Jessica Eye Wins UFC Debut, Defeats Sarah Kaufman At UFC 166Former top-ranked flyweight Jessica “Evil” Eye made a big statement in her UFC debut tonight at UFC 166: “Velasquez vs dos Santos 3” in Houston, Texas. Eye earned a close and competitive Split Decision win over former Strikeforce Women’s Bantamweight Champion Sarah Kaufman on the card.

Eye and Kaufman engaged in an action-packed back-and-forth bout on the feet for three rounds tonight and both fighters landed hard shots. Kaufman came on strong in the third round and stunned Eye with punches, but the rally was not quite enough and Eye picked up her biggest win to date.

 

Eye (11-1-0) pressed the action with jabs and a right hook early in the bantamweight bout. Kaufman (16-3-0) fired back with right hands of her own and the fighters traded knees in the clinch. Eye scored with uppercuts in close and she followed with more jabs. Kaufman countered with a flurry of punches and she mixed in knees to the body. Both women landed solid combinations in the final minute and Kaufman finished the round with a nice right hook.

In round two, Kaufman was the aggressor early on. She landed more knees and uppercuts in the clinch and followed with a powerful right hand. Eye continued to find a home for her jab and Kaufman’s face began to swell up, which may have played a factor in the minds of the cageside judges. Kaufman scored with knees and an elbow in a clinch against the cage and Eye landed a stiff jab before the bell.

With the fight still up for grabs heading into round three, Kaufman got off to a good start by knocking Eye off-balance with a right hook. She pressured Eye with more punches as the round progressed. Eye began to mix up her strikes with kicks to the lead leg and body, but Kaufman staggered her with a hard right hand. Kaufman swarmed with more punches and Eye clinched. Kaufman connected with power punches before the end of the fight.

The close nature of the bout was reflected on the judges’ official scorecards. One judge saw the fight 29-28 for Kaufman. The remaining two each had it 29-28 for Eye, who proved critics wrong by earning a huge win in her new home in the UFC women’s bantamweight division. Eye has now won eight straight fights dating back to her lone career defeat in June 2011.

Winner: Jessica Eye by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) after three rounds. She improves to 11-1-0.

 

 

(Photo Credit: UFC)

  1. This girl will be a STAR.

    Interesting how the top flyweights are overcoming the top bantamweights.

    Eye, Cat Zingano and Barb Honchak were the top three strongest flyweights. Cat Zingano has beat Miesha Tate, and, now, Eye has beat Kaufman.

    Barb should consider moving up in weight now.

  2. One of the judges who scored the fight for Eye actually gave her the 3rd round. It was a super close fight, but there’s no way Eye won the 3rd round, no matter how you look at it.

  3. Kaufman was robbed she won eds 2and3. Hell rd 3 eye was rocked on multiple times.eye got a gift from a judge who has no business judging fights.no way eye wins that 3rd and that icompetant judge is what have eye the Dec

  4. Hey, Robby, we finally disagree!

    In my opinion, Eye won the second round. Striking was even, BUT Eye controlled the clinch and caused more damage.

    Scoring round 3 to Jessica Eye was crazy. Kaufman won that one (not THAT dominantly, but clearly won).

  5. That said, Eye can fight ANYONE in the 135 lb. division standing, she would likely have the upperhand even against the likes of Liz Carmouche or Alexis Davis in that area.

  6. I am very curious to see how Kaufman would stack up to the likes of Germaine de Randaime, Miriam Nakamoto and Holly Holm, since their striking might be better…

  7. Getting that win over Smith changed everything. Otherwise Kaufman would have lost her last 3 fights. Kaufman vs. Randaime/Nunes winner seems logical. Eye should get the Carmouche/Davis winner. McMann, assuming aliens haven’t captured her, might have to wait for Sexton or Tate. And Holly Holm has to stop padding her record and face someone like Bethe Correia. Stop wasting time and sign.

    I guess Kaufman drops to #5 or #6. Where does Eye end up? Has to be ahead of Lauren Murphy. #7 or #8? Higher than Kaufman?

  8. It was a great fight and on many cads would have been FON
    I felt it could’ve easily wnet either way or even been a draw
    Great effort by Eye in stepping up a class too
    Sarah will be back so everyone remain calm