Bantamweight contenders Jessica “Evil” Eye and Leslie “The Peacemaker” Smith are set to collide inside the world-famous Octagon on November 15th. Eye and Smith will face off in a featured bout at UFC 180: “Velasquez vs Werdum” in Mexico City, Mexico. UFC officials confirmed the fight today.
Eye transitioned to the UFC this past October following a successful stint in Bellator and initially won her UFC debut, but the result was overturned when she tested positive for marijuana metabolites. Smith most recently earned her first UFC win by quickly stopping Jessamyn “The Gun” Duke in July.
Eye (10-2-0, 1 ND) was formerly one of the sport’s top-ranked female flyweights, but she opted to move up to the bantamweight division in 2013 following wins over Zoila “The Warrior Princess” Frausto and Carina “Barbie” Damm. She debuted for the UFC against former Strikeforce champion Sarah Kaufman at UFC 166 and eked out a Split Decision win, but the victory was later changed to a No Decision by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation when Eye failed a drug test. She returned to the Octagon in February and suffered a narrow loss to recent title challenger Alexis “Ally-Gator” Davis.
Smith (7-5-1) has also encountered ups and downs in recent fights, but the popular fighter remains a fan favourite thanks to her aggressive style. During a six-fight stint with Invicta Fighting Championships, Smith earned four Fight of the Night bonuses and totalled key wins over Kaitlin Young, Raquel “Rocky” Pennington and Jennifer Maia. Following a competitive loss in an Invicta FC flyweight title fight, Smith made her short-notice UFC debut in a rematch against Kaufman and dropped a decision to the former Strikeforce champ. She quickly rebounded by dismantling Duke at UFC Fight Night 45.
UFC 180: Velasquez vs Werdum” takes place on November 15th at Mexico City Arena in Mexico City, Federal District, Mexico. The event is headlined by a UFC Heavyweight Championship bout between Cain Velasquez and Fabricio “Vai Cavalo” Werdum.
(Photo Credit: UFC)
This has to be one of the absolutely most exciting women’s fights possible. Along with Tate-McMann (or even Tate-Hom), these are PPV-level match ups. I can’t see either Smith or Eye stopping the other — I think it will go the distance and be exciting every step of the way. No clue who will take this one. FOTN potential all the way.
Exactly. This one will be awesome! I think Eye has the edge in strength and is a more precise striker, but I honestly have no idea which one of these two will win… I love Leslie Smith… you never know which one of them will win.
Tate-who???. Clarify that Andy…Who is Hom??
I agree with Rafael on this one. I believe Eye has the edge with her point on boxing. Leslie Smith has a iron jaw and a brick head though. This fight will go the distance, in fact, almost a 100% sure bet with Bovada. I can’t wait to see the odds! Good to see Eye back at work after that bogus weed issue in Texas. I know everybody thinks Leslie destroyed Jessamyn but I think it would have gone all three rounds as well if Jess has not cracked her hand in two places on Leslie’s skull. I have never seen a double snap like that x-ray showed. No way Jess could have defended or continued.
My pick is Jessica Eye by decision…30-27 across the board. And I want to see the rematch between Jessamyn and Leslie
Hey Mike – yeah sorry about the typo — I meant to say Tate-Holm (Holly Holm) but that fight won’t happen near term. I think they’ll probably give Holly a lower-ranked fighter (I think Rackoszy would be a great first matchup for her).
Agree Smith-Eye will be go the distance, but not sure about the shutout. I think Kaufman is a better pure boxer than Eye, and Smith was pretty competitive over the 3 rounds. Though that was a 30-27 shutout. But I think a fully prepared Smith will give anyone short of Rousey fits.
One thing I noticed about Eye is her ability to score points in retreat and exiting the clinch. Hurtful points!! Leslie seems more of a Diego Sanchez type brawler although her technique is better than Sanchez…but then again…everybody’s technique is better than Diego’s.
Hah! So true – yes one aspect of Jessica Eye’s game where she’s better than anyone in the division is her footwork. Exactly why she’s so good in retreat and exiting the clinch as you say. Just as the jab in boxing is the single most important factor for success, I believe footwork is the single most important aspect of modern day MMA. I think Dominick Cruz is the best example of how dominating one can be through footwork.
The dominator is in a league of his own when it comes to footwork…you are right…and maybe we can soon add Conor Mac to that shortlist.
Jessica’s weakness has always been her groundgame and it might just come down to that when she meets Leslie. I know we haven’t seen much of Leslie on the ground because she loves to brawl but she does train with Nick and Nate and is coached by Ceasar Gracie. It will surely be a interesting fight.