The UFC Winnipeg star has addressed the rumors that she fought her fight with a nicotine pouch in her mouth.
This past Saturday at UFC Winnipeg, Canadian star Jasmine Jasudavicius returned to action for the first time in six months when she took on Karine Silva.
The 37-year-old successfully bounced back from her title eliminator bout against Manon Fiorot with a unanimous decision win in front of her home crowd.
But just days after her win in Winnipeg, video footage began to emerge online of Jasudavicius with what looked like a nicotine pouch in her mouth during her fight.
Jasudavicius claims it was chewing gum in her mouth during her fight
In the footage that began to circulate online, you could clearly see a white object in her mouth in between rounds, and before putting her mouthguard back in, she shifted the object underneath her bottom lip.
This led to fans accusing her of using a ‘zyn’ during her fight, which is prohibited in the Unified Rules of MMA, as are any other foreign objects in the mouth.
UFC legend Benson Henderson famously fought several fights throughout his career with a toothpick in his mouth and UFC boss Dana White called it ‘the craziest thing I’ve ever seen’.
And now, Jasudavicius has addressed the rumors, claiming that it was just a piece of chewing gum in her mouth.
“It’s so funny that everyone is saying I had a nicotine pouch in,” Jasudavicius told the Ariel Helwani show.
“No, I train with gum and I was warming up with gum, sometimes I like, I’ve fought with gum in my mouth in the past, but I forgot to spit it out before the walkout and it was just still in my mouth, better than a toothpick.
“I think it’s hilarious, I don’t really care, it’s funny to me. Hey, I like that people are talking about it. I always have gum. Ok, if I choke on it (it’s my fault), I always train with gum.
“I didn’t even think about it, it went in with my mouthguard and I still chew it normal, and then I just took it in between my lip and then during the rounds I have a couple of chews.”
The 37-year-old went on to claim that chewing gum while she is sparring or fighting helps her regulate her breathing.
Technically, having chewing gum during the fight is still in breach of the Unified Rules of MMA, however, it is extremely unlikely that Jasudavicius faces any repercussions.