This time last year Rachel Wray was worrying about her dance routine as one of the members of the Kansas City Chiefs cheerleading squad. A year later, she's preparing for a fight.
The former cheerleader hung up her pom poms to pursue a dream of becoming a MMA fighter according to a report by KCMMA.com. Wray was introduced to Mixed Martial Arts when looking for a different workout routine.
She and a few other cheerleaders signed up for boxing lessons and according to Wray she was hooked from the start.
"I really enjoyed it and started taking private lessons after a little while," said Wray to KCMMA. "One day I came in and they wanted me to spar. I was nervous about someone actually punching me in the face, but I did it. I was absolutely horrible. This drove me to want it even more. I knew I had to make a choice between fighting and cheerleading. I chose fighting."
Wray stated that she doesn't expect to be competing professionally anytime soon, as it's tough for anyone to make it, never mind someone who has only been training for a year. She is hoping to add a harder training schedule over the next year or so however, and compete in as many amateur fights as possible.
"Right now, I am just going with it," said Wray to KCMMA. "I hope to fight 4-5 times over the next year. Of course, I would like to be good enough to be professional, but that just seems away right now."
Wray won her amateur debut with a second round TKO according to Bleacher Report, and her second fight never happened because her opponent never showed up.
She's scheduled to fight on Jan. 25 at Harrah's Casino in Kansas City.
"I love fighting and am having so much fun with it," said Wray to KCMMA. "I want to be an inspiration to other girls out there that want to fight but don't think they can."
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