Top ranked strawweight Jessica Aguilar ‘excited and honored’ to be WSOF champion

When Jessica Aguilar competed last month for the inaugural World Series of Fighting strawweight belt she came in as the top ranked fighter in her weight class. Some argued that she not only needed to win the belt, but she would have to win it in extraordinary fashion to keep her place atop the rankings. The final result would leave no doubt in anyone’s mind as to whom the top 115 lb female fighter in the world today is.

Having now fought 21 times professionally and having held the rank of number one in the world for going on two years now, becoming a world champion was the next logical step for Aguilar. “It feels amazing!! I’m very excited and honored to hold this title,” Aguilar told us just days after her big win.

Her opponent at WSOF 8, Alida Gray, came into their title fight off of a red-hot 2013 campaign. The tough as nails Judoka finished four fights in just over five months. One of the names on her victims list was Patricia Vidonic, a fighter that went the distance with Aguilar back in 2012. Gray finished Vidonic via armbar in her professional debut. So to say Gray was a slam dunk for Aguilar couldn’t of been further from the truth. Still, Aguilar would come in and finish a very dangerous opponent with relative ease. “The plan was to finish the fight as quickly as possible,” she said. “And I did just that.”

Machete and Aguilar at WSOF 8 (mmainsider)

Once Aguilar took Gray to the ground it was just a matter of time before she carefully got into the correct position to lock in the arm-triangle choke and dispose of her opponent. That would be followed by lots of smiles, celebrating, and Machete himself, Danny Trejo placing the WSOF strap around her waist.

When we asked the champ if she’d consider a role in the 3rd installment of the Machete series she simply laughed and replied, “Anything is possible.”

If you follow Jessica on her instagram account you’ll see various photos of her new hardware showing up everywhere and anywhere – even under the sea. Trust me, you’re going to want to check them out – here’s just one example.

Aguilar’s smile is as contagious as it is inspirational. Her motto “Smile and Believe” fits her perfectly. She’s a true of example of hard work paying off. Like so many in this sport, Aguilar didn’t become a champion over night. She had to work hard for it. So what exactly is it that fuels her to stay on top of her game? “The desire to provide a better life for my family and to also help inspire people to fulfill their dreams,” the newly crowned champ told us. Her coaches at American Top Team and the community that surrounds her also plays a big part in her success and her drive. “All of my coaches at ATT are the best in the world. We train very hard but we also make an effort to stay connected to our community.”

Beginning in May, 11 Invicta FC strawweights, plus 5 more from other organizations will compete inside of the Vegas TUF house. The winner will be crowned the first UFC 115 lb champion. Five of the top ten ranked fighters in the world will be competing inside for the coveted prize; noticeably absent from the list when it was first released was Aguilar. All of the fighters are being paid $8K/$8K twice just to sit on the sidelines before filming starts. Invicta FC champion Carla Esparza will recieve $10K/10K.

Esparza still feels that won the hotly contested fight against Aguilar back at Bellator 46 in 2011 and has been very vocal about a rematch. After all, they are the top two ranked fighters in their weight class today. When asked of a potential rematch with Esparza, Aguilar simply replied, “Honestly, the thought doesn’t even cross my mind.” With a win over Esparza, and two over Megumi Fujii, arguably the greatest female fighter to ever lace up a pair of gloves, it’ll be tough to rank the TUF 20 victor over Aguilar. Ultimately, regardless of TUF 20 and the excitement surrounding it, the road to being ranked #1 inside of the women’s 115 lb division still travels through Aguilar.

On the subject of Fujii, we asked Aguilar what it was like to be a part of such a legendary and influential competitors final fight. “Megumi was/is my inspiration/idol,” Aguilar said. “So to be part of her final fight was truly an honor.” The fight would end in controversy after Fujii suffered two eye pokes in the first round of the contest. It would go down as a majority technical decision in Aguilar’s favor. Both women were the epitome of true class following the unfortunate ending to what was such a beautiful career.

So what’s next for the newly crowned champ? “No details on that just yet, but I’ll be sure to keep you updated,” Aguilar told us. We’ll be holding her too it. Keep it locked right here and over at Jessica’s personal site for info on her upcoming WSOF title defense.

Jessica would like to thank the following people:

“Thank you Dave for the interview.  I’d like to thank my family and friends and my team American Top Team for the continuous love and support. Also, a big thank you to all my sponsors; Tommie Copper, Garden of Life, Everlast, and Fuel Foods. Thank you to WSOF for this platform. And of course my fans…thank you!! I couldn’t have made it this far alone.”

You’re going to want to go ahead and follow Jessica on the following social media outlets:

Twitter
Instagram
Facebook Official Fanpage
Jag’s YouTube Channel