It’s been almost four months since local athlete Jamey-Lyn Horth Wessels was in the UFC arena, but after a short break, she’s ready to get back in the octagon this June.
Horth Wessels will take on Czech Republic fighter Tereza Bleda on June 14 in Atlanta, Georgia, skipping out on the Canadian card in Montreal a month earlier.
“Montreal would have been a quick turnaround, so I feel like my team was really hoping I would get a little bit more time to just sort of relax and recover and then we were offered this, so we said, yes,” Horth Wessels told The 麻豆社国产.
While Bleda’s fighting style is much of what Horth Wessels is used to, there will be one big difference between this bout and previous opponents.
“She's another grappler, so more wrestling, and she's a little bit taller than some of the girls I fought. The only other big difference is that she stands orthodox instead of southpaw,” she said.
“My last five opponents have more or less been southpaw. So I'll be fighting somebody not left-handed, essentially.”
Her last fight was against Miranda Maverick on Dec. 14 in Tampa, Florida which she only just narrowly lost.
Preparation
If there’s one thing locals know about Horth Wessels, it’s that she’s always keeping active and training, and this is still the case leading up to her June fight and upcoming fight camps.
“I train all the time, I'm always training, so for me, fight camp is just about making the specifics,” she said.
“She's a grappler, so we wanted to see what she's good at with grappling and drill escapes out of certain submissions, or practice defending takedowns that she likes to do, and she's been successful with.
“So I guess for me personally the schedule and the training stays the same, it's just the intensity level and the focus on the opponent that increases.”
As for how she prepares for her big fights outside of training, Horth Wessels says it's all about spending time with family.
“During these last few flight camps over the years, my two nephews wanted dirt bikes, and my niece recently wanted an electric rad bike. I don't know why they thought I was rich and famous, but they wanted dirt bikes, so I helped them earn enough money to buy them,” she said.
“We were originally shooting for a little 50cc dirt bike, and we got two used ones. We collected cans every weekend, and we would take them back on Sunday. So they were about like four and six when we did it and they would go to the bottle depot every Sunday and unload bags of cans and collect cash.
“Now flash forward a couple years now, my niece has wanted an all too popular rad bike and again, I said 'I could not buy that for you, but I can help you' and we are still just finishing the last little bit of what is owed and on the bike.”
She said spending time with her family helps keep her filled with youthful energy.
“Family is a huge thing for me, and I feel like spending time with my nieces and nephews, you know, just being around the kids, their energy is so, so real and authentic,” she said.
“It's just relaxing, and it kind of brings you back down to just the basis of just laughing and being present, and I think that that's super important, and that makes me feel good.”
All of the activities in town also help act as a positive distraction for her during tense times.
“There's just always things in town that are going on and I feel like I can use that as a distraction to my diet or my fatigue and being out in the community and going to the places that we love to go, and just being a kid.”
But one thing is certain, Horth Wessels will go out and give everything she can to bring home a win.
“I feel like I've got that itch to want to get back in there and I'm excited to go through the next eight and a half, nine weeks of prep and showcase what we've done,” she said.
