TUF 26 ep 7 blog- Rachael vs Melinda, Female fighters

8/4/17

Dana stopped by the house last night, just as my massage finished. Poor Nicco got stiffed and only got about ten minutes, but I was safe.

He gave us Conor McGregor T shirts as gifts! 😀 Thank you!
Then, he wanted to see the backyard, so we all went out there. I turned on the waterfall to show him (there’s a control panel) and then turned it off again after a while, so the noise wouldn’t interfere with the cameras. See what a good reality-show contestant I am? As part of the talk you heard, he told us how much money Ronda made. It was insane. “I wasn’t going to do woman. You are all here thanks to Ronda Rousey. She convinced me to have women. It’s F-ing skyrocketing. In no other sport are women making this much money.” Yeah that’s nice. Well, I have yet to make said money and I doubt everyone on the show will. But it’s great, in theory. LOL It tempts us and motivates some people.

Personally, I don’t fight for money. But love of the sport can’t pay my rent and phone bill. Or help me take care of my ailing relatives. Or save for my retirement.

Please stop using the term “women’s MMA!” Men and women do the same MMA techniques. Sorry, semantics. But I’m an English teacher.

“This is the hardest thing you’ll ever do,” Dana said. “And some people do it TWICE.” And looked at me. hahaha!!

Anyway, Dana asked us what we missed the most, and people were like, “Husband. Kids. My dog.” We had quite a few people say “dogs.” He laughed at us and said, “You all miss your dogs, but the men obviously missed…. “other” things.” He called me a sick puppy for saying I missed Syndicate. What’s wrong with that? ;_; I missed Syndicate SO FREAKING MUCH, and my coaches, and teammates, and friends!

Sarj claimed to have taken Dana White’s car around the block while we were in the back talking! haha. Then Dana offered and Emily accepted to go for a drive, so a few of them piled in there and took a spin. I didn’t go. haha!

I don’t really care about cars. My boy Lee, my 2008 Toyota Corolla LE is enough for me! <3

The unknown is scary and I realize that. That’s a big part of why I was so anxious in the first half of the season. Would I like the coaches? would I get the training I needed to be ready? Would I have acceptable body care? They brought massage therapists for us. Finally, I knew I could handle TUF 26 and I started to relax and enjoy training more. I enjoyed training with Justin. I like him and his spirit. The coaches are so enthusiastic and supportive. It’s hilarious listening to Matt and Luke talk smack to each other constantly. I was hesitant to learn any new steps that don’t fit in with my natural movement, though, that Trevor was teaching. I always felt like I was cheating on Coach John because I swore to myself I would never go to another MMA gym, but obviously I couldn’t help it. John crafted my striking by building steps and combos into my awkward style, and I didn’t want to throw a wrench into it without his approval. (I did get off my groove and it took me and John a month to get my flow back, actually)

In evening practice, we requested and go to spar MMA. We went pretty hard, but one think I love about my teammates is that they have the ability to go hard without knocking me out or hurting me. I didn’t once feel the need to wear headgear, or worry about my brain! Thank you Rachael, Nicco, Gillian, Montana, and Maia! (I never actually sparred MMA with Emily or Karine. Weird how that worked out) It’s SO important to be able to control yourself and trust your partners. There have been many examples of fighters who have been forced to retire because they keep getting concussions that won’t heal. Brieta, Serena’s former opponent, got signed to Invicta but then had to retire.

I digress. But just wanted to stress that.
Yay team Gaethje! (click to enlarge)

The weigh-ins were great. Rachael wore lingerie and looked really hot. lol

As always, I loved hearing both lady’s interviews and seeing footage of their homes. I knew about Ruby Rose, Rachael’s daughter, and saw lots of pics since I follow her on Instagram. 🙂 She’s such a cutie!

I know people on the internet only see how pretty Rachael is, but she’s such a nice, good person, too, and strong and skilled! 😀 I had a feeling she was going to be able to handle whatever Melinda threw at her.

COME ON, I can’t BELIEVE they blurred out her Wonder Woman costume!! They have all those sponsor companies on the banner but blurred out wonder woman?! Gimmie a break…. she looked so cool in it!

I tried to get to know Melinda a little bit, despite being on the other team. I often saw her alone, walking around, or playing ping pong outside by herself with the table up.

Actually, I saw her leave her group and go out there, and the camera crews followed her, so I followed them. Cameramen hustling usually means something is going down. I played with her once. She seemed really sweet, and had the softest voice I’ve ever heard.

But you have to watch out for the quiet, unassuming one……. and this is coming from an unassuming one. haha

She told me a bit about herself. Once the season really got underway, our training schedules were reversed and I only got to talk to her a little bit. I had no idea she was hurt (obviously she’d hide it). Her English was pretty good. I was impressed how carefully and accurately she spoke. #Englishteacherthings
I felt she was too skinny. I saw her eating berries a lot. It reminded me of watching Peggy Morgan half-starve herself to make weight at 135 on TUF 18. I think Melinda was coming down from 135 and was taller than me. *shrug* You gotta fight where you feel good, not at what weight you can barely make. Rachael had no problem making weight. She’s shorter than me, but has more muscle. She feels really strong when training with her!

Melinda said she was fine, though, and far be it for me to butt into someone else’s weight cut, especially someone on the other team. I just care. I wanted Rachael to win anyway. But let me stress this: We are competitors, not enemies!

Well, some men talking smack would argue otherwise. haha

About the fight! Rachael had good distance judgement, and used her overhand well, eventually taking down Melinda and getting past her knee shield. As Melinda scrambled, Rachael rear mounted, punched, and sunk in the choke. I was happy for her!

Then Melinda started looking at her hands and started talking to people who came in the cage, like the doctor and then Eddie. I thought her hand might be broken. There was a delay in announcing the winner because she kept talking to Eddie. I was so curious to find out what was being said, and finally by watching the ep, I learned.

She wanted to dissect the fight right there and then? I get it, you are devastated and need to make some sense of it, but you gotta get out of the cage and go lay down for a bit first. :/ My heart went out to Melinda seeing that footage. I get it. I remember watching an opponent getting their hand raised, while inside, I was screaming, “WHY?! WHY?! Whyyyyyyyy?!”

Rachael was concerned about Melinda’s health, especially hearing that she was taken to the hospital. Melinda said the next day said something about her eye cut and needed stitches ….in her eye? I think it was lost in translation, though. Medical discussions in a foreign language are hard. I would know. So I was freaking out but then I realized it was probably a corneal abrasion. Slight bruise, not complete tear, on the cornea, because she said it would heal in a week. phew. Stitches on the eyeball. God, I don’t even want to visualize that. Rachael is such a kind person. But like me, she’ll do what she’s gotta do to win.

Shout out to one of my sponsors, Rob and Aardvark Painting up in Western Washington State! You have a building or deck, he has paint!
https://porch.com/lakebay-wa/painters/aardvark-painting/pp
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