Jasmine Jasudavicius got her show and win money in her most recent fight, but still left UFC Winnipeg with her wallet a little lighter than expected.
Ahead of her co-main event bout with Erin Blanchfield this Saturday at UFC Edmonton, Jasudavicius spoke to Full Send MMA about an incident this past April that saw her dinged by the Manitoba Combative Sports Commission. Cameras appeared to catch Jasudavicius with dip (chewing tobacco) in her mouth in the middle of a fight with Karine Silva that Jasudavicius went on to win, however she insists it was actually gum.
The commission wasn’t convinced and Jasudavicius ended up having to pay a five-figure fine.
“That last frickin’ card I got fined because everyone thought I had a dip in my mouth,” Jasudavicius said. “I had gum. They charged me frickin’ $10,000. The Manitoba commission, man. They actually charged me. Check my frickin’ bank account. I was so frustrated.”
According to Jasudavicius, her claim was easily provable if the commission had simply sent officials in to check the mat because the gum didn’t stay in her mouth throughout the fight.
“I told them,” Jasudavicius said. “I said, ‘Hey, it fell out on the mat. Go get it.’ He’s like, ‘Well, we wouldn’t do that.’ I was like, ‘That’s the evidence. Go get it if you can check. Peppermint gum, go check it and test, do whatever the hell you want with it.”
Jasudavicius’ trip to Winnipeg was still a fruitful one as she defeated Silva to get back in the win column, bouncing back from a disappointing defeat to Manon Fiorot to make it six wins in her past seven outings. Should she defeat Blanchfield—currently No. 9 in the MMA Fighting Pound-for-Pound Rankings—the Ontario native could find herself angling for a flyweight title shot in 2027.
Heading into Saturday, there’s one important distraction Jasudavicus has eliminated from her fight night plans.
“I’ve stopped chewing gum now,” Jasudavicius said.