Athletes
Jessica-Rose Clark Is A Fighter For Life
Nothing Changes The Goals For Jessica-Rose Clark, And She Is Eager To Break A Losing Skid Heading Into UFC Fight Night: Rozenstruik vs Almeida
The zip code may have changed from California to Texas, but through it all – the ups, the downs, the sideways - Jessica-Rose Clark is still all-in on the fight game.
Fight By Fight Preview | UFC Fight Night: Rozenstruik vs Almeida
“This is fun,” she said. “This is a sport that you can't do unless you have a passion for it because it will so consistently break your heart at the drop of a hat. There's no guarantees. You can put in every ounce of effort and energy and do everything right and it might still not pay off the way that you wanted it to or work out the way that you wanted it to. So if you're in this and you don't truly love it, you're going to have a very short career because you’ve got to be willing to go through that fire, as well, because it's a guarantee; It's the only guarantee.”
Jessica-Rose Clark Fight Week Interview | UFC Fight Night: Rozenstruik vs Almeida
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Jessica-Rose Clark Fight Week Interview | UFC Fight Night: Rozenstruik vs Almeida
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Clark has gone through that fire for over a decade since turning pro in her native Australia in 2012. Sure, she’s been burned a few times by the business of prizefighting, but in a career that has seen her compete at home, as well as the United States, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Russia, it’s safe to say that she’s lived an uncommon life over her 35 years, and she’s not done chasing dreams yet, even if they’re not conventional ones shared by many of her peers.
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“I have been doing this for so long that I am at the stage where this is just what I do every day,” she said. “And I don't feel like the goals have ever changed because I've always done this just because I wanted to fight and make money. So nothing’s different, and how long I've been in the UFC doesn't change that. How old I am doesn't change that. I love to fight. I love to get in the cage, I love to be on camera, I love to be in front of everyone, I love to punch people and that's what I plan on doing for a little while longer.”
On Saturday, Clark will be in Charlotte, North Carolina, to face Brazilian newcomer Tainara Lisboa. It’s a chance to not just do what she loves again and pick up a paycheck, but to snap a two-fight losing streak. And to get there, Clark relocated from California to Texas, where that new kid in the room feeling has invigorated her.
Fighters on the Rise | UFC Fight Night: Rozenstruik vs Almeida
“I felt like it was necessary,” she said of the switch in camps. “Some of my training partners are fucking good. And it’s like you can get good work in anywhere as long as you're with the right people. So I'd been in my gym for so long that I kind of knew how everyone moved. I knew everyone's styles, I knew what everyone wanted to do and they knew the same things about me. So coming and putting myself in a totally different position where I'm now sparring with guys that I've never trained with before, and every MMA sparring day feels like I'm getting ready for a fight because I'm nervous and I don't know what I'm going to come up against.
"And it's giving me that pressure that I haven't felt for a very long time. So I think it was something that I really needed to do because I think I've been comfortable for a while and I needed to get out of my comfort zone and really force myself to be in an environment where when my only option is to grow and to learn and get better.”
And that’s the key, right? If a fighter doesn’t evolve, the game will pass them by, and Clark is not about to let that happen. Remember, she’s a fighter. For life.
UFC Fight Night: Rozenstruik vs Almeida took place live from the Spectrum Center in Charlotte on May 13, 2023. See the Final Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!
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