Professional athlete Jamey-Lyn Horth Wessels is back in Squamish and even more raring to go than usual.
The UFC fighter recently returned to town after spending three weeks training and making life-long friends at the famed Lobo Gym MMA in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Lobo is the home base for some of the best fighters in professional Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), including current UFC flyweight champion Alexa Grasso and Irene Aldana, recent UFC bantamweight title challenger and rising UFC contender Lupita "Loopy" Godinez, among others.
The Lobo's gym is "world-class," and she soaked up the knowledge and positive vibes while there, Horth Wessels reiterated from her home in Squamish.
She was welcomed with open arms, she recalled, adding it felt like being at home at her gym, The Sound.
“There's so much support, and everybody's high-fiving,” she said. “[At Lobo] they give you two high-fives and a handshake, and then they give you a kiss on the cheek — I didn't even know the names of the people, and they did that. And there were new people coming in and out every day and they treat you that way."
She said her intense training ran from about 9 p.m. until about 1 a.m.
During the day, they might grapple and train with other UFC fighters such as Diego Lopes and Alessandro Costa.
"They would come in, and they'd be like, 'Hey, we're going to run the drill class,' and it'd be five or six of us, and we would go in and do a low maintenance workout ... Some days we'd be in the gym two, three times a day."
Lobo is a hub of fighters, so there would be 25 to 30 fighters who all train together, which was impressive to be a part of, she said.
"And then to have that many girls — they're always working together and always supporting each other and helping each other — to have that all under one roof is pretty crazy," she said.
For Horth Wessels, the experience wasn't only about the training. Staying with a local, she also immersed herself in the culture in ways she couldn’t other times she visited Mexico as a tourist.
"There's food on every corner, and everybody is out hustling. ... We stayed with a local, so we're sitting in the condo and in the mornings, you'd hear people driving down the street with loudspeakers, and they're selling propane for houses and they're taking used mattresses. And they're yelling about the fresh bread that they have for sale. ... That was a really cool experience to be able to live in pretty much the heart of Guadalajara."
She said she understood a lot of the Spanish and came back able to say more than she could before. Learning to speak more fluently is on her to-do list now, she said.
"You want to build connections and relationships," she said.
The coach there invited her to go back and she will keep in touch with those she met, she said.
She arrived home on Aug. 5 and then took in Squamish Days Loggers Sports Festival events, from the kids festival, to the parade, to axe throwing and the choker race, which she won.
She doesn't have her next UFC fight booked yet, but stay tuned, she said.
In the meantime she is back at her home, The Sound and excited to share what she learned while away.
"I'm just looking forward to getting back on the mats and sharing this with the team. They took care of me and supported me while I was away... I'm very fortunate that I have that to come home to and to be able to give back and share my experiences.
She will also be teaching classes at The Sound, including one on Aug. 22. Find out more at The Sound Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai & MMA on Facebook or on The Sound's website.
