Canadian flyweight Jamey-Lyn Horth waited 11 months for her last UFC fight. This time it's taken just six weeks to get back into the cage.
The 34-year-old from Squamish, B.C., looks for her third win in four UFC outings when she tackles American Miranda (Fear The) Maverick on a UFC Fight Night card Saturday in Tampa, Fla.
Horth (7-1-0) agreed to fill in for the injured Tracy Cortez, ranked 11th among UFC 125-pound contenders, just four days after her split-decision win over Ivana Petrovic on Nov. 2 in Edmonton.
"Super-crazy," Horth said of the rapid-fire turnaround after the previous delay.
The all-American main event at Amalie Arena features former interim welterweight champion Colby (Chaos) Covington, currently ranked sixth among 170-pound contenders, against No. 9 Joaquin (New Mansa) Buckley.
Maverick (14-5-0) has won three straight since a unanimous decision loss to Canadian Jasmine Jasudavicius at UFC 289 in Vancouver in June 2023. The 27-year-old is 7-3-0 in the UFC and has figured in the rankings in the past.
"I think it's a great test for me," said Horth.
"Me and my team like a challenge and I love competition," she added. "I think it's a smart move on my end. The stress isn't really on me. I'm taking a short-notice fight. I'm game and I'm excited."
Maverick has won five of her last six outings. Her three UFC losses have come at the hands of Maycee Barber, Erin Blanchfield and Jasudavicius, all of whom are currently ranked in the division's top 15.
Maverick is the fifth southpaw in a row for Horth, who previously held flyweight titles in both the Battlefield Fight League and Legacy Fighting Alliance promotions.
Horth has been training with Vancouver-based Loopy Godinez, ranked 11th among UFC strawweights. The two fought twice as amateurs, with Horth winning both bouts, and are now friends.
"You won't find anybody as motivated as Loopy. Super-awesome person, great training partner." said Horth.
Horth's win over Petrovic earned her a new contract with the UFC.
The long layoff before the Petrovic fight was, in part, due to a shoulder injury suffered "sometime just before and during" a loss to Veronique Hardy on Dec. 3, 2023, in Austin, Texas.
Horth said she got back to her hotel that night and could not lift her arm to take her sports bra off. After an MRI to determine the damage, she was off three to four months.
The Canadian moved up a weight class in her April 2023 UFC debut against American bantamweight (All Hail) Hailey Cowan, who added to the degree of difficulty by missing weight at 137.5 pounds. Despite that, Horth won a unanimous decision.
Horth, who had her first amateur fight in November 2016 and made her pro debut in March 2018, got into martial arts through friends — initially as a cross-training partner to playing soccer.
She told herself she would move on from martial arts if she didn’t crack the UFC by the time she was 33. She finally got the call six days ahead of her 33rd birthday.
Her LFA championship win in December 2021 came at a cost with Horth fighting through a nasty knee injury suffered early in the fight. Horth won by third-round submission, learning later she had torn her posterior and lateral cruciate ligaments as well as the popliteus muscles and tendons behind the knee.
She wore a leg brace around the clock for three months and had to wait six months before resuming full training.
Horth and fiancé Kasey Smith own The Sound Martial Arts in Squamish. She also trains at WKX Gym in Surrey, B.C., and Universal MMA in North Vancouver.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 12, 2024
Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press
