“Holy sh*t.”
That’s what LFA champion Jamey-Lyn Horth said her reaction was when she finally got the call that she would have a UFC contract in her email inbox in the hours that followed.
“I was almost numb to it,” Horth recently told MMA Junkie ahead of her debut at UFC Fight Night 223. “Whoa – this is actual reality. Then I got a bit emotional on the second and third day, and now it’s just full time back in work mode. It’s crazy. It’s over-the-moon exciting.”
Seemingly every fighter who graces the UFC roster recounts their promotional signing with some ounce of relief, self-recognition, excitement and joy. But for Horth (5-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC), a two-year stretch riddled with delays and obstacles outside of her control, made it even sweeter.
Horth was initially scheduled to fight on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2020, but visa issues scrapped that. As COVID-19 pandemic regulations began to lift and travel opened up, Horth returned to win the LFA title in December 2021.
After she spent months on the shelf as she recovered from injury, Horth had her first scheduled title defense canceled in late 2022 due to an opponent injury. Her career seemed somewhat snakebitten. That’s until the call came.
“Just because of the past and how things have fallen through and how it’s been really tough to find me opponents over the years, I didn’t get too excited about it,” Horth said of the initial hint from manager Jason House that their might be a UFC opportunity incoming. “Whatever would be, would be. Sure enough, like an hour later, we got the call. He’s like, ‘Contract coming tomorrow. You’re in.’
“It was super f*cking surreal. Fighters hit hardships over the years. If I told myself if I hadn’t made it to where I wanted to be by the time I was 33, then I’d reevaluate where I was going with my life. I turned 33 the next Thursday, so they cut it close. They left me a week before I had to make some decisions.”
Now officially on the UFC roster, the reigning LFA women’s flyweight champion hopes to make an immediate impact as she moves up a weight class Saturday to fight bantamweight Hailey Cowan (7-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
“The short notice of four or five weeks, I kind of thrive in that situation,” Horth said. “I’m training all the time no matter what it is. I’m always on the mats and always in the gym. I’m always looking to work and get better. So really, I’m always ready to go. … I’m just going to go in there and get this win. I just want to prove to the UFC that I belong here, no matter what – 125 or 135. I’m a force to be reckoned with. I’m coming. I’m going to prove why I should’ve been in here a little while ago. I’m excited to showcase me, Jamey Horth, as an athlete – and a UFC fighter.”
The timing of her signing could not be better – not just because she beat her life reassessment deadline, but because of what looms in the future. For the first time since 2019, the UFC has booked a show in Canada, Horth’s home country. UFC 289 takes place June 10 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, and Horth wants to take part.
“To fight on that card in Canada would be freaking amazing,” Horth said. “Obviously, I want to be as active as possible. After this fight, if I get a quick turnaround and an opponent for fighting locally, it’d be ideal and a dream.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 223.
