ZenRhino's MMA Blog: Jessica Eye and Justin Scoggins signed to UFC

Jessica "Evil" Eye & Justin "Tank" Scoggins Signed to the UFC

Yesterday was a big day for two up-and-coming fighters, a day that put them one step closer to them realizing their dreams. Justin "Tank" Scoggins of South Carolina and Jessica "Evil" Eye of Ohio announced that they had been signed to the UFC.

Jessica Eye is reported to be fighting in October at UFC 166. The opponent hasn't been announced yet, but rumor has it that Sarah Kaufman will face Eye at the Houston, Texas event that is headlined by the Heavyweight Title fight (and "rubber match") between Junior dos Santos & current champion Cain Velasquez. Kaufman was set to fight undefeated Olympic Wrestler Sara McMann until McMann got injured and had to pull out of the fight. When no suitable replacement was found in time for the Ultimate Fight Night 27 match the fight was pulled from the fight card. With news of the UFC signing Jessica Eye talks of her fighting Kaufman in October at UFC 166 began. If this is true, Eye will face a very tough competitor for her Octagon debut. Eye was a top contender in the Bellator fight promotion, before they decided to close down their women's division recently. Eye has a win over former Bellator women's 115lb champion Zoila Gurgel. She is 10 - 1 as a professional, and her most recent win was a Unanimous Decision over Brazilian Carina Damm in an NAAFS event held in Ohio.

Justin Scoggins is an undefeated fighter out of South Carolina with a pro record of 7 - 0. If you count his amateur record Scoggins is 13 - 0 - 1 with the only blemish to his perfect record being a draw in his very first fight. Scoggins is set to face Dustin Ortiz at UFC Ultimate Fight Night 27 (a.k.a. Condit Vs. Kampmann 2) in a fight that will be the Octagon debut for both fighters. Ortiz was also recently signed to the UFC and is no easy match for "Tank". Ortiz is 11 - 2 as a professional (13 - 3 overall) and has fought for promotions such as Strikeforce, King of the Cage, and Resurrection Fighting Alliance. His most notable opponent was Ian "Uncle Creepy" McCall, who he lost to back in 2011. McCall is a current UFC contender in the 125 lb division who has fought for the Flyweight title when he was part of the main event at UFC on FX - Johnson Vs. McCall. This fight between Scoggins & Ortiz a case of "steel sharpening steel". Both fighters could shake up the UFC 125lb division, and Scoggins could jump into the spotlight win an impressive win over Ortiz on August 28th.

This is an exciting time for both the men's 125lb and the women's 135lb divisions in the UFC. In September the latest season of The Ultimate Fighter will air, and this season is unique because of how it will have both men & women competing & living in the same house together. The coaches for this season are UFC women's champion Ronda Rousey and former Strikeforce champion Miesha Tate. Justin Scoggins had tried out for this season if TUF, even though he fights at 125lbs and the competition was for the 135lb division for both men & women. So Jessica Eye is coming into the UFC at a time when the 135lb division is about to be expanded with new fighters like competitors Jessamyn Duke, Tara LaRosa, Tonya Evinger, Roxanne Modafferi & Shayna Baszler possibly joining the already stacked Bantamweight division. Justin Scoggins and Dustin Ortiz join an already exciting Flyweight division which is known for the fastest fighters & tons of action.

I wish all the newly signed fighters to the UFC the very best & I hope both Scoggins & Eye do very well in their Octagon debuts. I have been saying for awhile now that these were two fighters to watch, and with them being signed to the UFC it won't be long before they become household names. If the past is any indication of the future, I predict both Justin & Jessica will have a bright future in the UFC.