J. Jasudavicius: about his Lithuanian surname, the change of this weekend’s opponent in the UFC cage and a new approach to fights

This weekend, a Canadian woman of Lithuanian origin will also appear in the MMA tournament that will be held in the premises of “UFC Apex” in Las Vegas (USA) Jasmine Jasudavicius (7-2).

33-year-old J. Jasudavicius was preparing for a fight with an American woman Courtney Casey (10-10), but later received a message that this US fighter refused to participate in the tournament. Then the vacant place was taken by a 29-year-old Brazilian Gabriella Fernandes (8-1). G. Fernandes, who became the interim LFA champion last year, will debut in the UFC cage.

“Before, I was desperately trying to finish the fight early and I kept thinking about how to get that 50k. US dollar bonus for a spectacular victory. Now I have changed my attitude. I’m ready to fight all three rounds if that’s what it takes. I will be more patient than before”, said J. Jasudavicius.

The representative of Canada joined one of the strongest MMA clubs – American Top Team.

“I think training at the new club helps me a lot. Girls who have reached the highest level in their fields train there. I can train there with Olympians, UFC, Bellator fighters. Only combat sports professionals train there. I was able to test my strength against top level athletes. I gained a lot of experience”, said the athlete of Lithuanian origin.

J. Jasudavicius added that he hopes to finally get a chance to face C. Casey in the future: “She has been participating in UFC tournaments for a long time, she is a well-known fighter and I really wanted to face her, but for some reason she refused to fight in this tournament, and I only had informed that I will get another competitor. I didn’t know anything about the new opponent until then – I asked the team to look into her. She’s a pretty basic fighter so far, but she’s not lacking in talent. She uses a left-handed stance and has good kicks. I have a feeling that the opponent will try to show her grappling skills as well, but I will be ready for that. This time the task in the cage will be not to do anything stupid and to do what is necessary to achieve victory.”

The Canadian of Lithuanian origin also got the chance to appear on the popular “The MMA Hour” show, where she taught host Ariel Helwanis how to pronounce her Lithuanian surname.

“My last name should be pronounced Jasudavicius, not Jasudavicius, because I’m Lithuanian, but everyone pronounces it Jasudavicius in English, so just call me whatever you want, although I think the Lithuanian version is easier to pronounce,” said the fighter.

On Friday, J. Jasudavicius stepped on the UFC scales and did his job, weighing in at 125.5 pounds (56.93 kg). G. Fernandes also avoided problems, reaching the limit of the weight category – 126 pounds (57.15 kg).

It was canceled at the last minute Aileen Perez and Hailey Cowan fight, because the latter athlete fell ill before the weigh-in procedure.

They will face each other in the main fight of the evening Nikita Krylov and Ryan Spannand before that, a very long-awaited event will take place Tatiana Suarez (8-0) comeback. She has not fought even since 2019 due to various injuries. June, although after victories over Carla Esparza and Nina Nunes, she was called a real contender for the championship belt.