Jamey-Lyn Horth wouldn’t let Hailey Cowan’s weight miss stop octagon debut at UFC Fight Night 223

LAS VEGAS – Jamey-Lyn Horth beat Hailey Cowan with a unanimous decision Saturday to open up the preliminary card at UFC Fight Night 223 in Las Vegas.

Take a look inside the fight with Horth, who got a win in her UFC debut – and spoiled the promotional debut for Cowan.

Hailey Cowan vs. Jamey-Lyn Horth

Result: Jamey-Lyn Horth def. Hailey Cowan via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Updated records: Horth (6-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC), Cowan (7-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC)
Key stat: Cowan landed a pair of takedowns and had nearly five minutes of control time, but came out on the wrong end of the decision.

Horth on the fight's key moment

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – APRIL 29: (R-L) Jamey-Lyn Horth of Canada punches Hailey Cowan in a bantamweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on April 29, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

“This is very surreal. I feel like I haven’t even let it settle in yet. I think it’s a combination of things. I think it’s the fact that I come from a super small town and I’ve always just played sports my whole life, and once I started getting into fighting, I always had the goal to be a UFC fighter. But to have that goal and to obtain that goal are two completely different feelings. You know you belong somewhere and you think that it’s going to feel the same as it always does, but it doesn’t. It’s an amazing feeling and I’m super honored and appreciative to be here today.”

Horth on Cowan's weight miss

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – APRIL 29: (R-L) Hailey Cowan kicks Jamey-Lyn Horth of Canada in a bantamweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on April 29, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

“I don’t want to say I don’t care (she missed weight), but it’s just never been something that’s ever happened to me, so I’m not really sure how one person in that position feels. It is very frustrating. I feel like it’s something that we can control. But definitely there’s so many different elements to not being able to make weight as a female. I get that. We were never goingn to say no to this opportunity, so I didn’t really think twice about it. I wasn’t going to let it be an issue or a thought in my mind. I kind of just said, ‘OK, whatever. We’re taking the fight. We’ll just move past.'”

Horth on what she wants next

“There’s a Vancouver card, and couple weeks off and I’ll be ready to go for that. I’d like to fight as often as possible and stay active, and I came out of this fight pretty unscathed, so I’m ready to go whenever.”

To hear more from Horth, check out the video of the full post-fight interview above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 223.