I've always been a bubbly and energetic and happy person, but when I get upset, I get frustrated; when someone makes me mad, I definitely have a temper, and I've had to deal with having a temper my whole life.
I do Athlete Devotion throughout all my fight camps. I am a Christian, so I fight with God first, and I have my devotions with me everywhere I go.
I'm just going to be myself; there's no reason for me to try and go out there and put a certain facade on or emphasize, 'Hey, I'm this. You need to believe it.' I just want to be the best that I can be, and if people like me, that's great, and if they don't, they don't.
I train for whatever happens. I'm prepared for wherever the fight goes.
I like ground and pound; I don't know if it is like a technique or discipline. I like to be on the ground, but I don't necessarily go for submissions or anything.
If I wasn't a fighter, I wouldn't be unique.
After I won my first amateur fight, I figured I would do fighting on the side while I was going to school. I got an offer after that amateur fight to take a professional fight. The opponent kind of wanted to have an easy win for her pro debt, and they said they'd pay me $1,500. I was like, 'Yeah, might as well get paid for what I was doing.'
I've always been very competitive, and I've always had this desire to win my entire life. I guess when it comes to being in the cage, especially, I just hate losing more than I like to win. The idea of someone beating me just doesn't sit well.
I strictly want to beat every opponent I face, whether it's for a title or for a small show. The only thing for me is winning my fights and being the best athlete I can be.
You have to try to grow between every fight: get back in the gym and keep working hard and find the areas that you need to work on. See what you did wrong and work on it.
Honestly, at times, I still get bored. 'Dancing with the Stars' kept me busy, and that's what I like. When I first started fighting, I was working two jobs, and I was still going to school at the same time while training. I'm meant to be a busy person.
I think the hardest thing I went through in the UFC was my first loss. It was terrible. It was traumatizing. But it's just going back and rebuilding and getting better.
I am very much a girly girl as well as being this tough, athletic fighter. I grew up a tomboy. I got my first four wheeler when I was eight. I got my first dirt bike shortly after. So, I have a lot of these manly qualities, I guess you would say. But, I also like to go get dressed up every weekend.
CrossFit is just another thing I've become passionate about. I like to continue to make gains and compete with myself. There's many ways to do that either with adding weight or competing with my own times or my previous records. It's been nothing but a benefit to me, and I love lifting weights.
My dad grew up wrestling. He knew Ken Shamrock, and I didn't know who he was at the time. So, he found out that Shamrock was in a gym in Reno, and he wanted me to go try a class with him. I tried it and fell in love the first day. Ken told me that I had potential in this sport, and he's the reason I kept at it.
I definitely want to be an inspiration or a role model for all the little girls out there or anyone out there that wants to break stereotypes. I feel like I'm breaking stereotypes with what I'm doing. I'm not the typical fighter, and there's a lot of people out there that won't do something just because they don't fit the stereotype.
I gave up school. I gave up a really, really good job. I gave up a lot of stuff. I cut a lot of people out of my life so I could just focus on my fighting dreams.
I've been blessed; I've been getting so many amazing opportunities because of the UFC. I know there are going to be haters no matter how successful I am, and I just have to be thankful for all the blessings that I have because all of it can be over before you know it.
When I'm training, I cater a little bit to my opponents.
There's a lot of girls out there that can relate to me. They can look at me and see themselves a little bit. There's a lot of girls out there that have a tougher side to them. I just think that people are really grown and attracted to that, and that's why people like to see me fight.
