Fighter to Watch at UFC 270: Kay Hansen
Returning following a year on the sidelines, the 22-year-old will look to make a splash at home against Jasmine Jasudavicius
Name: Kay Hansen
Nickname: N/A
Record: 7-4 overall, 1-1 UFC
Division: Flyweight
Team: Classic Fight Team
Opponent: Jasmine Jasudavicius (6-1 overall, UFC Debut)
It’s been well over a year since we’ve seen Hansen step into the Octagon, and the last time we did see her, the young hopeful from Fullerton, California landed on the wrong side of a unanimous decision verdict against Cory McKenna in a fight that most folks scoring at home thought Hansen clearly won.
She was scheduled to complete last March against Cheyanna Vlismas, but withdrew for undisclosed reasons. A few months later, those reasons became clear, as Hansen opened up about struggling with an eating disorder, and opted to take time off to address the issue before resuming her fighting career.
Finally, 14 months after her last appearance, Hansen is slated to return this weekend in a hometown scrap with debuting Canadian DWCS graduate Jasmine Jasudavicius.
Check out who joined Hansen as the other Fighters to Watch in the flyweight division this year in UFC
The flyweight division arguably boasts the best collection of prospects under the age of 25 in any weight class at the moment, with Casey O’Neill having a tremendous rookie campaign in 2021, Erin Blanchfield posting a pair of impressive victories over the final four months of last year, and both Maycee Barber and Miranda Maverick still carrying a ton of upside.
Add in a wild card like Mariya Agapova and impressive Brazilian Melissa Gatto and you’ve already got a strong six-pack of talents looking to continue making waves in the 125-pound weight class in the coming year.
In my opinion, Hansen has to be considered amongst that group, and not just because I tapped her as the top prospect at strawweight heading into last year either. Here’s what I said about the Californian prior to the start of 2021:
Coming right out of the gate with a pick I know some people are going to disagree with simply because Hansen lost her last bout to Cory McKenna, who was definitely in consideration for this spot, but hear me out:
1) it was an extremely close, competitive fight, with the majority of folks scoring at home awarding the decision to Hansen.
2) the toughness and tenacity she showed earning third-round submission wins over Sharon Jacobson and Jinh Yu Frey are the kind of things you can’t teach; you either have that in you or you don’t and Hansen does.
3) she’s the more athletic and fluid of the two, and while McKenna is the more powerful, I see Hansen’s all-around game progressing more than McKenna’s over the next 3-5 years.
Now, I don’t know how a year on the sidelines dealing with some serious issues will have impacted her training, her development, or her overall mindset when it comes to her upside, but ahead of last year, Hansen profiled to me as one of those fighters that took some tough fights really early in her career (including a bout with Blanchfield), caught a couple losses (including to Blanchfield), but showed the kind of intangibles that often differentiate good fighters from great fighters, contenders from pretenders.
Moving up a division could present some challenges in terms of her height and reach — Hansen stands five-foot-three with a 63-inch reach — but her grit and stick-to-itiveness should continue to serve her well and help make up for those shortcomings, especially considering that [a] she prefers to work inside and on the ground, and [b] she's a couple years away from contending and has time to modify her game to better fit her new surroundings.
Saturday’s contest with Jasudavicius should serve as a good chance to gauge where Hansen fits in the division at the moment and what challenges she may face going forward. She’s fought at ‘25 three times in the past, amassing a 2-1 record, with the loss coming by majority decision to Blanchfield in an ultra-close, grimy battle where few likely would have complained if the verdict went the other way.
Jasudavicius is a grinder who dominated the opening round of her Contender Series clash with Julia Polastri in September before pulling out the victory with a strong closing minute of the fight. She fought for the CFFC flyweight belt two summers back, losing by decision to Elise Reed, and is the kind of tough, game, tall fighter Hansen is going to have to deal with a great deal if she wants to make headway in the 125-pound weight class.
Like many of the younger fighters in this division, including O’Neill, even though she’s knocking on the door of the Top 10, I believe we’re a few years away from seeing the best version of Hansen, so each of her next several appearances should be viewed with an eye towards skill development, bolstering her Fight IQ, and applying the lessons she takes from each fight in the next outing more so than worrying about the wins and losses, within reason.
I’d rather have a 22-year-old that I know is tough, that’s I’ve seen display heart and tenacity and grit in the cage, and that is learning from her setbacks and gaining valuable experience against quality competition than someone that is mauling overmatched competition with no indication that they’ll be able to navigate rough waters in the future.
So far, that’s what I feel like we’ve seen from Hansen and as long as that continues over the next two or three years, I fully expect her to become a permanent fixture in the flyweight Top 10.
Catch up on previous instalments of the event week Fighter to Watch series below