With less than two weeks to go until UFC®’s sell-out debut event in Scotland, the organisation has confirmed the names of three fighters who will each travel to the Scottish capital as guest fighters for the event.
Women’s strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk, and top ten ranked featherweights Cub Swanson and Clay “The Carpenter” Guida, will all make the journey to Glasgow to meet fans and media alike, ahead of UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: BISPING vs. LEITES.
The reigning 115lbs women’s champion, Jedrzejczyk successfully defended her title for the first time just last month, defeating the No. 3 ranked Jessica Penne in spectacular fashion in front of fans in Berlin, Germany. It was subsequently announced that Jedrzejczyk would be the latest fighter to form a partnership with leading apparel brand Reebok.
Cub Swanson, meanwhile, remains the No.6 ranked fighter in the UFC’s featherweight division. Swanson holds wins over some of the biggest names in the 145lbs weight class, including Dennis Siver, Jeremy Stephens and Dustin “The Diamond” Poirier.
Also making the journey to Glasgow will be veteran of the sport Clay Guida. Loved by fans for his colourful personality, Guida is arguably one of the most capable wrestlers within UFC. In April, Guida secured a win over Robbie Peralta at UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: MENDES vs. LAMAS and now holds more than 30 wins in his professional MMA career.
All three fighters will be on hand to take part in a number of activities throughout UFC’s inaugural fight week in Glasgow.
On Thursday, July 16th, the fighters will host an exclusive MMA masterclass for students from all over Scotland. Organised in partnership with Glasgow University, Sport and Recreation, students of all ages and ability levels will attend the seminar, which will include an introduction into a variety of techniques, as well as a Q&A and an autograph and photo session.
The guest fighters will also pay a visit to Antonine Sports Centre, a local sports facility which UFC has supported for many years. There, members of the centre will have the unique opportunity to take part in a training seminar led by the fighters, as well as to have their photographs taken with their heroes.
On Friday, July 17th fans traveling to Glasgow for UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: BISPING vs. LEITES will be invited to take part in a live Q&A with Jedrzejczyk, Swanson and Guida, just before the public weigh-ins begin. The Q&A will take place at the SSE Hydro from 12:45-13:30. Doors open to UFC FIGHT CLUB™ members at 12:00 and to the general public at 12:15.
Following the live UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: BISPING vs. LEITES weigh-ins, the guest fighters will also take part in a fan signing, which takes place between 14:30-16:00.
UFC® FIGHT NIGHT: BISPING vs. LEITES will take place on Saturday, July 18th at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow. Headlined by a five round bout between the UK’s Michael Bisping and Brazilian Thales Leites, the fight card also features three Scottish fighters – Robert Whiteford,Stevie Ray and Joanne Calderwood. Tickets to the event sold out in a matter of hours after going on general sale, so fans can expect a packed out arena on the night.
UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: BISPING vs. LEITES will be aired live from 3:00 p.m. in the UK and Ireland on the BT Sport app.
UFC FIGHT NIGHT® BISPING vs. LEITES FIGHT CARD
All bouts live and subject to change.
Heavyweight Bout
Daniel Omielanczuk (POL) vs. Chris De La Rocha (USA)
Bantamweight Bout
Jimmie Rivera (USA) vs. Marcus Brimage (USA)
Featherweight Bout
Robert Whiteford (SCO) vs. Paul Redmond (IRE)
Light Heavyweight Bout
Ilir Latifi (SWE) vs. Hans Stringer (NL)
Lightweight Bout
Teemu Packalen (FIN) vs. Mickael Lebout (FRA)
Flyweight Bout
Paddy Holohan (IRE) vs. Vaughan Lee (ENG)
Main Card
Lightweight Bout
Stevie Ray (SCO) vs. Leonardo Mafra (BRA)
Welterweight Bout
Leon Edwards (ENG) vs. Pawel Pawlak (POL)
Women’s Strawweight Bout
Joanne Calderwood (SCO) vs. Bec Rawlings (AUS)
Lightweight Bout
Joe Duffy (IRE) vs. Ivan Jorge (BRA)
Lightweight Bout
Ross Pearson (ENG) vs. Evan Dunham (USA)
Middleweight Bout
Michael Bisping (ENG) vs. Thales Leites (BRA)
For the latest information on this event, please visit www.ufc.com or follow @UFC_UK on twitter.
Ahead of UFC®’s highly anticipated debut event in Scotland, UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: BISPING vs. LEITES, the organisation has today confirmed a series of fan events which will take place during the lead up to the event on Saturday, July 18th.
On Wednesday, July 15th fans will have the opportunity to watch their favourite fighters from the UFC Fight Night Glasgow line-up train, as UFC hosts an exclusive open workout evening at The Old Fruitmarket in Glasgow. Fighters including Michael Bisping, Thales Leites, Joanne Calderwood, Stevie Ray and Robert Whiteford will all take part in individual workouts in front of fans and media, as well as facing off against their opponents for the very first time.
On Friday, July 17th fans are invited to attend the official UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: BISPING vs. LEITES live weigh-ins at the SSE Hydro. Doors will open to UFC Fight Club™members at 12:00, with general admission following at 12:15.
Ahead of the fighters stepping onto the scales, there will be a live Q&A with UFC guest fighters, between at 12:45-13:30, while an autograph signing will follow between 14:30-16:00.
The weigh-ins, Q&A and fan signings are all free to attend and open to the public.
Summary of fan events during UFC FIGHT NIGHT: BISPING vs. LEITES fight week:
UFC Fight Night 64 came from Krakow in Poland for the first time in UFC history where Mirko Cro Cop avenged his loss against Gabriel Gonzaga in the third round by way of TKO.
Cro Cop came back from being in danger in rounds one and two, to throw some heavy damaging elbows that set up the ending of an onslaught of vicious ground and pound that sealed the ‘revenge’ deal at the 3 minute 30 second mark of round three.
Mirko Cro Cop vs. Gabriel Gonzaga UFC Fight Night Krakow
Here are the official results:
Mirko Cro Cop Def Gabriel Gonzaga Via TKO 3 mins 30 secs Round Three
Mirko Cro Cop Winning UFC Fight Night Krakow
Jimi Manuwa Def Jan Blachowicz Via Unanimous Decision 30-27, 30-27, 29-28
UFC Fight Night 64 in Poland has just added another female strawweight bout to their line up.
Joanne Calderwood
Scotland’s Joanne Calerwood [9-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC] will face Ukrainian Maryna ‘The Iron Woman’ Moro [5-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC] on April 11th at Krakow Arena in Krakow, Poland. The entire event streams on UFC Fight Pass. [Those in the UK maybe also able to watch via BTSports; subject to viewing restrictions].
With today’s announcement this is how UFC Fight Night 64 is now shaping up:
Bryony Tyrell will be making her fifth amateur MMA appearance tomorrow night, Saturday, February 21st on UIC 14 at GL1 Leisure Centre in Gloucester.
Bryony trains out of Exile Gym in Southampton; is a working mum with two children and competes up and down the country. Here I get to find out what Bryony has been achieving since I last spoke with her 18 months ago and I for one can say WOW!
Bryony Tyrell
It has been awhile since I have last caught up with you [July 2013] and since then you have been one busy lady. Can you talk me through the last year of your achievements for which I know you have achieved a lot.
It’s lovely to catch up with you again, I can’t believe it’s been that long! Yes it has been a very busy couple of years.
In October 2013 I fought on Extreme Cage Championships – Banned 1 in Blackpool and won by split decision. A few weeks later I was asked to do a white-collar boxing match at short notice in Andover which I won by decision.
In December I fought Main Event (MMA) on a small local show in Andover and won by first round rear naked choke.
The day after that I competed in the Grapplers Showdown Strike and Grapple UK Championships in Watford winning Gold in my weight division (-60kgs) and Silver in the absolute (NoGi).
In February 2014 I competed in the Hampshire Open Grapplers Showdown and won Silver in both my weight division (-60kgs) and the absolute (NoGi).
In April, at the Grapplers Showdown London Open in Watford I won Gold in my weight division (-55kgs) and bronze in the absolute.
In May I was lucky enough to fight on Cage Warriors 68 in Liverpool and lost by decision.
In September I competed in the Grapplers Showdown London International NoGi Open and won silver in my weight division (-55kgs) and amazingly won the absolute!
The week after I competed in the British NoGi Open in Birmingham and won Gold in my division (-56kgs) and Bronze in the absolute.
The week after that I fought on Warrior Fight Night in Bournemouth (Muay Thai) and won by decision.
Last but not least (lol) in November I fought on Shock ‘n’ Awe in Portsmouth (MMA) and won by TKO second round.
That’s a lot of achievements for a working mum of two, to fit all of those achievements into your ‘spare’ time. How do you do it?
I’m not really sure how I managed to do all that. My life is absolute chaos for the most part to be honest, but I love it! I couldn’t do it without the amazing support of my husband, coaches and teammates.
You train out of Exile Gym in Southampton, alongside Arthur Frost who is another top amateur MMA fighter and also Pro fighter Benny Carr. How does it feel to train alongside Arthur and Benny when it comes to a fight camp?
Benny and Arthur are a massive inspiration to me. Arthur in particular has helped me out immensely; I’m very lucky to train side by side with someone of his calibre.
Your’re now 2-2 in your amateur MMA career; have been on one of the biggest shows as in Cage Warriors, when can we see you make the move to the Pro ranks?
My aim was to turn pro at the end of this year if I do well in my next two amateur fights. My concern with turning pro though is the lack of opponents at my weight. The amateur scene for women is definitely expanding but the pro level still seems to be very scarce in the UK.
Bryony Tyrell at ‘Shock N Awe’
You’re facing Jemma Jacques at UIC 14 at GL1 in Gloucester this Saturday February 21st in an Amateur MMA bout; do you know much about your opponent or the challenges she may pose on the night?
I know quite a lot about Jemma because I’ve been matched against her before. I’ve never met her but I like her. She seems savvy and a bit fiery, good characteristics for a fighter . We’re both from a kickboxing background so I’m quite familiar with her fighting style. She has powerful striking which I’ve got no doubt could cause me serious problems if I don’t keep moving (lol).
Where do you feel that you will be stronger in this fight and where do you feel it may end up?
To be honest I’m not sure what will happen on Saturday, I’m quite comfortable standing and on the ground, although I think my grappling is stronger. I expect this fight to go to the ground at some point where I think I’ll dominate.
Are you still part of ‘Rosi Sexton‘s’ mentoring scheme? If so, how is that going?
I’m not part of Rosi’s mentoring scheme anymore. She was understandably very busy when she got signed to the UFC so I think that went on the back burner. I will always be very grateful for the help and advice she’s given me. She’s a true icon for WMMA.
I really enjoyed TUF 20. It was quite interesting to have an insight into some of my favourite fighters. It’s a shame they gave so much airtime to the more unpleasant characters in the house. Angela Magana was particularly vile. It was nice to see Jo Jo and Aisling coming across so well, both a true credit to WMMA.
Bryony Tryrell at Grapplers Showdown
After your fight will the ‘Gazelle’ be eating lots of cake?
Haha…yes I’ll definitely be eating lots of cake after the fight, I might even indulge in a cheeky cider too! I can’t relax too much though because I’m fighting again in March.
Lastly, is there any sponsors or anyone you would like to thank?
I don’t have any sponsors, only my brother who spoils me with random MMA related pressies..lol. So obviously I would like to thank him and my beautiful sister-in-law Lisa who are always there for me. I’d also like to thank all my fantastic coaches and training partners at Exile and Look Borai, in particular Daniel Bourne, Gareth Blair, Dean Kendall, Janis Meiksans, Trevor Birmingham, Jarrod Speed, Rich Harding and Arthur Frost. I’d also like to thank my Mum for being brave enough to come and watch me and last but not least my husband for enabling me to chase my dreams and only complaining a little bit..lol.
Thank you for your time Bryony it is very much appreciated.
Bryony is next fighting on March 28th on Phoenix Fight Night XXV at the 02 Academy in Bournemouth.
If there are any sponsors out there that would like to sponsor Bryony (every little helps) you can contact her via her Facebook. I for one know she would be very grateful.
Invicta FC the all female WMMA promotion has signed a deal with UFC Fight Pass to stream all of their content on the UFC Fight Pass digital streaming service.
The official press release from The UFC was released last night and as follows:
The Ultimate Fighting Championship and Invicta Fighting Championships are excited to announce that UFCFIGHTPASS.com, the UFC’s digital streaming service, is now the exclusive digital broadcaster of the world’s leading all-female MMA organization.
UFC FIGHT PASS chief content officer Marshall Zelaznik said: “This is a historic multi-year, multi-event deal. When we launched UFC FIGHT PASS last Christmas, we said that we would never rest in bringing the best value to our subscribers. The addition of live and archived Invicta programming is going to be of enormous interest to our existing subscribers and bring in new subscribers, too.”
He added: “UFC FIGHT PASS already has subscribers in over 155 countries, which is a huge platform the Invicta athletes. Invicta fighters are now sharing the same stage as elite UFC fighters like Alexander Gustafson, Conor McGregor, Cung Le and Michael Bisping. For any UFC fans that haven’t seen these women compete before – I guarantee they will be blown away when they see what Invicta is all about.”
Invicta FC president Shannon Knapp said: “This is a great day for my company. Since the start of Invicta, I’ve been committed to providing the biggest and best possible platform for women athletes and, with this distribution deal with UFC FIGHT PASS, Invicta will reach the most passionate MMA fans, wherever they are in the world.”
In addition to every upcoming Invicta event screening live, the entire Invicta archive will be made available anytime, anywhere, on UFC FIGHT PASS.
That means subscribers will be able to check out fights featuring talents like atomweight world champion Michelle Waterson and flyweight title-holder Barb Honchak, as well as Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos, former Strikeforce champ Marloes Coenen and early-career fights of UFC stars like Alexis Davis, Cat Zingano and Liz Carmouche.
The Invicta FC library joins the libraries of PRIDE FC, Strikeforce, WEC, WFA, EliteXC, Affliction Entertainment and the UFC on UFCFIGHTPASS.com.
Invicta will be announcing the first event to be screened on UFCFIGHTPASS.com shortly.
Knapp said: “We are targeting a late-summer event, headlined by a world title fight. This is an historic event for myself, the company and my athletes, and every one of them is going to want to be on this first card.”
With the addition of Invicta being added to UFC Fight Pass, viewers can also get familiar with eight of the TUF 20 competitors who the UFC had acquired the contracts from Invicta specifically for TUF 20 to reign a champion at its new Stawweight Division. It was originally eleven but three of those due to UFC rulings gave them a straight pass into the UFC where they will compete but not under TUF bouts.
The original eight females from Invicta are:
Carla Esparza (9-2) – Former Invicta Strawweight Champion
Alex Chambers (4-1)
Felice Herrig (9-5)
Bec Rawlings (was Hyatt) (5-3)
Emily Kagan (3-1)
Rose Namajunas (2-1)
Tecia Torres (4-0)
Joanne Calderwood (8-0)
The rest of the TUF 20 cast members will be announced soon with only 8 slots available, having already held the castings back on April 28th.
For now though you can log onto http://www.ufc.tv/page/fightpass and see what UFC Fight Pass is all about if you do not already subscribe. What better time to start your 7 day free trial than now.
It’s been a challenging year for me but I wouldn’t change it for one second, after all I got to do what so many of you still want to do and I have achieved all of it in the six months that I started this harsh challenge – which fell into my lap purely by coincidence (you will have to refer back to my very first blog read about that one)!
I will however give a big shout out to the person who got me started not only in writing my own blog but who introduced me to what I currently do, and that is Jonathan Millard, for whom I am forever grateful to.
What alot of people, more than likely do not know about me, is that I have been in the ‘combat sport industry’ for just over 20 years now, so I have legitmately worked my way up the ladder – although, it’s fine for you to believe whatever you choose to believe, I personally don’t give a shit, again those that really know me, know that also!
I got to cover local grass root shows, which to me I have always been a great fan of and will always take time out of my schedule to go cover them as much as I can, I covered Pain Pit 3 times, Ultimate Impact, Into The Cage, Neilson Promotions White Collar Boxing then I also covered Cage Warriors, BAMMA and UFC Manchester, not bad even if I do say so myself!
Then a great event happend for UKMMA – The UKMMA Expo in Manchester and I got to be part of the only Media Team that had Access All Areas and when I say that, I truly mean that; not like all the other Media people that came in, the team I was with we were set up in the ‘Green Room’ with all our equipment and at one point their was one great surreal moment that I for one will never ever forget 🙂
It was a great run event by Darren Sherlock and Paul Crossley and of course Darren’s wife Michelle, all timed perefectly for when Michael Bisping would be in the UK, Manchester as it happens (his own town) and just after being announced he would be facing Mark Munoz, here also in Manchester in October (unfortuntaly due to Michael needing eye surgery he was forced to withdraw from the bout and Lyoto Machida replaced him)!
There were UFC athletes, Guest athletes, Guest speakers, Seminars to train with some of the Guest athletes and stalls for the MMA community to come together and show there products of to the public; also there was the stall for SAFE MMA – for which I personally went over to Izzy Carnwath and spoke to her to see SAFE MMA was all about, how promotions could get involved and WHY they should. I had such a better understanding afterwards.
Here is mine and Izzy’s SAFE MMA interview we also talk BAMMA 13
There was also a big NoGi BJJ competiton on, running throughout the Sunday which was awesome and six females took part amongst the hundreds of men.
At the show I managed to Video Interview (yes that was a very first for me) The Legend Ian ‘The Machine’ Freeman straight after his MMA Seminar – let me tell you know this guy is 100% gentleman when talking to him, Ian made my first video interview effortless (well I thought) 🙂
I would however like to say a very big thank you to all the athlete’s I have worked with (so far) without you giving up your time I would not of had your stories/journeys to write about and some very memorable moments to say the least, so in list of when they were interviewed here they all are:
Leigh Remedios
Alexei Roberts
Mario Saeed
War Machine
‘Rowdy’ Bec Hyatt
Ian ‘The Machine’ Freeman
Hector Lombard
Colin ‘Freakshow’ Fletcher
Bryony Tyrell
Aaron ‘Smackwell’ Blackwell
Jack ‘The Hammer’ Marshman
Lew Long
Jorge ‘Michelan’ Bezerra
Rosi Sexton
Faisel Ghazghazi
Mark ‘The hand of’ Godbeer
Lauren Murphy
And of course it would not be me, if I did not add in afew pictures of me with some of the athletes I had met 🙂
Have a great New Year.
Emma
PS I’ve kept all my boxing ones out of this one but look out for it next year 🙂
On Tuesday July 9th 2013, I finally managed to get a Skype Interview with one of the most talked about female mixed martial artists to make an impact on the scene ‘Rowdy’ Bec Rawlings; I personally had been following Bec since 2011, but to everyone else I guess the turning point in ‘Rowdy’s’ career would have been January 5th 2013 when she fought Carla Esparza for The Strawweight Title for female promotion Invicta FC.
Bec is now due to take on Japan’s Mizuki Inoue in her 3rd fight for Invicta FC Promotion on Saturday July 13th.
(c) Esther Lin for Invicta
Thank you for your time in this interview only days away from your fight. How’s your training been going for this fight camp?
It was flawless, I started 8 weeks out like I always do, everything went to plan, I travelled a lot for this training camp as I went to some different academy’s. I trained with Danny Galvan on The Gold Coast, Ricky Budgen at Empire Martial Arts, Gamebred Crew at Gamebred Combat Club and my usual gym Impact MMA. We have a good little fight team going on, also a few midgets my size so was a very good camp.
Is there anything different you’ve implemented into your training game this time?
Yes we’ve brought in swimming, it works hard on the body and good for the cardio, also a real challenge for me as I’m hopeless at swimming. (laughs)
So you’ve learnt how to swim now then?
I could float (laughs). I could survive if I fell out of a boat, but I wasn’t very good at competitive swimming, but I’ve definitely improved in that area.
What would you say is the best thing about fight camp?
Sparring, I enjoy sparring, I enjoy punching people in the face (laughs) MMA rounds are the best.
What would you say is the worst thing about fight camp?
No Nutella, No Cup Cakes.
Can you tell me about a typical day for you, from the time you wake up to the time you go back to bed?
I wake up at 6am, depending if the kids want to sleep in or not, I will get them organised, get them breakfast, showered, dressed, depending if they have school or not, if they have school then I will be dropping them off at school, if not then I will be taking them along to my morning session which will be either strength training or conditioning such as hill sprints, stair sprints so I usually drive them along with me, then we usually head home.
I will get them organised with lunch things like that, then I will eat myself, whatever I can eat, normally chicken and broccoli (Laughs) I then try to chill out with the kids till my next session that night and depending if I can get a babysitter or not I might take them to the night session, which is BJJ, wrestling or striking which is pretty hectic if I bring them, as I have to get them organised before I go, get them in their pyjamas, make sure they’ve had their dinner etc.
Once I get home that gives me some time to myself to eat, shower, sit down but it’s not the end I then get all my media and all my sponsor requirements out the way , so night times are kind of chilled as the kids are sleeping but it is also still work as I do all my media requirements etc.
Mizuki Inoue has a kickboxing record of 4-1 and MMA record of 5-1, what can the fans expect to see from you this time?
They can expect to see what they normally see. I’m going to be punching her in the face really, really hard (laughs) and then we will go from there.
I never have a game plan, I just go in there and fight, just do what I do, just train to cover all bases. I will just be going out there, listening to my corner, doing what their telling me to do.
My head coach (Malcolm “The Big Croc” Vanderrar) just playing it by ear, we never go out with a strict game plan, normally if I do have a game plan it is to punch them really hard, make them not want to be there anymore.
Being such a young fighter, do you think Mizuki will come into the fight with no fear approach? Also on that flip slide, some fighters fear being knocked out; you got that out the way in your first fight, so do you feel you have the upper hand, so to speak since you have experienced what that feels like and have a no fear attitude?
Yeah definitely, being a 18 yr old you are fearless, but she is fighting in a whole different country, she’s really young, she’s coming to a different country, she’s fighting a tattooed, blue haired freak, (laughs lots). I definitely think I have the upper part with experience wise in America and the fact I have been knocked out. I go into the fights knowing what it feels like to be knocked out and I’m completely okay with that; as long as I go out there doing what I want to do and putting it all on the line, I don’t care of the outcome.
I don’t care if I get knocked out or choked out unconscious, I’m going out there, I’m going to punch her in the face and I’m going to have fun doing it.
You’ve also fought in America (which will now be your 3rd time), do you feel, this plays to your advantage? I read in an interview that Mizuki had done, that in her fights the crowd don’t make any sound at all; firstly I could never imagine that; secondly, well we know Americans are a very ‘Rowdy’ bunch (see what I did there – lol) do you feel that this also plays to your advantage being as much an entertainer and a fighter?
Yeah definitely it’s going to be a huge culture shock, like in Japan there very different culturally when they are watching the sport, there very quiet and respectful. It might be a bit of a shock to her but also she may enjoy it. I love the crowd, I love hearing the cheers and stuff, she may enjoy it, it may help her to fight better or to push harder so I don’t think it’s a advantage or disadvantage, it just depends on how she takes to it and how she reacts to it.
Speaking of your 3rd time, if I recall correctly, it was a 3 fight deal with Invicta you signed too, if so, now that this is your 3rd fight, what is next for you? Have you re-signed with Invicta? If so can you tell me what deal you have signed too?
Yes I originally signed a 3 fight deal, which this is my 3rd fight, and today I have just signed a new 6 fight deal again with Invicta, so you will be seeing a lot more of my face around, you will not be getting rid of me anytime soon.(smiles).
Who would you like to face next at Invicta? Would Joanne Calderwood still be an option for you?
Yeah definitely, I’m keen to fight Jo Jo, I think she is not so keen. I think, she thinks, she is better than me and above me so I’m looking to prove her wrong.
Since gaining your 2 yr visa for the USA will we see a move to the states for you at all?
I’m pretty happy in Australia, that’s where my family is and my huge support base, but anything could happen. Invicta might want me to move over you never know, so you will have to wait and see, it’s not definitely out of the picture. I’m looking to come over to the states for training at different gyms and stuff but Australia is my home, it’s where my family is, so I reckon I will stay in Australia, but I will be coming back to America for a few weeks or even a month, we will just have to wait and see.
Going back to Carla Esparza fight, at the time what were your own personal reasons for stepping up in that fight?
I’ve never turned down a fight so of course I’m going to take it (laughs). It was a huge opportunity, win, lose or draw, I knew it was going to do good things for my career, which, is my number one priority to put food on the table for my two little boys, so it was definitely a huge step in my career; it was the right choice.
Going back to Jasminka Cive fight, was it hard going into that fight with a lot of genuine hate for her and controlling your emotions?
No not really, I’ve learnt to be humbled a lot in this sport. I know to go out there and fight with no emotion, the only thing that was going through my head was to go out there, go do my job and prove to Jasminka I am better than her, and my 24 hr Facebook training is still going to kick your ass (laughs). It was definitely a fun fight, a good camp, a good lead up to all the media, all the interest on that fight was amazing. I had good fun with it; it was definitely an awesome fight and we squashed the beef in the end after I proved my point well and truly.
I’ve noticed you’re sporting a new hair colour – bubblegum blue, is this anything to do with The Smurfs at all?
Just random, I walked into the hairdressing warehouse picked out a colour I like and walk out with it.
As MMA is now starting to gain a lot of recognition on the big stage over in Australia, are there any female’s that we should be keeping an eye out for?
Yeah there not very active at the moment, there still trying to get fights at their weight, but I’d definitely be looking out for Shauna “Little Thunder” Carew who I train with at Impact MMA, she fights in the Atomweight division, and I know Claire Fryer who was quite active a few years back has come back into it, so she maybe one to keep an eye out for coming back in to the sport again.
You have so many tattoo’s, what age did you get your first one and what was it?
I was 16 years old and it was a Tramp Stamp on my back, which I now have covered over (really laughs) it was like tribal with a dragon head, so I had that covered over with Roses and a Grenade which really suits my personality because if you pull that pin and I will explode!
3 FUN QUESTIONS
If you could change 1 rule in MMA what would it be?
Lay and Pray
Ice lolly or Ice Cream?
Ice Cream
If catering came in and you hosted a dinner party, which 3 guests, dead or alive would you invite and why?
My Little Pony, Mini Mouse and Conan the Barbarian, as things would get messy.
Finally, who would you like to Thank?
Americana mma, Alchemist management, Impact MMA, Gamebred Combat Club, Empire Martial Arts, Mal Van, all my training partners, my friends and family for looking after my babies while I’m away.
(C) ALCHEMIST MANAGEMENT
You can keep up-to-date and follow Bec on her Twitter @RowdyBec
To order Invicta 6 log onto www.invictafc.com all details are there on how to purchase on either U Stream or if you’re lucky enough to be in America or Canada selected Satellite/Cable companies are showing this event and being part of History in the Making #WMMA
Five Rounds with Emma 
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