In a tweet posted on Saturday, Jessica Eye posted a photo of her holding a Bellator title belt saying "So this is what I would look like with a @bellatormma title in my hands... hmm what ya'll think. MY DREAM WILL COME TRUE AS LONG AS I AM STILL BREATHING #eyebelieve."
For those fans who saw her destruction of Bellator champion Zoila Gurgel in her last trip to the cage, it's pretty easy to believe that her dream will come true sooner rather than later. Just 58 seconds into that contest, Eye choked out Gurgel with a standing arm-triangle choke. That fight was not for a title, however, leaving Jessica Eye without a championship belt, but perhaps a career defining performance.
Prior to that fight, Zoila Gurgel was the bigger name and was eager to tweak Eye with insults. Making fun of her previous loss to Aisling Daly as well as her physical appearance, Eye was perhaps more motivated going into this fight than any of her previous ones. Eager to let her fists do the talking, she quickly got the better of their exchange, dropping Zoila Gurgel almost immediately. Soon after she locked on the choke and finished the fight when Gurgel lost consciousness.
That performance may have turned the rest of the world onto Jessica Eye, but many other fighters have long been aware of her impressive talents. One of her biggest fans is undoubtedly fellow Bellator fighter Mo Lawal. When asked in an interview on Pro MMA Insider what he liked about her style, Lawal gave glowing praise.
"The aggression. When the bell rings, she is out there fighting. The last fight when she choked her out and threw her down and celebrated. I like that. When she started celebrating and screaming and flexing, I said, 'Damn she's the truth.'"
Perhaps the best part about Jessica Eye is that, like Lawal said, she is a beast in the cage, but she also knows how to conduct herself outside of it. She looks at her role in women's MMA as more than just being a fighter.
"As long as I am involved I swear to you I will do everything I can to make sure we don't go anywhere. That means being a good ambassador vocally, being a good ambassador physically, and that means being a good fighter and being skilled and showing I am an athlete."
The UFC may have Ronda Rousey, but Bellator potentially has their own face of women's MMA in Jessica Eye. As the best 125-pound fighter in the world, a great attitude about the business, and a very likeable personality, Bellator would be wise to give her all the attention she deserves. It doesn't hurt that she isn't hard to look at either. The belt that she covets is likely hers in just a matter of time, although it appears she already has the respect that comes with being called a champion.
Jessica Eye is scheduled to return to action at Bellator 95 in April. There she will be facing Munah Holland in a battle of top flyweights.
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