Jessica Eye had a long, abusive road to her first title shot at UFC 238
By Mark Carman
Jessica Eye tells the On The Mark podcast how she has been battling her entire life, in and out of the octagon, for her first title shot at UFC 238.
Jessica Eye finished up high school living on her own in an apartment in Akron, Ohio. She had been kicked out of the house by her abusive father.
“We got into a huge argument because my Dad did not like the guy I wanted to date at the time,” Eye said. “Instead of working through it like a Dad and daughter should, he kicked me out. I graduated my senior year of high school driving myself to school everyday.”
Years later when Eye first embarked on a fighting career she wanted her Dad back in her life, so she reached out to him for support.
“When I went to have my very first fight I reached out to my father and my step-mother at the time,” Eye said. “I told them I was doing this fighting stuff, I guess its kinda the background of our family. I would love for you guys to be there. I want to give you the chance to tell me no, and my Dad just embraced me with love.”
The two had another falling out as Eye’s career went along, but came back together when Eye’s Dad was diagnosed with an aggressive brain cancer. Eye did everything she could for her father trying to help raise money for his care before he passed away over three years ago. She is doing her best to move forward.
“I don’t hold onto the things that happened to me in an anger way,” Eye explained. “My Dad’s eulogy at the funeral, the guy said ‘those who bury the shackles of the past carry it to the future.’ It meant so much to me. Learning how to deal with the emotion of all the stuff that me and brothers had went through. Maybe I didn’t understand at the time the my Dad was going through some of these things. My grandfather, his father, killed himself. My Dad found him at a young age.”
Eye is a heavy underdog versus Valentina Shevchenko. Despite the long odds, Eye will be easy to root for.
Listen to her, Henry Cejudo and more join the On The Mark podcast here.
Episode 7:
On this episode of On the Mark, Mark Carman (@thecarm) is all in on the Raptors, has some beef with The Wave and consults Ashley Young (@young_ashleye) about his most recent… breakup? (00:00-12:48)
Ahead of UFC 238, Henry Cejudo gets candid about poverty, TJ Dillashaw and promises to find a way to make you cringe. (12:53-40:59).
Ethan Blumenthal (@andhecanpass) is back to talk about his weekend of wedding crashing… and new found Christmas plans (41:03-56:29).
Plus, Jessica Eye shares an emotional story about her upbringing and says the upcoming title fight at UFC 238 will be ‘breathtaking’. (56:33-1:17:36)