Jasmine Jasudavicius walks into the biggest spotlight of her UFC career $10,000 lighter. The flyweight contender was fined that amount for breaking the rules in her last fight, at UFC Winnipeg. Bloody Elbow posted the news on X on Saturday, and NDTV Sports called it a bizarre fight controversy.
The infraction itself is the odd part. Earlier in the week, MMA Fighting’s Morning Report flagged Jasudavicius as being in disbelief over the $10K fine for an alleged “dip” in that Winnipeg bout. That one word is about all the public detail available in the sources so far. Nobody has laid out exactly what the dip was or which rule it broke, and Jasudavicius clearly isn’t buying it.
The timing is rough. Saturday night at Rogers Place in Edmonton, she meets Erin Blanchfield in the co-main event under Joaquin Buckley vs. Mike Malott. That’s a home-country slot on a main card that starts at 8 p.m. ET on Paramount+, and it comes with real stakes at 125 pounds.
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Both women handled business on the scale Friday. Jasudavicius came in at 124.5, half a pound under, and Blanchfield hit 125 on the nose for the 126-pound non-title limit.
The rankings tell you why this one matters. In MMA Fighting’s Global Rankings, Blanchfield sits at No. 5 at flyweight and No. 9 pound-for-pound, while Jasudavicius is No. 9 at flyweight and No. 19 pound-for-pound. Each has won four of her past five fights. Blanchfield, the former Invicta FC blue-chip prospect, has lost just once in the UFC.
The title picture is a little crowded. Natalia Silva holds the belt, and Valentina Shevchenko is presumably first in line to get it back whenever she’s ready to return. MMA Fighting’s preview laid out two paths for Saturday’s winner. If Shevchenko takes her time, the winner could jump straight to Silva. A dominant enough performance could also let her sit and wait for the Silva vs. Shevchenko winner.
MMA Fighting’s pick goes against the hometown side. The preview has Blanchfield setting the tone with early takedowns and finishing in Round 2. That would make her the first woman to submit Jasudavicius. The same piece expects the Canadian to push the pace and refuse to be neutralized, which is the version of her that got her into a co-main in the first place.
My take is simple. Docking a contender five figures over an alleged “dip” and leaving the public to piece it together from headlines is a lousy way to run a sport. Jasudavicius has every right to be baffled. She also has the cleanest possible way to make that $10,000 sting less, and it starts around 9 p.m. Mountain in Edmonton against the No. 5 flyweight in the world.
