When it comes to ‘Rowdy’ Bec Rawlings, what you see is what you get. The self-described loud and outspoken Aussie has proven popular with fans due to her exciting style and wild personality.
However, beyond the crazy hair and tattoos, the mum of two from Tasmania has also been vocal about her issues with domestic violence.
Airing in September, Rawlings will vie for championship gold against 15 other hopefuls on The Ultimate Fighter: Team Pettis versus Team Melendez.
I caught up with Bec to discuss the landmark TUF season, which will see the winner of the all-female cast crowned as the first ever UFC women’s strawweight champion.
Jason Tulio: You’ve described your TUF experience as an emotional roller coaster. Could you tell us a little bit about that?
Bec Rawlings: I travelled halfway across the world, left my two young children at home and I competed against 15 other girls for the title so it was definitely an amazing experience but there are the highs and the lows with every fight camp.
It still hasn’t finished – there’s the premiere and all this media stuff going on – so it’s definitely very hectic right now but I love it.
How did you feel about sharing a house with some of your former opponents like Carla Esparza?
It was actually really cool to have some of my former opponents in the house. I was gunning for a rematch with Carla. Ever since I lost to her all I’ve been working on is my wrestling so I really wanted a rematch with her. So it was really cool that she was in the house and I could’ve maybe gotten than opportunity.
But we’re all really good friends, I knew most of the girls from [Invicta FC] so it was really cool just to know who you were going to come up against and who you had to live with.
When it was all said and done, who was your favourite/least favourite person in the house?
My least favourite would’ve been Heather Clark, she was a diva. She was difficult. I had a few favourites as I made some really close friends. The two Angelas (Hill and Magana), or Angela squared as we called them, Rose Namajunas and Emily Kagan were definitely my favourites. We really hit it off from day one.
You’re one of the more popular fighters to come out of Invicta FC. Why do you think this is and how do you feel about it?
I think it’s really cool, obviously everyone wants to be popular. Whether they love you or hate you, as long as they’re talking about you. I feel like I relate to different types of people – I’m a mum of two, I’ve got tattoos, crazy hair and I’m an outspoken, loud Aussie so I think a lot of people like the realness that comes with me.
What you see is what you get so I think that maybe attracts people. I just stay true to myself and I’m just embracing whether they’re going to love me or hate me, just as long as I’m myself.
You mentioned that you’re a mum of two. How difficult is it to balance your training with your responsibilities?
I guess it is harder for me because I have two children to look after but it’s just what I am. I want this bad enough, this is my dream so I’ll do anything in order to get it. If it’s harder, it’s almost motivation for me to work even harder because I know the girls I’m competing against don’t have it as hard as me and they probably don’t want it as much as I do.
It definitely fuels my fire and my children are my inspiration, they’re why I do this. I want to be able to feed my children, support them and teach them to follow their dreams as well.
You spoke publicly last year about your domestic violence issues. How has that experience shaped you as a fighter?
I definitely feel like my past has really made me the fighter I am today. I’ve had a pretty rough upbringing even before I got involved in a domestic violence relationship so I feel it has moulded me into the type of fighter I am and just the mentality I have towards life and fighting.
I feel like it was definitely a strength going into the house because a lot of girls struggled mentally with the way they had no control over where they were and things like that, whereas I was thought it was a holiday compared to what I had to live and fight through. So it definitely gave me the mental edge.
Did it help that your training partner Brendan ‘Badger’ O’Reilly had been through the TUF experience?
It definitely helped. He let me know what to prepare for and the things you wouldn’t normally think about, he gave me some insight into the show. So I wasn’t as shocked and I didn’t freak out about little things because Brendan had already warned me about them.
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