Vancouver — Like many fighters, Ontario’s Jasmine Jasudavicius entered the UFC hoping to one day become champion, but being honest, it was little more than a dream.
On the precipice of UFC Vancouver this Saturday, however, that dream is awfully close to becoming a reality.
“Getting into the UFC, the dream, become a world champion. But it’s like, you’re kind of like ‘oh I would love to be a world champion.’ A little bit of a pipe dream,” Jasudavicius (14-3) told Cageside Press during Wednesday’s UFC Vancouver media day, ahead of her fight with recent title challenger Manon Fiorot. “But the more steps that you make, then it’s like okay, this is actually a reality now. And now it is.”
With the reality of a run to the title now firmly established with five consecutive wins, has Jasudavicius, a key part of Niagara Top Team in Southern Ontario, changed much either mentally or in terms of her training camp? Not so much it seems.
Rather, she’s doing things the “same way” she does them every fight. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Work hard in camp, don’t screw around. Do all the things that I know that I need to do in order to be the best version of myself I can possibly be on Fight Night.”
“Don’t cheat myself in the preparation, and then on Fight Night I can let the chips fall where they may. I know I’ve done the work, I believe in my team, I believe in my training partners, and I believe that on Fight Night, all will show.”
The Vancouver card, the promotion’s return to the city after UFC 289 in June of 2023, is a Fight Night event, but a relatively stacked one. For Team Canada, there’s meaningful fights for Jasudavicius, Mike Malott, and Aiemann Zahabi, while Kyle Nelson and Charles Jourdain find themselves in Fight of the Night sort of match-ups. Jasudavicius has heard the overwhelmingly positive response from Canadian fight fans.
“It’s been crazy, the buzz is wild. And it’s just showing how much martial arts and the UFC is growing within Canada. Within the world of course, but especially within Canada. Look at the scene three years ago, five years ago versus now. It’s crazy how many promotions are around. MMA has grown exponentially.”
A few months back, Jasudavicius told Cageside Press that one of the ways she took her mind off the fight game was through cooking, where she employs a style not dissimilar to Food Network’s Chopped – see what’s in the fridge and make something out of it. In her time with the UFC, Paige VanZant actually competed on Chopped, and Jasudavicius would love to do so as well.
“A hundred percent. I would love to do that show,” she exclaimed. “That’s one of my favorite shows, is Chopped. I hope someone reached out. Please, Chopped!”
Watch the full UFC Vancouver media day appearance by Jasmine Jasudavicius above.
