Beloved Squamish professional fighter, Jamey-Lyn Horth Wessels, returns to the octagon this winter for another UFC bout.
Months after her last UFC fight at the end of April, Horth Wessels secured a bout against Veronica Hardy on Dec. 2 with a location to be determined. Horth Wessels will fight Hardy in the flyweight class, a return to her typical weight class after fighting Hailey Cowan in the bantamweight class.
“It's kind of always 24/7 training, but not having sort of the whole end goal in sight sometimes became difficult,” Horth Wessels said of waiting for a fight to be secured.
Now that the fight has been lined up, she said she feels “great” and will soon head back to Mexico for more training, as she did in August, on top of the work she has been putting in locally.
Hardy is a smaller opponent in both height and reach than her previous opponent, but Horth Wessels said she is used to fighting smaller opponents.
“Most of the girls I train with anyways are that size, so it's not really anything foreign to me,” she said.
With her added height, she said it can be harder for opponents to strike her since she can keep them at bay with her length. Additionally, Horth Wessels is familiar with Hardy, as she met and trained with Hardy years ago in 2019 when Hardy held a fight camp in Vancouver.
“Since then, obviously, she's progressed as an athlete,” said Horth Wessels of Hardy.
But, Horth Wessels also said she was in the early days of her fighting career, so she has also progressed.
“I was really early in my professional career, so I know for a fact that I've changed and grown a lot since then.”
Although Hardy recently returned to fighting in 2023 after taking several years off, she won her first bout back against Juliana Miller via unanimous decision in March. Horth Wessels also won her most recent bout via unanimous decision, which had a number of watch parties happening all over Squamish at the time of the fight.
It’s safe to say Horth Wessels heard the cheering from local fans and she’s looking forward to giving Squamish another good show just before Christmas.
“I obviously have so much support in this town, and I couldn't be and do the things I did without all that,” said Horth Wessels. “I'm just really excited to give our town something to get behind, and I can't wait to celebrate everybody.”
Keep your eyes peeled for local watch events as the fight nears. More information about the upcoming fight can be viewed on tapology.com.
Note: This story previously said the incorrect location for the fight. It has been updated since.
