Jessamyn Laurel Duke (born June 24, 1986) is an American

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

and former

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

. As a wrestler, she worked with

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and var ...

as part of their NXT

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create a ...

. She formerly competed for

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

(UFC) and

Invicta Fighting Championships Invicta Fighting Championships, also known as Invicta FC, is an American professional mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion dedicated to Women's mixed martial arts that was founded in 2012 by Janet Martin and Shannon Knapp. The promotion is current ...

in the women's bantamweight division.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Duke started her amateur career in 2010. She fought mainly for Absolute Action MMA and Tuff-N-Uff. She obtained the amateur featherweight title in both organizations. In 2012, Duke moved to professional mixed martial arts and signed with

Invicta FC Invicta Fighting Championships, also known as Invicta FC, is an American professional mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion dedicated to Women's mixed martial arts that was founded in 2012 by Janet Martin and Shannon Knapp. The promotion is current ...

Invicta Fighting Championships

Duke made her professional and promotional debut against Suzie Montero on July 28, 2012, at Invicta FC 2. She won via TKO in the third round. Duke faced Marciea Allen on October 6, 2012, at

Invicta FC 3 This is a list of events that Invicta Fighting Championships have held since their inaugural event, Invicta FC 1: Coenen vs. Ruyssen. The promotion has held 55 events as of November 2022. Invicta FC 51: Tennant vs. Bernardo Invicta FC 51: Tennan ...

. She won via submission due to an armbar in the first round. This victory earned her a ''submission of the night'' bonus award, which was split between Duke and Stephanie Frausto, due to her submission victory over Amy Davis in the same event. Duke faced Miriam Nakamoto on April 5, 2013, at Invicta FC 5. The result was originally a KO victory for Nakamoto but was later overturned by the Missouri Office of Athletics to no contest due to an illegal knee.

The Ultimate Fighter

In August 2013, Duke was announced as a cast member of '' The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rousey vs. Team Tate''. She defeated Laura Howarth via submission due to a triangle choke during the entry round and was the second female pick of Team Rousey. Duke faced Raquel Pennington in the elimination round. Pennington defeated Duke via unanimous decision (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) and the performance earned both participants ''Fight of The Season'' honors.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Duke made her promotional debut against TUF 18 teammate Peggy Morgan on November 30, 2013, at

The Ultimate Fighter 18 Finale ''The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rousey vs. Team Tate'' (also known as ''The Ultimate Fighter 18'') is the eighteenth U.S.-based installment of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)-produced reality television series ''The Ultimate Fighter''. Th ...

. She won via unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, 30–27). In her second UFC fight, Duke faced Bethe Correia at

UFC 172 ''UFC 172: Jones vs. Teixeira'' was a mixed martial arts event that was held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on April 26, 2014, at the Baltimore Arena in Baltimore, Maryland. The event was released on DVD on July 29, 2014. The DVD was distr ...

. She lost the fight via unanimous decision (30–27, 29–28, 30–27). Duke faced Leslie Smith at UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Miller on July 16, 2014. She lost the fight via TKO early in the first round after taking several punches to the face and body. Duke faced Elizabeth Phillips at UFC on Fox: Dillashaw vs. Barão 2 on July 25, 2015, in a rematch of their amateur bout at RFA 2 – Yvel vs. Alexander. Duke lost the fight via unanimous decision and was subsequently released from the promotion.

Return to Invicta FC

Following her third straight loss in the UFC, Duke re-signed with Invicta and faced

Irene Aldana Irene Robles Aldana (born March 26, 1988) is a Mexican professional mixed martial artist. She currently competes in the Women’s Bantamweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of May 23, 2022, she is #4 in the UFC women' ...

at Invicta FC 16 on March 11, 2016. She lost the fight by a first-round technical knockout. Duke faced

Cindy Dandois Cindy Dandois (born 26 October 1984) is a Belgian female mixed martial artist. She formerly competed in the Bantamweight and Featherweight divisions in Invicta and the Ultimate Fighting Championship and also the Lightweight division in the Pro ...

Invicta FC 18 Invicta (Latin for "unvanquished") may refer to: Companies * Invicta (company), an Italian outdoor equipment manufacturer * Invicta Bus Services, a bus operator in Melbourne, Australia * Invicta International Airlines, a UK charter airline from ...

on July 29, 2016. She lost the fight by a first-round submission.

Professional wrestling career

WWE (2018–2021)

Duke started her professional wrestling training at Santino Bros. Pro Wrestling School in California. On May 7, 2018, WWE announced that Duke, along with

Marina Shafir Marina Shafir ( Moldovan Cyrillic: Марина Шафир; born 14 April 1988) is a Moldovan professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). She formerly competed for Invicta Fighting Champ ...

, had signed with WWE and reported to the Performance Center for training. On October 28 at

WWE Evolution WWE Evolution was a women's professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw, SmackDown, NXT, and NXT UK brand divisions. The event took place on October ...

, Duke and Shafir made their WWE debuts as heels when they interfered during the NXT Women's Championship match, in which they helped

Shayna Baszler Shayna Andrea Baszler ( ; born August 8, 1980) is an American professional wrestler, kickboxer and former mixed martial artist. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand. Baszler is a former two-time and long ...

win the title over

Kairi Sane is a Japanese professional wrestler and actress currently working for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and World Wonder Ring Stardom under the ring name Kairi (stylized in all caps). Housako is also known for her work with WWE as . She is the cur ...

. Duke and Shafir then aligned themselves with Baszler establishing themselves as

heels The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower leg. Structure To distribute the compressive forces exerte ...

in the process. They made another appearance at NXT TakeOver: WarGames when they interfered during Baszler and Sane's two out of three falls match, in which Baszler scored the first fall and the victory in the latter to retain the title. On the December 19, 2018, episode of NXT Shafir and Duke made their NXT in-ring debut and lost to

Io Shirai is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Iyo Sky (stylized in all caps). She is a member of Damage CTRL and one-half of the current WWE Women's Tag Team Champions w ...

and

Dakota Kai Cheree Georgina Crowley (born 6 May 1988) is a New Zealand-born professional wrestler. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Dakota Kai. She is a member of Damage CTRL and is one half of the c ...

when Io pinned Shafir after a Moonsault. At NXT TakeOver: Phoenix, Duke and Shafir assisted Baszler in retaining the title against

Bianca Belair Bianca Blair Crawford (born Bianca Nicole Blair; April 9, 1989) is an American professional wrestler and a fitness and figure competitor. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Bianca Belair, an ...

. On October 23, 2019, Duke and Shafir faced Tegan Nox and Dakota Kai in a number one contender's match for the

Women's Tag Team Championship This category groups professional wrestling tag team championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred ...

, but were defeated. After several months of inactivity, Duke returned to WWE television on August 17, 2020, reuniting with Baszler and Shafir, after

Nia Jax Savelina Fanene (born May 29, 1984) is an Australian-born American professional wrestler. She is best known for her time in WWE, where she performed under the ring name Nia Jax from 2014 to 2021 and became a one-time Raw Women's Champion and t ...

attacked Shafir and Duke. On the August 31 episode of Raw, Duke made her debut on Raw Underground, an underground fight club hosted by

Shane McMahon Shane Brandon McMahon (; born January 15, 1970) is an American businessman and professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure in WWE, where he was a wrestler, producer and minority owner. He is the founder and executive chairman of Ide ...

, where she easily defeated local competitor Avery Taylor. This turned out to be her final WWE appearance. Duke worked as a full time digital content creator for WWE and '' UpUpDownDown'' brand. On May 19, 2021, WWE announced that Duke was released from her WWE contract.

Personal life

Duke is a self-described

gamer A gamer is a proactive hobbyist who plays interactive games, especially video games, tabletop role-playing games, and skill-based card games, and who plays for usually long periods of time. Some gamers are competitive, meaning they routinely ...

. In an interview,

Ronda Rousey Ronda Jean Rousey (; born February 1, 1987) is an American professional wrestler, actress, former judoka and mixed martial artist. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand and is the current SmackDown Women� ...

claimed that Duke "pays more of her bills streaming than she does from fighting".

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

** ''The Ultimate Fighter 18'' Fight of the Season *

** Submission of the night (one time) * Absolute Action MMA ** AAMMA amateur featherweight title (one time) ** One successful title defense * Tuff-N-Uff ** Tuff-N-Uff amateur featherweight title (one time)

Muay Thai

* World Muay Thai Association ** WMA welterweight (152 lb) title

Professional wrestling

* ''

Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publi ...

'' ** Ranked No. 69 of the top 100 female wrestlers in the ''

PWI Women's 100 ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publish ...

'' in 2019

Mixed martial arts record

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Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish language, Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the List of United States cities by population, 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the U.S. state, state of Neva ...

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Amanda Bell Amanda Bell (born August 3, 1988) in Oakland, California is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Featherweight division. She previously competed in the Bellator MMA and Invicta FC. Mixed martial arts career Early career A well ...

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Florence, Kentucky Florence is a home rule-class city in Boone County, Kentucky, United States. Florence is the second largest city located in Northern Kentucky, after Covington, and part of the Greater Cincinnati Metropolitan Area. The population was 31,946 at ...

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References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Duke, Jessamyn 1986 births American female mixed martial artists American female professional wrestlers American Muay Thai practitioners American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Bantamweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Muay Thai Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Female Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners Female Muay Thai practitioners Living people Mixed martial artists from Kentucky People from Whitesburg, Kentucky Sportswomen from Kentucky Ultimate Fighting Championship female fighters 21st-century American women 21st-century professional wrestlers