Athletes
Everybody loves Jasmine Jasudavicius.
At least that’s the impression as the Ontario native marches up the flyweight ladder and prepares for her biggest fight to date this Saturday against former world champion Jessica Andrade. And why not? The 36-year-old brings a positive energy to the Octagon, she can fight, and she’s pretty damn good on the mic after her wins. In fact, there’s nothing not to like about her, and she’s starting to feel that support.
“I really am,” Jasudavicius said. “I have so much support. I have people that I don't even know messaging me and just saying, ‘Hey, looking forward to your fight!’ It's so awesome, and people have been very, very kind. I don't get the s**t talk as much as other fighters do, and I'm very thankful for that. But yeah, it's really cool to kind of be the one leading the pack. I know we've got a whole bunch of talented people coming out of Canada and fighting. But yeah, it does feel like there is a lot of hype around this fight and around me right now. I am very active, so it kind of makes sense why my name's still in people's mouths.”
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After a bit of a slow start to her UFC career, as she went 3-2 in her first five fights, 2024 kicked off a hot stretch that is getting hotter by the minute. Jasudavicius picked up three wins last year, sandwiching Performance of the Night finishes over Priscila Cachoeira and Ariane da Silva around a decision victory over hot prospect Fatima Kline. And she’s already got one win under her belt in 2025, as she outpointed Mayra Bueno Silva in February.
That trip to Riyadh earlier this year didn’t just secure her fourth consecutive win and a spot in the flyweight top 10, but also saw her run into her favorite fighter, Georges St-Pierre. If you look at the video of that meeting, you can see the excitement in Jasudavicius’ eyes, as she turns from a peer to a fan. It’s something the MMA vet hopes she never loses.
“I think it's important,” she said. “It's like that childlike wonder. It's always good to keep the spark alive and that white belt mentality that anything can happen. Jump on opportunities that present themselves, meet people that present themselves, and be able to just be open to any experience that I can run into.”
Keeping that inner fan alive is an underrated part of the fighter’s life. And usually, fighters don’t realize that until they’re older. Before that, in their early 20s, some are too cool to show the world how they feel about their fighting heroes.
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“I don't know if it's maturity or immaturity,” laughs Jasudavicius. “But yeah, I think it is maturity. Respect your elders and respect what they've done, the work that they had to put in to be able to get to the place that they did. GSP was doing MMA back before it was popular, before it was in the mainstream. So I can only imagine the adversity and the challenge it was to try to make a life with martial arts. And it was funny actually, I had the opportunity to train with Joanna (Jedrzejczyk) and she told me that she was still working at a supermarket and held aregular job until she had the title. So I can empathize with the champs that put in the work in the past and opened the doors up to us so I don't have to work an additional job. I'm able to just fight full-time and I'm very thankful to the people that paved the way before me.”
So while all the Canadians on Saturday’s card at Bell Centre in Montreal are happy to get a home game, this one is a little extra for Jasudavicius, who makes her first start in the city that GSP built.
“Anything, of course, is exciting, but I feel like Montreal is especially exciting seeing that it’s where Georges St-Pierre is from, and he really paved the way for Canadian mixed martial arts.To be able to follow in his footsteps and fight where he fought, it's such an honor.
Clearly, this is no mere business trip for Jasudavicius, who opted to make the five-hour drive from Ontario instead of a flight, but when it comes down to business, this is a biggie, especially with the flyweight title fight between Valentina Shevchenko and Manon Fiorot in the co-main event slot, and a pivotal matchup pitting former 125-pound champ Alexa Grasso and rising star Natalia Silva also on the UFC 315 main card. In other words, if you’re a flyweight looking to make a statement, there’s no better place to do it than on Saturday night.
“I keep on having these visions in my head, trying to manifest that I have a spectacular performance and the other girl fights are kind of a bore, so that just keeps my trajectory going because I want to fight for the title,” Jasudavicius said. “When I started in this sport, I didn't know where I would end up. I didn't know what my path was going to be. And I always had the vision of being able to fight for the title one day and to watch it happening and understand that this is like a video game and Andrade is one of the bosses that I have to beat in order to beat this game. And so I'm not looking past her, but I also am very excited for my future within martial arts.”
WATCH: Jasmine Jasudavicius' Fight Week Interview
If you’re reading this, you’re probably a Jasmine Jasudavicius fan already. If you weren’t when you started, you are now. In fact, the only people who aren’t fans of the Canadian contender are those who have to meet her in the Octagon with the possibility of being taken to some dark places for 15 minutes. After that, they’ll probably be on board, too. So how does one of the most likeable fighters on the roster get mean for those three rounds?
She laughs.
“I've been thinking about that because, yeah, once I get in the cage, I definitely turn,” Jasudavicius explains. “Everything leading up when I'm in camp and every little sacrifice that I have to make, I feel like I internalize that and I take that in. It's like, okay, I have to sacrifice my diet. I have to wake up early and run. I have to go to these practices when my body is mangled and that doesn't feel like going to practice. And all of these things that go on in my life, I take these hard things, these negative things, these mad feelings, all of these feelings, and I think about putting them into a jar and then finally, on fight night, I can open that jar up and just unload it. Everything that I've ever been pissed off about for the whole camp, for everything, I can finally unload it on this girl in front of me. And so, I think that's kind of how I'm able to be so vicious in the cage once I get in there.”
UFC 315: Muhammad vs Della Maddalena took place live from Bell Centre in Montréal, Québec, Canada on May 10, 2025. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
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