To me, I feel like I play such small role in this life and this world.

It went from 'I was a nobody on the street, just another person.' It turned into something completely different. People were coming up to me, they knew who I was us, requesting pictures.

There's no real hiding from fame.

I think that my story is similar to most women in MMA. You balance work and your fight career. You climb up the ranks just to get into a situation where it can give back to you financially.

My friends' parents who were in the Marines, they were the people I looked up to the most. I looked up to them as role models.

Depending on what I'm training for, I might do more defensive moves, more counters, more attacks.

My training is always the same. A few things might change for me from fight to fight, but it's really the same regimen.

I definitely was not out as a marine. The 'don't ask, don't tell' policy was still in effect, and the people around me did not seem to be open to the idea to begin with.

Women always have to work harder to prove themselves.

I hate taking breaks in my training. But I'm having to change that, and let my body heal.