all out, looking to take Horth out at the legs. She would manage to drag Horth down on top of her, but Horth was able to reverse and get on top. Horth chose to work from guard, dropping hammer fists. Eventually Horth would back off and let Demopoulos back to her feet, half a round still on the clock. Vanessa then responded to a “USA” chant with a Hulk Hogan-style ear gesture, but all the crowd noise and theatrics in the world weren’t about to get her back in the fight. The inability to get inside and get the fight down continued to stymie “Lil Monster” and come the end of the round, the scorecards were a forgone conclusion.
Her eighth professional win doubles as Squamish, B.C. native Jamey-Lyn Horth’s third victory in the UFC, where she’s 3-2 overall.
Official Result: Jamey-Lyn Horth def. Vanessa Demopoulos by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
