CHICAGO — Miesha Tate is swiping $5 bills out of Jessica Eye’s pockets.
Okay, not literally. But the way Eye is looking at her UFC on FOX 16 co-main event on Saturday night at United Center, the former Strikeforce bantamweight champion stands in the way of the life Eye wants her fighting career to provide.
“If someone stole $5 out my pocket, would I be mad?” Eye asked reporters at Thursday’s open workouts. “She’s stealing money out of my pocket. I need that money if I want to live, if I want to raise my future family one day.”
Robbery seemed to be on Eye’s mind Thursday, as she also claimed to be robbed by Bellator. That was in reference to submitting Bellator’s then-reigning strawweight champion, Zoila Frausto Gurgel, in a flyweight bout at Bellator 82 in 2012.
“I was robbed in Bellator, when I beat their champion I wasn’t given my title belt,” Eye said. “And I feel like I’ve always had opportunities where I was robbed before. This is the first opportunity where I’m with a fantastic organization, that’s going to help me capture it.”
That might seem a bit melodramatic, but then, Saturday’s fight will be far and away Eye’s biggest stage. The Tate-eye fight could potentially determine the next challenger to Ronda Rousey’s UFC women’s bantamweight title. Eye used a different analogy to describe what a title would mean to her.
“No matter what, when I win this fight, I will have the opportunity to get my reward on,” Eye (11-2, 1 no-contest) said. “I’m a single woman, I’m not married, so if I can put gold around my waist. It is better than an engagement ring for me.”
Eye knows her tenure in the UFC has been eventful, to say the least. But she’s hoping people think that they’ve got her all figured out, so that she can come up with something new and different come Saturday.
“People are unsure of my and my abilities and unsure of me because of a rocky start,” Eye said. “But that’s my journey, that’s no one to judge me on it. I only gave you a tiny, little small piece. Everyone thinks I’m just a striker, so I’m going to keep letting you think that.”