For some fighters, a long martial arts journey that starts as a child is what leads them to a career as an MMA fighter. While Ashley Barrett had started in karate when she was young, that’s not exactly what hooked her. In fact, it was a video clip that she saw when she was in middle school.
“I was in the 8th grade and I remember seeing Ronda Rousey,” Barrett recalls. “I didn’t even know what MMA was. I didn’t know it was a real thing; I thought it was just TV… As soon as I saw that, I was like I’m going to do that. I’m going to be a UFC fighter.”
Although some partents might not be fully on board with their teenage girl pursuing a dream of punching people in the face for a living, Barrett’s parents were all in. In fact, not only was her mom supportive of her dream, she actively helped her chase after it.
“My parents were so on board with it. They loved it,” she said. “My mom was like ‘yeah, that’s awesome – let’s try to find a gym and get you signed up.”
While the Rousey video set things in motion, the act of walking into the gym clinched it. And now with a contract with Invicta, for which she’s about to fight for the second time, that dream is getting closer than ever.
“Ever since I first walked into the gym, I knew I wanted to go to the UFC. I want to go all the way,” Barrett said. “I knew that Invicta was a huge stepping stone and feeder to that – to get to get you ready for that level, to get you notice.”
That next fight in Invicta takes place this weekend at Invicta FC 59. Her fight with Fernanda Orellana takes place on the YouTube prelims starting at 7:30pm EST.
You can hear the entire audio of this interview as part of the latest episode of TTP. The interview starts below at 35:14.
