Interview with Jessica Eye

The NAAFS Amateur Women's 125 Pound Champion talks to Pro Fighting Fans

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Jessica Eye is a very talented young lady who competes in a sport dominated by males. Although she is only 23 years old, Eye has quickly made an impact as an amateur fighter in the NAAFS going 5-0. Eye trains at Strong Style Mixed Martial Arts in Northeast Ohio, has appeared on in fights on SportsTime Ohio and has aspirations of competing for Strikeforce. Not only does Jessica have the discipline and focus of any successful athlete, she is also articulate and well spoken. Jessica took some time from her busy schedule to speak with ProFighting-fans.com's Editor-in-Chief Scott Dryden regarding her background, training and her love of MMA.

SD- Speak about what your training consists of on a day to day basis.

JE- Each day is really different. On Monday we spar and do MMA style kicks and punches. On Tuesday we do jiu-jitsu and conditioning. On Wednesday we do more jiu-jitsu. On Thursday we box and spar. On Friday and Saturday its more mitts and more skill oriented.

SD- What is your athletic background?

JE- Growing up I played as many sports as I could. I was a soccer player for about seven years. Then I did basketball, track, softball - I mean I played them all.

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SD- What brought you to the sport of MMA?

JE- I fell into it I guess. I had some friends who were going to go to college out in Akron. I was waitressing at a bar and I met this guy Brian who trains at our gym. He told me I should come down and I would probably it like given I’m into fitness. I met my head coach Marcus who is like a father figure to me now. I started doing some boxing as a source of cardio and then I the next thing you knew I was good at it. It just came natural to me.

SD- What was the reaction of your friends and family when you told them you were getting into the cage?

JE- It was definitely a shock. My father liked it. My older brother was always into football but kind of fell off of it while I was always kind of this intense person in general. I think he probably thought I would quit and not go back to it. Then he saw how dedicated I was to it. The first grappling tournament he came to he didn’t really know what it was but when he came to my first MMA fight it was kind of an eye opener for him and it kind of fit the scheme of our life.

SD- You are 5-0 as an amateur. Are you looking to turn pro anytime soon?

JE- Yes I am. I’m going to do a couple more boxing matches just to get my hands ready even more. Once you turn pro in MMA you can't do anything else as an amateur. I want to utilize this time while I still have it and I think bigger things are on the way for me in the summer.

SD-You have a full schedule of training. Describe your diet and what you do to maintain your fitness?

JE- Well I’m a very fortunate young lady. I’m blessed with a lot of great opportunities. I’m a manager, personal trainer and instructor at the gym I train at. Strong Style is such a big part of my life as I spend most of my time there. It’s really easy for me; it comes really natural. I have a refrigerator and a microwave to use at work. I come home a prepare food I can eat for the next few days. It’s a pretty strict diet; my dietician keeps me in check.

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SD-When you had your first cage fight what was the walk to the cage like and what was going through your head once the cage door was locked?

JE- To be really honest this might sound a little crazy, I’m more nervous now than I was in my first fight. I definitely had a lot of butterflies going into my first fight but it was more about thinking is this something I want to do. It was also one of the biggest events of the year in a venue which could hold 5,000 people. Fight Night in the Flats is a big deal and I think around seven people from our gym were fighting. There was a lot of pressure. I was also the first female in Northeast Ohio to fight as well. Even with that I think the my most recent fight was the most nervous I have been.

SD- The fight you mentioned being nervous for, against Marie Colangelo, you were emotional in the post fight interview. What was going through your mind at that time?

JE- It was very emotional for me. Everything I do in life I set a goal for myself. That victory was the biggest goal I achieved. Some people set a goal to go to college and earn a degree well I felt like that victory was my degree. From that point I felt like I could take the next step. I felt emotionally ready. I was so proud of myself and so proud of my family. To see them out there and know they could feel a part of it as well as my teammates, that was special to me. My team has been so supportive. They could have very easily turned their back on me as I’m a female coming into a male sport.

SD- That was a very good fight for you. You used very good technique to maintain your position against an opponent that looked very strong.

JE- For a good 2½ years we both knew of each other. I think we both knew at some point we would face each other. There was a lot of hostility coming into the fight then to top it off she didn’t make weight and I was under weight. I weighed in at 122 lbs that day and she weighed in at 129. They were going to take the title out of the fight unless she cut down. I didn’t want any part of that. So I had to come up four pounds in about an hour.

SD- What did you eat?

JE- I had two candy bars of my choice. I usually bring a big thing of trail mix and of course pedialyte. Marcus looked at me and told me to start stuffing my face so I had two butter finger candy bars and this thing of trail mix I had made. I literally had to eat it in a half hour. I thought I was going to throw up all over the place. It is funny now but at the time I was really mad about it because it was unfair. We both knew it was at 125 and my coach was like that isn’t fair, you have worked too hard. But I wanted to take the fight.

SD- As the women’s side of MMA begins to get more media attention, where do you see the sport evolving on the women’s side and where do you see your career going?

JE- I definitely see it growing. I think Gina was a great advocate of the sport. I think she brought attention to the sport. A fighter like Cristiane Santos who has been training for much longer than Gina, is starting to get recognition. I think the women’s side is definitely starting to move up the ladder. For me, I want to compete at the highest level which right now is Strikeforce.

By Scott Dryden
ProFighting-fans.com Editor-in-Chief