Fresh off Bellator release, free agent Jessica Eye mulling fighting options

Everyone loves to be wanted, and veteran women’s fighter Jessica Eye is no different.

In the past few days, Eye’s stock has risen after it was announced she had been released from Bellator MMA when the organization was incapable of providing a stable fighting schedule for its female fighters.

Considered one of the most talented female fighters in the world, Eye would be considered a solid addition to any promoter’s roster, and while she hasn’t signed anywhere yet, “Evil” feels the pull of being wanted.

“I’m feeling like I’m like a freaking NFL free agent around here,” Eye told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). “I feel like I got all this attention, all these people talking to me now. It’s kind of cool, kind of neat.”

News surfaced on Monday that, along with Eye, Bellator fighters Felice Herrig and Jessica Aguilar had been let go by the promotion.

Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney said in a statement the decision to part ways with the three remaining female fighters signed to the roster was purely out of respect for their careers and to open the door for other opportunities.

And Eye said Rebney’s comments were accurate and she left Bellator on good terms.

“They want me to move on to better things,” Eye said. “They want to see me do good. When I fought Zoila [Gurgel], they treated me like an absolute princess. Any fights that I went in there, they treated me good. It was just unfortunate I couldn’t stay as busy in their organization as I wanted to.

“They were giving me an opportunity to go and do what I needed to do for my career and a lot of the girls are already picked up by Invicta or the UFC or on ‘The Ultimate Fighter,’ so they can’t compete with that. And it’s not that they can’t compete, it’s that they want to let us females go and have our lives. Everybody and every employee were amazing people to me. I have no complaints, it was just hard to find me fights in Bellator.”

Once news hit the wire that Eye was no longer contractually obligated to Bellator, talks began of where she could end up next and all the potential matchups awaiting her in Invicta FC, World Series of Fighting and, of course, the UFC.

While Eye has yet to put pen to paper anywhere, she admits several interested parties have contacted her, which, more than anything, makes her aware of her value.

“It was overwhelming in a great way because I really didn’t realize that like people knew who I was all that much,” Eye said. “You think people do, but you don’t really know, and it just kind of showed in the past 24 hours.”

The major North American promotions with female weight classes likely will be inquiring for Eye’s services, and when it comes to the big three outside of Bellator, the 27-year-old sees the benefits of each.

“All of those organizations are amazing,” Eye said. “They have their each and own individual qualities that make them so special and make the fighter want to go to their organization.

“The fact that I have them now as an option – when I signed with Bellator, there was no other option. Two and a half years ago, there was no other option. Shoot, even when I got into fighting, there was no other options.”

There is a lot going into Eye’s decision when it comes to where she will fight next, but according to the fighter, the most important part of that decision will come down to what closest matches her idea of proper compensation.

“Compensation doesn’t necessarily mean finance, it means a lot of things,” Eye said. “It means you get compensation for you being the person and the things that you’ve done. It doesn’t just necessarily mean the fighter that I am, but the person that I am. That’s what I would like to see, that’s what I want to see in compensation.

“I just want the things that all of us have been working together for to some way get some kind of nice little reward. More than what we’ve gotten already, and I feel like that’s a little bit of recognition. Obviously, the financial payoff is one of the greatest things.”

Eye has been a pro for more than three years, but in the past 12 months women’s MMA has exploded to the forefront of the sport.

UFC bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey is a huge part of the boom in popularity. And because of that, female fighters in the UFC receive the most attention.

While Eye isn’t one to demand a place in the spotlight, she is aware she’s been in the game just as long as some of the top-ranked women signed to the UFC and believes she belongs in the discussion when talking about the best in the world.

“What’s funny is that these girls are the most recognized right now, but I’ve been in this sport just as long as them,” she said. “I started my career just as many years ago as them, had just as many fights as them. I have more than some of these girls. I’ve got almost 25 fights between boxing, MMA and everything.

“I don’t compare myself to them – I’m right up there with them. My path was different than what theirs was, that’s just the difference. I’ve been in another organization, a different life, so I feel like it’s not fair to compare.”

While Eye is in no major rush to sign anywhere, she is unhappy with the fact she’s only competed once in 2013 and is looking to get back in the cage as soon as possible.

She is hoping to get a deal done soon and get back in the cage before the end of the calendar year, hopefully in an organization she can call home until she hangs up the gloves.

“I will be fighting and signed before year ending,” she said. “I plan to be back in the cage soon, as soon as the finalization is over my final decision and where I decide to go and what steps I decide to take with my career at this point.

“I’ve already signed with Bellator, so I’ve already been at what I feel like is a high level. So the next decision I make, it has to be one that I’m going to make in fighting and I’m going to stick to it and I’m going to retire that way.”