How have you been and what's new since we last interviewed you?
-Busy! I've been very busy! It's been a while since our last interview and a lot has happened. Most significantly obviously has been my professional debut in kickboxing for Glory World Series back on May 3rd earning the win via knockout in the third round, and my upcoming professional debut in MMA for RFA on July 25th at the 1st Bank Center in Broomfield, CO (which will be televised live on AXS TV!), and then my professional debut in boxing as well just a few short weeks after that in Quebec, Canada for Nordic Coliseum as the co-main event on the first all female, all pro boxing card! So yeah...busy says it best.
Tell us about your upcoming fight, who you are fighting and where?
-I will be fighting 3-1 Marion Reneau who is actually stepping in for Lauren Barefoot who I was originally supposed to face, but who unfortunately received a pretty bad injury in training a couple weeks ago. We'll be facing off on the main card of RFA 16 at the 1st Bank Center in Broomfield, CO, just a few blocks north of my house actually, so quite literally in my home town.
How was this training camp and did you get to train with anyone special?
-Camp has been great. With little time between fights, we transitioned straight from my kickboxing camp for Glory right into the MMA camp for RFA. As always, I have done the majority of my camp right at home at FusBoxe Mixed Martial Arts in Westminster, CO under Michael Sullivan with the rest of my team. I've been pretty lucky to have some great teammates who have really stepped up to the plate for me in this camp. I also had the immense pleasure to head up to Saskatchewan, Canada to train with Charmaine Tweet who is also in camp right now preparing for her upcoming fight on Invicta FC 8 against Veronica Rothenhausler. That was actually my first time ever branching out from home during camp before, and I have to admit when I first accepted the invite to head up there, it was with more of the idea that I would be there to support Charmaine and help get her ready for Invicta, but I wasn't really sure how much I would be able to take away from it since it was only a five day trip. I just wasn't sure if that was realistically enough time to be able to not only be introduced to some new concepts, but be able to drill them enough that I would be able to retain everything and bring it home with me. Char and her coaching staff are great though and I actually got a lot out of the experience and have been seeing the pay off in the last couple weeks since coming home. We're actually in the middle of discussing how we can meet up to combine our camps more often.
Do you have any fight day rituals or superstitions?
-Hmmmm....well for superstitions, I HAVE to have a pedicure and it has to be a new pedicure specifically for that fight, or I'll lose. LOL Actually, I don't really buy into the whole superstition thing, but we have joked that the only two losses I took were also the only two times I was trying to be a cheapskate and didn't treat myself to a new pedicure because both times I had just fought a couple weeks before hand. With all the superstitions that seem to be accepted in athletics as totally normal though, I enjoy being able to use the excuse to justify getting my feet touched :) As for rituals, not really...I insist on waking up naturally as opposed to setting an alarm, and I like to be able to have time for breakfast and lunch (there have been some fights where I had to check in too early to allow for lunch and it always made me feel rushed for some reason), otherwise once it's time to head to the venue I throw on my headphones, and completely tune out from everyone and everything around me until after my hands are wrapped and it's time to warm up.
How did you get your fight nickname “Baby Face”?
-Actually the fight name came from my very first interview. Leading up to Muay Thai Mayhem for Ring of Fire in June of 2011, Matt Sierra from, at that time, MMA Meltdown called me the "Baby Faced Killer" in his write up after finding out my actual age. Everyone that read the article thought it fit well and it just stuck.
Any predictions on how you see your upcoming fight unfolding?
-No predictions at all. I know very little about my opponent, which is the way I like it, so I can just focus on showing up the athlete that RFA slated for this fight. I know she is an established pro at 3-1 already so I expect her to show up calm and ready, and I believe the majority (if not all) of her wins have come via TKO, so while I don't have any predictions of where either of us will take it, I think we are both going to show up ready to put on a great fight for everyone watching... so don't miss it ;)
If you could have one dream fight with anyone, who would it be and why?
-I have been asked this question a couple times and I always hope I don't disappoint the interviewer or the fans with my answer, but I don't actually have a dream fight. It's very important to me that all of my opponents are legitimate and that I'm not fed any cherry-picked fights, and I don't like taking what I consider to be "legalized bar fights" when fighters are scheduling grudge matches to settle a personal issue (I think it's unprofessional and harms the long term viability of the sport), but aside from that I don't focus on specific names. I enjoy taking the "one fight at a time" approach and just want to see how far I can take this. I would hate to disrespect any of my opponents by suggesting there is someone else I would rather fight than them.
What is your greatest achievement or proudest moment in your fighting career so far?
-My greatest achievement in my fighting career so far is actually what my career has allowed me to do outside of the sport. I spend a lot of time using my name in fighting as a way to reach out to people and get involved in the community in the hopes of making a positive impact in my lifetime. It's actually where my long-term goals lie and why I fight. I want to introduce myself to as many people as possible to increase my chances of being able to make a positive, lasting impact on as many lives as possible. My passion is in teaching and guiding and I have always wanted to enjoy a career in motivational speaking and writing. So my fight career is just the platform I reach out from and when I eventually retire from fighting, I will use everything I have gained through my career to transition smoothly over to the next stage of my career.
Speaking of your endeavors outside the sport, tell us about Team Baby Face Heroes.
- The Team Baby Face Heroes is the group of people in my fan base and support team who join my efforts to do good in our community. From donating filled out valentines so I could take plenty to the kids at Children's Hospital, to purchasing tickets to my fights to be donated to youths who otherwise couldn't go, we raise money each fight and I choose a new youth organization to then sponsor with the raised funds. For Glory Team Baby Face Heroes we donated tickets to youths and any proceeds I stood to make from the ticket sales went directly toward sponsoring a local age’s 6-7 girls softball team. For RFA 16 almost everyone who has purchased tickets from me has donated their $1 change (tickets are $29, $39, or $49) to the Team Baby Face Heroes fund to be used 100% in a sponsorship for the next chosen youth organization. I feel overjoyed every time I see how big of a response I get from those who want to be a part of Team Baby Face Heroes and everything we're about. I can easily say it has been by far, the most enjoyable part of my career. So for anyone who is interested in finding out more, you can find me on any of the social networks Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and you will easily find more information about the program and how easy it is to get involved. Even a "like" and "share" goes a long way toward helping us spread the word about what we're trying to do.
Lastly before we let you go, any shout outs you would like to make?
-Always, always first and foremost to Michael Sullivan. We have been through quite a bit together and he has always been that one person who believed in me and despite the number of coaches and past teammates who told me I didn't have what it took to go anywhere in this sport, he saw something in me and was willing to take the time and patience to teach me and allow me to express it. He's been there through every fight camp; he's been in my corner for every fight, and he is the only voice I allow in my head on fight day. I don't ever see that changing. An additional thank you to my team at FusBoxe, and especially Johnny Argrow, Brooke Pelton, and Jesenia Rivas because they have sacrificed a ridiculous amount of their own training time and even their personal time to help push me through this camp. Team Tweet for everything they did for me in Canada and my sponsors Super Tees, Fossil Fuel Energy, Synapse Physical Therapy, Golden Bear Bikes, Delmy Gooch Photography, and the JTA Group.
Thank you very much for your time and good luck on fight night Maureen! Click here to purchase tickets or contact Maureen directly so you can contribute to Team Baby Face Heroes otherwise tune into AXS TV Friday night at 10 pm ET.
Marion Reneau defeated Maureen Riordon via submission (armbar) at 4:15 of round one.
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