Jasmine Jasudavicius thinks she’s one win away from being the first Canadian to fight for a UFC title in more than eight years.
No athlete from “The Great White North” has competed for a belt since Georges St-Pierre beat Michael Bisping for the middleweight championship in November 2017. He retired from MMA afterward, and ever since Canadian MMA has been looking for someone to even slightly fill St-Pierre’s massive shoes.
Jasudavicius (14-3 MMA, 8-2 UFC) now finds herself the closest of anyone, because she sees her UFC Fight Night 262 matchup with Manon Fiorot on Oct. 18 in Vancouver (ESPN+) as a likely title eliminator in the women’s flyweight division.
“I think this definitely sets up the title fight next,” Jasudavicius told MMA Junkie. “It really makes the most sense. Dana White is always talking about activity and fighters that are active and they’re trying. I’m climbing and clawing my way to the top. I’m active as hell, and I believe the UFC is going to reward that. Toronto title fight.”
Jasudavicius, 36, is carrying the momentum of a five-fight winning streak with three stoppages. She finished former UFC champ Jessica Andrade in less than three minutes at UFC 315 in May, and now gets a crack at Fiorot (12-2 MMA, 7-1 UFC), who unsuccessfully challenged Valentina Shevchenko for the title on that same card in Montreal.
Although Jasudavicius has been putting in good work and is No. 9 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie women’s flyweight rankings, she admits the jump up to face No. 2-ranked Fiorot was slightly unexpected.
It was more than welcomed, though, and she knows an epic performance would force the UFC’s hand to give her a title shot on home soil.
“I was kind of surprised, but there’s only a couple girls ahead of me, so I wasn’t overly surprised,” Jasudavicius said. “But I was grateful for the opportunity. I didn’t know how many more they were going to have me fight, but I believe them giving this opportunity is kind of setting me up for title contention. It’s really putting me into a great in a place.
“I feel like my wrestling, I know how to chain wrestle. I’m not just a girl that does these on-off shots then it coming up the body. I know how to wrestle on the body, and I know how to wrestle on the legs. I think my wrestling is obviously a great threat to her, but in addition to my wrestling, I’m consistently working on my hands. I love striking. I feel like people sleep on my striking a little bit because my grappling is so dominant. They don’t vive it the respect it deserves.”
