Gallery Jessica Eye def. Katlyn Chookagian at UFC 231: Best photos view 10 images

Jessica Eye tried to tell us all along – the question is, who amongst us listened?

But now she has people listening, and the results have made her MMAjunkie’s 2018 “Comeback Fighter of the Year.”

For years, Eye said if the UFC only would introduce a women’s flyweight division, then she could really go to work. Then she could show us what she truly had to offer. Then she could make a play for a world title.

Instead, she had to languish for years in the bantamweight division, 10 pounds up from where she was most at home. And in the UFC, that meant going up against a veritable murderer’s row of women’s 135-pounders.

As a bantamweight in the UFC, check out whom Eye shared the cage with: Sarah Kaufman, Alexis Davis, Leslie Smith, Miesha Tate, Julianna Pena, Sara McMann and Bethe Correia. Tate went on to become a champion. Kaufman was a champ in Strikeforce and now is a champ for Invicta FC. Davis, McMann and Correia all fought for the title at one point. Pena was an “Ultimate Fighter” winner.

And yet there Eye was in 2016, being written off by most people becasue of a 1-5 slump – even though in those five losses, she never was finished. And two of them (Davis and Correia) were split-decision setbacks that many had going Eye’s way, anyway.

So when the flyweight division finally happened in the UFC, Eye was among the most excited fighters around because it meant she finally could put her talk to the test.

In 2018, after a four-fight skid at bantamweight, Eye finally got the chance to return to flyweight. She went 3-0 in the calendar year with wins over Kalinda Faria, Jessica-Rose Clark and Katlyn Chookagian.

Those wins positioned her right in the mix for a potential crack at new champion Valentina Shevchenko sometime this year.

“I’m never going to get what I feel I deserve,” Eye said after her UFC 231 win over Chookagian. “Isn’t that what keeps your expectations high and keeps you driving for the better things? I’m a hard worker, and no matter what it is I’m always going to strive to be better.

“But I do believe I’ve earned my right for a title shot. I do believe I’ve earned to be given a chance to change my life and maybe help other people see my story.”

Given her instant results when she finally got to go to the weight class she said she belonged in all along, it’s hard to disagree.

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