Former UFC title challenger Jessica Eye signs with BKFC
Former UFC women’s flyweight contender Jessica Eye has signed with BKFC.
‘Evil’ was one of the first high-profile women to make a splash in the UFC. Jessica Eye joined the company in 2013 and quickly found success with wins over the likes of Sarah Kaufman and Leslie Smith. However, that success was short-lived. Eye eventually found herself in the midst of a four-fight losing streak in 2018, having suffered losses to the likes of Miesha Tate and Julianna Pena. As a result, the striker went down in weight.
That weight change was exactly what Jessica Eye needed. She wound up winning three fights in a row, scoring a title shot against women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 238 in June 2019. Sadly for ‘Evil’, this was a hard-to-watch fight. ‘Bullet’ dominated the title challenger en route to a second-round knockout loss, the first stoppage loss of Eye’s career. While the flyweight earned a win in her next bout against Viviane Araujo, she was never the same.
Jessica Eye ended her UFC stint riding a four-fight losing streak, ultimately retiring following a loss to Maycee Barber in 2022. Almost three years on from her retirement, ‘Evil’ has decided to return. Appearing on The Ariel Helwani Show earlier today, Eye revealed a new deal that she signed with BKFC. While the former title challenger wasn’t initially sure about stepping into the bare-knuckle ring, their offer made sense.
Breaking: Jessica Eye announces she has signed with @bareknucklefc 👊
“After a long time of negotiation, I am signing with Bareknuckle Fighting Championship. I started out boxing… They finally came financially correct and motivated me enough to be like, you know what? Maybe… pic.twitter.com/gScObvL9iQ
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) April 1, 2025
Former UFC women’s flyweight title challenger Jessica Eye signs with BKFC
“I’m so excited to announce after a long time of negotiation, I am signing with Bareknuckle Fighting Championship.” Jessica Eye stated earlier today. “… I started out boxing, me and Stipe [Miocic] did. We came from Strong Style, we both started out our careers with boxing first. Our coaches had us do boxing matches, and I think that shows through our whole careers. We had solid striking abilities. After I retired and spent some time working on my mental health and working on my physical body, I was like, ‘I know I’m not done’.”
She continued, “…Why not? I’m still young, I still have all the ability in me to fight. They need some good strikers over there, you know? Some of us good MMA girls need to come over and show how tough we are. They reached out to me, and they reached out to me right after I retired. But, I needed a break.”
Jessica Eye’s BKFC debut is currently slated for May 10th in Salt Lake City against an unnamed opponent. While her deal is currently only slated for one bout, the 38-year-old did show interest in staying with the promotion long-term.
What do you make of this BKFC news? Are you excited to see Jessica Eye return?
This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM
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