After a long and very thought-out amateur career, Hannah Rokala (1-0) made a statement in her professional debut.
On August 27, in the main event of Showcase MMA 27, Rokala needed less than three minutes to finish Kara Marie Vislosky and pick up her first professional win.
Hannah Rokala won her professional debut via TKO.
Remember the name pic.twitter.com/WQXdwLIGPE
— Alex Behunin (@AlexBehunin) August 29, 2022
It was an emotional moment and win for Rokala, who had been waiting a long time to finally call herself a professional fighter.
“I freaked out! My sister drove me to the after-party, and it like hit me in the car. I was like, ‘I’m a frickin’ pro!’ and I like yelled it out the window. Everyone was so hyped,” Rokala told Cageside Press in a recent interview. “I’ve always wanted to be able to say I’m a professional at something. But to say I’m a professional in something that’s so freakin cool, that I’ve worked so hard for- there’s no better feeling in the world. So it’s awesome.”
“I’m still on cloud nine, and then you know, all the media and all the buzz, it’s like, very overwhelming in such a good way. I’m just trying to really take it all in. My coach Cody, when I was walking out, said, ‘Hanah, take this all in because you’re only gonna have one pro debut.’ And to have it in front of all my friends and family in my hometown, you can’t describe that feeling to somebody unless they’ve been there.”
After a successful and memorable debut, Rokala is in no rush to get back in the cage after having a busy 2022. Instead, she wants to compete at the Pan Jiu-Jitsu No-Gi Championship in October and then enjoy the holidays with her family, something most fighters don’t get to do.
“We’re taking it day by day. I really want to do the No-Gi Pans; I know that’s coming up soon. It all depends because my calf is a little bit wrapped up right now… I think I just pulled something. I have no idea what I did or when it happened, but it’s sore. As long as that’s good, I’d like to compete in Pans and try and win the gold for that,” Rokala said. “I feel pretty confident. I love doing jujitsu GI and no Gi. As far as getting another fight, we’ll just have to see what my coaches think, how I’m feeling, how everything’s going, what tools I need to sharpen up, and yeah. I mean, you never know, maybe there’s enough time, but I also like enjoying the holidays. And I’ve had five fights in five or six months.”
Watch the rest of our interview with Hannah Rokala above.
