PLANTATION, FLA. (WSVN) - A former professional fighter is turning years of experience inside the ring into life lessons outside of it, empowering women with self-defense skills, confidence and control.
Jessica Eye was once among the most feared fighters in mixed martial arts.
Eye is now a bare-knuckle boxer, but when she’s not in the ring, she’s teaching women to defend themselves at the Fitness System gym in Plantation.
“We have two weapons, and those are our hands, so I like to be able to teach women how to be able to use their own body,” said Eye.
According to the World Health Organization, nearly one in three women have been subjected to physical and/or sexual assault.
“What I hear from most of my women is just almost to the fact that they didn’t think that it could happen to them, right? So they didn’t prepare for it,” said Eye.
“I’m starting to get choked from right here. The next part of that technique is, again, this elbow is what’s holding my face here, I’m going to be able to pull myself away,” said Eye in a demonstration.
Eye teaches self-defense moves to get away from an attack.
“I want to remind you that it’s your life you’re defending. Bite, kick, poke, anything you can if you don’t have any other way to defend yourself,” Eye told her class.
The women who take this class all have their own reasons to be there.
“Especially now, when I’m going out to the grocery store by myself with the kids, I’m always on alert that Mama Bear is just like there, having that feeling of choke around you, something just clicked,” said Holly Covell.
“You always want to be aware of your surroundings, but someone could potentially come up behind you, and knowing potentially what to do to get out of the situation gives me a lot more hope in the situation,” said Taylor Delarosa.
Eye demonstrated her technique on 7Sports’ Mike DiPasquale. She was able to get out of his chokehold within seconds.
Copyright 2026 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.