Jessica-Rose Clark (born 28 November 1987) is an Australian mixed martial artist who competes in the women's

Bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports and weightlifting. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In mixed martial arts, MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class ...

division. She formerly competed in the

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

(UFC).

Background

Clark was born in

Cairns Cairns (; ) is a city in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. In the , Cairns had a population of 153,181 people. The city was founded in 1876 and named after William Cairns, Sir W ...

, Australia, as the eldest of nine children. Her ailing single mother took care of the children while living on the road in a van and communities. Jessica-Rose attended regular school for the first time in the fifth grade when the family settled in

North Queensland North Queensland or the Northern Region is the northern part of the Australian state of Queensland that lies just south of Far North Queensland. Queensland is a massive state, larger than many countries, and its Tropical North Queensland, trop ...

. She attended university after graduating from high school, but dropped out during the first semester. After dropping out, she found kickboxing and gradually started training mixed martial arts.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Clark made her professional MMA debut in December 2012 in her native Australia. She fought six times over the next two years for various regional promotions, amassing a record of 5 wins and 1 loss.

Invicta FC

After taking nearly a year off from the sport, Clark made her debut 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 ...

in July 2015. She faced

Pannie Kianzad Pannie Pantea Kianzad (born December 8, 1991) is an Iranian-born Swedish mixed martial artist who competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship in the Women's Bantamweight division, having previously fought in Invicta FC and Cage Warriors where ...

at Invicta FC 13: Cyborg vs. Van Duin and lost the bout via unanimous decision. Clark returned to the promotion in November 2016 to face Pam Sorenson at Invicta FC 20: Evinger vs. Kunitskaya. She lost the bout via split decision. Clark was scheduled to face Vanessa Porto at Invicta FC 26 in December 2017; however, she was removed from the card when she was tabbed by the UFC as a replacement.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Clark made her UFC debut against

Bec Rawlings Bec Rawlings (born 11 February 1989) is an Australian mixed martial artist and bare-knuckle boxer, who currently competes in the flyweight division. Background Rawlings was raised in Tasmania, and frequently played sports such as basketball, ...

in a flyweight bout, replacing Joanne Calderwood at UFC Fight Night: Werdum vs. Tybura on 19 November 2017. At the weigh-ins, Clark weighed in at 128 pounds, 2 pounds over the flyweight upper limit of 126 pounds. The bout proceeded at a catchweight and Clark forfeited 20% of her purse to Rawlings. Clark won the fight via split decision. Clark faced Paige VanZant on 14 January 2018 at UFC Fight Night: Stephens vs. Choi. She won the fight via unanimous decision. Clark faced

Jessica Eye Jessica Jo-Anne Eye (born July 27, 1986) is a former American professional Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist currently signed with the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC). She competed as a flyweight in the Ultimate Fighting Champio ...

on 23 June 2018 at UFC Fight Night 132. She lost the fight via unanimous decision. Clark was expected to face Andrea Lee on 15 December 2018 at UFC on Fox 31. However, Clark was forced out of the bout as she was hospitalized due to weight cutting issues and deemed medically unfit to compete by UFC physicians. As a result, the bout was cancelled. Clark was scheduled to face

Talita Bernardo Talita de Oliveira Neves Bernardo (born March 4, 1987) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist (MMA), currently competing in the bantamweight division of Invicta FC, where she is the former Invicta FC Bantamweight Champion. She also had a stint in t ...

on 11 May 2019 at

UFC 237 ''UFC 237: Namajunas vs. Andrade'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on May 11, 2019, at Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Background The event was originally expected to be held ...

. However, it was reported on 3 April 2019 that Clark had pulled out of the bout, citing injury.

Return to bantamweight

Clark faced

on 9 November 2019 at UFC on ESPN+ 21. She lost the fight via unanimous decision. Clark faced Sarah Alpar on 19 September 2020 at UFC Fight Night 178 She won the fight via a technical knockout in round three. In the fight she tore her

Anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation. In ...

, which prevented her from fighting until mid 2021. After recovering from the surgery, Clark returned after a year to face Joselyne Edwards at UFC Fight Night 196 on 23 October 2021. Clark won the fight via unanimous decision. Clark faced Stephanie Egger on 19 February 2022, at UFC Fight Night 201. She lost the fight via an armbar submission in the first round. Clark faced

Julija Stoliarenko Julija Stoliarenko (born 8 April 1993) is a Lithuanian mixed martial artist, submission grappler, Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) black belt athlete and former Lethwei fighter. A two-time European Open champion and two-time IBJJF World medallist i ...

on 2 July 2022, at UFC 276. She lost the bout via armbar submission less than one minute into round one, dislocating her elbow. Clark faced Tainara Lisboa on 13 May 2023, at UFC on ABC 4. She lost the bout via rear‐naked choke in third round. The fight was the final fight on her contract and she was not offered a new contract.

Championships and accomplishments

* WCK Muay Thai Champion *Unarmed Combat Unleashed **UCU Women's Bantamweight Championship (one time; only; former) *Xtreme Fighting Championships **XFC Australia Bantamweight Championship (one time; former) *Roshambo MMA **Roshambo Women's Bantamweight Championship (one time; only; former)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 11–9 (1) , Tainara Lisboa , Submission (rear-naked choke) , UFC on ABC: Rozenstruik vs. Almeida , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:20 ,

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

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Kallang Kallang ( ) is a Planning Areas of Singapore, planning area and New towns of Singapore, residential zone located in the Central Region, Singapore, Central Region of Singapore. Development of the town is centered around the Kallang River, the l ...

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St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

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Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 7–4 (1) , Carina Damm , Decision (split) , Titan FC 45: Araujo vs. Capitulino , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Pembroke Pines, Florida Pembroke Pines is a city in southern Broward County, Florida, United States. The city is located 22 miles (35 km) north of Miami. It is a suburb of and the fourth-most populous city in the Miami metropolitan area. The population of Pembroke ...

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, South Korea , , - , Loss , align=center, 6–3 (1) , Pam Sorenson , Decision (split) , Invicta FC 20: Evinger vs. Kunitskaya , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

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Janay Harding Janay Harding (born September 28, 1994) is a New Zealand mixed martial artist who competes in the Featherweight division. She is most notable for her time in Bellator MMA. Background Harding was born in Christchurch, New Zealand but moved to Aus ...

, Decision (unanimous) , Eternal MMA 19 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Gold Coast, Australia , , - , NC , align=center, 5–2 (1) ,

Emiko Raika Emiko Raika (来家恵美子, born January 24, 1975, in Kyoto, Japan) is a Japanese female professional boxer and mixed martial artist. Although more Japanese women have taken up traditionally male sports such as karate, kickboxing and wrestlin ...

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Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 3–1 , Zoie Shreiweis , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Unarmed Combat Unleashed 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:33 ,

Emerald Emerald is a gemstone and a variety of the mineral beryl (Be3Al2(SiO3)6) colored green by trace amounts of chromium or sometimes vanadium.Hurlbut, Cornelius S. Jr., and Kammerling, Robert C. (1991). ''Gemology'', John Wiley & Sons, New York ...

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Arlene Blencowe Arlene Blencowe (born 11 April 1983) is an Australian mixed martial artist and boxer, currently competing in the Women's Featherweight division of Bellator MMA, where she is the first Australian female fighter in the promotion's history. Bo ...

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , Nitro MMA 9 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:38 ,

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Jessica-Rose 1983 births Living people Sportspeople from Cairns Sportswomen from Queensland Martial artists from Sydney Sportswomen from New South Wales Australian female mixed martial artists Flyweight mixed martial artists Bantamweight mixed martial artists Featherweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Australian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Female Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners Ultimate Fighting Championship female fighters