It was a year of memorable fights for UFC fighter Jamey-Lyn Horth Wessels, and while she might have ended 2024 with a loss, the new year is looking a lot more positive.
On Dec. 14, Horth Wessels narrowly lost her fight to American pocket rocket Miranda Maverick in Tampa, Florida.
The 麻豆社国产flyweight took the card a mere six weeks after her win against German fighter Ivana Petrovic, and she went in hungry for another triumph under her belt.
Much like for those watching the fight, Horth Wessels believes either fighter could have come out victorious.
“It was really close; it arguably could have gone either way,” she told The 麻豆社国产.
“The fight camp gave me the ability to just focus on the game plan and really just drill techniques to be successful, which was to not let her take me down and hold me down. Unfortunately, that happened in the third round.
“I stopped eight of the nine takedowns and, unfortunately, didn't stuff that one or get up as quickly as I probably could have. And that's kind of what turned the fight the other way. It was that takedown.
“If you think about it, [there was] one takedown in between me and winning. It was crazy.”
Typically, in the UFC, fighters will have a few months in between fight cards to prepare and get their body into shape, but this time, Horth Wessels opted for back-to-back fights.
“For me, it was kind of a first. I've always had a hard time having multiple fights so close together. So I wasn't sure how my body was going to be, how the weight cut was going to go because there were so many firsts,” she said.
“I've never had two fights so close together. But I feel like it was one of the best sorts of situations all around. I was coming out of one fight in Edmonton, not hurt, going into another fight camp, so my engine was pretty primed.
“I was in good shape, and it gave me the ability to really just focus on training and be able to adapt and learn something new and work on just technique and skill. So it was kind of really cool to see that play out, and the weight cut was so easy.”
Ultimately, all three judges on the night scored the fight 29-28 in favour of Maverick.
Despite the loss, Horth Wessels says a lot of good came out of the experience.
“I resigned a new four-fight contract for that fight, so I got job security out of it,” she said.
“I got to test myself against somebody in the Top 15, which is huge, being that I'm so, so new to the UFC roster, and I arguably won that fight.
“So a lot of great things came out of it, although we didn't get the winning result that everybody likes.”
She also reflected on how the loss compared to her only other UFC defeat against Veronica Hardy in December 2023.
“It was just a different feeling than that first loss in December of 2023. I know I didn't leave anything out in the cage,” she said.
“It just gave me a little bit more confidence to know that I belong there and I can do those things.”
Unlike many other UFC fights, Horth Wessels left the bout injury-free for a second time in a row.
UFC testing
During the last week of January, Horth Wessels was in Las Vegas at the UFC Performance Institute, completing a number of tests to see the numbers on how her body performs..
The test provides a full body analysis as well as compares athletes’ abilities to one another.
“My strength and conditioning coaches were there, and they got to see [the results] first and foremost,” she said.
“So that was really cool because it's been about three or so years with my one conditioning coach, and then my coach locally, Jesse [Bifano], I've been working with him for about five years.
“Out of all the female athletes that have tested there over the four different weight classes, we just maxed out and set new records for everything there.”
Horth Wessels was able to set new all-time records for strength, energy output and V02 (the amount of oxygen your body can absorb and use during exercise).
It was a really good, like, 'Heck yeah!' moment. There's definitely some things that we got off the results that we can work on, but we're pretty much on the right track,” she said.
One thing she found out during the testing was that she could not put on any more muscle mass.
“I have 125.16 pounds of muscle, lean mass, which means that when I cut down weight I would be too big for the 125-pound division if I added any more muscle mass,” she said.
“I would go into muscle atrophy to actually stay in that division if I was to continue to put more muscle on.”
Fight plan
With her new four-fight contract underway, Horth Wessels hopes to get three more fights under her belt this year.
Another goal she’d like to check off the list is fighting someone who is right-handed.
“I’d like to fight somebody that's not left-handed. That would be pretty cool,” she said with a laugh.
“I've fought four girls in a row that are left handed. So I mean, chances are that I'm probably going to end up fighting another left handed fighter just because that's the way it's gone. But yeah, I mean, maybe fighting somebody in the Orthodox stance would be cool.”
While she doesn’t have a fight locked in at this stage, Horth Wessels hopes that she will be able to get on a Canadian card when the UFC returns to Montreal on May 10.
Personal goals
Fighting aside, Horth Wessels says she wants to focus on being a healthier person in both the on and off-season.
“I have some sinus stuff that I've got going on, but I'd like to just be healthier, nutritionally, fitness-wise, and mentally healthier,” she said.
You know, being a high-level athlete can be taxing on the body, and I'm very boneheaded when it comes to that kind of stuff, but I'd like to work on the mental aspect of being an athlete.
“I don't struggle with body images, but I know a lot of professional athletes do, especially when you're in a sport where you're cutting weight. It can be hard to look one way one time and then, a month later, look a different way.
“I think over years of experience, I've created lots of mental fortitude when it comes to that. But yeah, personal goals, I'd like to just be a more well-rounded and healthy off-season person.”
In 2024, Horth Wessels became an ambassador for the Lululemon West Vancouver store.
Since taking on the role, she’s been able to host events in collaboration with Lululemon, including the grand opening of The Sound Martial Arts when they moved location on Sept. 15.
“They're based on community values, which is huge to me and huge for them. So, I feel like this partnership works really well. They helped with our grand opening when we moved our gym. They catered it, they brought gifts and took part in it.
“They also have grants that I can apply for to run events. So if I have a women's self-defence class or weekend thing where I run it, Lululemon will tag up with me and ask how they can support it [and that might be] with product, food, or finances to go and buy stuff to decorate
“It's a two-year ambassadorship, and it's freaking awesome.”
To keep an eye out on Horth Wessels's upcoming fights, check out her
