Gina Mazany is ecstatic to be getting a second shot in the UFC.
The news of her release came as a surprise, but ever since she was handed her walking papers from the UFC, Mazany has been staying ready.
After suffering back-to-back losses to Lina Lansberg and Macy Chiasson, Mazany (6-3 MMA, 1-3 UFC) went back to the regional scene and picked up a first-round finish over Valerie Barney in January.
Almost five months later, Mazany got the call she was waiting for and will step in to face Julia Avila on Saturday at UFC on ESPN 10.
She said she didn’t even know about her release until months after the fact.
“I’m on Cloud 9,” Mazany told MMA Junkie. “After the fight with Macy, the current manager I was with – I was under the impression that I was still signed with the UFC. I was still able to use the (UFC) Performance Institute, they were still feeding me, still working on me, still doing strength and conditioning for like six, seven months – and my management told me, ‘Just keep working – we’ll get you a short-notice fight.’ And I would look at fights and be like, ‘If any of these girls drop out, let me know – I’ll get in.’
“(I’m) just looking for redemption, just trying to get back in there. … I spoke with my boyfriend Tim Elliott’s manager, Jason House, (and) quickly found out that I was actually cut. So that was a good six, seven months where I was just staying ready. But I eventually got a fight up in Colorado at 155. I weighed in at 152, and I won that fight, and that was cool.”
Since then, Mazany has been keeping an eye out for fights that she could potentially step in for while staying in shape, which eventually paid off for her.
She credited House for making it happen.
“I just told him, ‘Hey, I’m ready – I’m training. I’ll be here if somebody can’t make the weight or whatever,’” Mazany said. “(I was) kind of looking for any sort of opportunity. But Jason worked really hard to get me back in. … It was important on my part to stay ready and stay mentally good and physically good and weight good and all that fun stuff.”
UFC on ESPN 10 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card airs on ESPN and streams on ESPN+.
Gina Mazany on 'Cloud 9' ahead of UFC return vs. Julia Avila
