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<ul class="summary-list"><li>A 25-year-old American has quickly developed into one of the must-see attractions in all MMA.</li><li>Competing in the <keyword id="6150626" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="bellator-mma">Bellator MMA</keyword> Grand Prix featherweight semi-finals, <keyword id="10304672" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="aj-mckee">AJ McKee</keyword> advanced into the $1 million final by submitting his opponent with a move many experts had never seen before.</li><li>Because it's so new, McKee may well get to name it. The frontrunner so far is the "McKee-otine" which is a play on the technical term guillotine.</li><li>Watch the McKee-otine right here.</li></ul>A fast-rising American MMA fighter called AJ McKee marched into a $1 million final using a dangerous finishing move few experts had ever seen before.It all went down at Thursday's behind-closed-doors Bellator 253 event inside the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut.McKee's featherweight match against <keyword id="10304671" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="darrion-caldwell">Darrion Caldwell</keyword> headlined the show, and did not disappoint.The 145-pound fight served as a semi-final for the Bellator MMA Grand Prix — a tournament structure which has cemented McKee's reputation as one of the most exciting, brilliant, and skillful mixed martial artists competing for the Santa Monica-based fight firm.McKee beat Caldwell in the first round, and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/watch-aj-mckee-score-an-8-second-ko-2019-9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">just as he had in previous matches in the competition</a>, the way he won sent shockwaves through the MMA world.So unusual was the submission that even seasoned MMA analysts struggled to describe it."I'm not sure if I've seen that technique McKee used in an MMA fight," <a href="https://twitter.com/marc_raimondi/status/1329604066259787776" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the ESPN MMA reporter Marc Raimondi said</a>."But he clearly had it mapped out, locked in and hipped into it. Absolutely wild. McKee is the real deal."The MMA analyst for CBS <keyword id="6356028" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="sports">Sports</keyword>, <a href="https://twitter.com/lthomasnews/status/1329603754862243843" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Luke Thomas, said</a>: "I have no idea what that's called. It's a crank from guard using the RNC [rear-naked choke] bicep grip squeeze and hip extension like a guillotine. F------ awesome!"Thomas later added the name for the new submission could be called the "McKee-otine" — a play on the technical term guillotine.Watch it right here:"McKee-otine? I like that!" McKee said to reporters at the virtual press conference after his win."I never have seen a submission like that," the Bellator MMA boss Scott Coker said. "The new name is the McKee-otine? That's the first time, for me."The win advanced McKee's undefeated pro MMA record to 17 wins (six knockouts, six submissions, and five decisions).It also propels him into the Bellator Grand Prix final where he'll vie for a $1 million prize, and the Bellator featherweight championship. He'll fight the winner of the other semi-final between the current champion Patricio Freire and Emmanuel Sanchez.Freire last week <a href="https://www.insider.com/watch-patricio-pitbull-freire-score-rapid-savage-first-round-ko-2020-11" target="_blank" rel="noopener">scored a rapid, savage, first-round KO win</a>, and is presenting his case as the greatest Bellator MMA fighter in history.A potential match between Freire, a hugely-accomplished mixed martial artist, and McKee who calls himself the "new wave," has all the makings of a historic fight.Read more:<a href="https://www.insider.com/floyd-mayweather-announces-boxing-exhibition-on-february-28-2020-11" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Floyd Mayweather announces a return to the ring for a boxing exhibition on February 28</a><a href="https://www.insider.com/khaos-williams-warns-his-division-nobody-is-bulletproof-2020-11" target="_blank" rel="noopener">One of the UFC's scariest knockout artists has warned nobody is 'bulletproof,' and says he'll KO everyone in his weight class</a><a href="https://www.insider.com/watch-dos-anjos-bloody-felders-face-then-challenge-conor-mcgregor-2020-11" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rafael dos Anjos sliced Paul Felder's face open in a bloody 5-round war, then called-out Conor McGregor for a 155-pound fist-fight</a><a href="https://www.insider.com/watch-khaos-williams-score-30-second-knockout-in-ufc-2020-11" target="_blank" rel="noopener">An American called Khaos Williams scored a 30-second KO and UFC boss Dana White said it's 'one of the most vicious' he's seen</a><a href="https://www.insider.com/watch-uly-diaz-score-fastest-bkfc-history-ko-3-seconds-2020-11" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A bare-knuckle boxer scored a 3-second knockout Friday and set a new record for the fastest KO in BKFC history</a>

A fast-rising American fighter marched into a $1 million final using a dangerous finishing move few experts had ever seen before

<ul class="summary-list"><li>An American fighter seemingly destined for stardom is channeling the greats of sport.</li><li>A.J. McKee competes in the greatest challenge of his career Saturday at Bellator 263.</li><li>Should he win, he'll have topped a <keyword id="6150626" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="bellator-mma">Bellator MMA</keyword> legend in <keyword id="9103929" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="patricio-freire">Patricio Freire</keyword>.</li></ul><a href="https://www.insider.com/category/aj-mckee" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A.J. McKee</a> is channeling the greats of sport as he continues his trajectory to the top of mixed martial arts.Speaking to Insider last week he wore a Los Angeles Lakers jersey, spoke of his love for Kobe Bryant, quoted Muhammad Ali, and vowed to avoid the cataclysmic downfall <a href="https://www.insider.com/category/conor-mcgregor" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Conor McGregor</a> is experiencing.An undefeated <a href="https://www.insider.com/category/mma" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pro MMA</a> fighter with 17 wins at 26 years old, McKee has a magnetic charisma, the energy of youth, and a flashy, ferocious, and fan-friendly fighting style. He's got all the tools required to be a superstar.On Saturday, he returns to the <a href="https://www.insider.com/category/bellator-mma" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bellator MMA</a> cage - an arena where he's spent his entire career developing - for the conclusion of the company's featherweight Grand Prix tournament.Win and he will take home $1 million, but to do so, he must engage the greatest fighter in Bellator history, <a href="https://www.insider.com/patricio-pitbull-freire-wants-boxing-fights-after-securing-mma-legacy-2021-7">Patricio Freire,</a> in a war.The fight is one of the most significant in the combat <keyword id="6356028" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="sports">sports</keyword> calendar. Freire will either reconfirm his indelible legacy, or a torch will be passed to the best of the new generation.For McKee, that torch is already in his grasp."I'm younger, faster, stronger, and longer - he's got a lot to deal with," the Californian said."As long as I go out there and fight smart, don't get overzealous, don't get out there and do what everyone else has done and fight Patricio Pitbull - he's a counter-fighter! Make him fight," he said."You're the longer fighter. There's no reason why he should be countering you, you should be countering him. This is something I've got to keep in mind. Fight smart, hard, and I feel we'll come home with a flawless victory."McKee said winning has become a constant in his life and he's determined to "go down as a great in <keyword id="6403489" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="mma">MMA</keyword> and in Los Angeles as well as nobody has put LA on the map this year, so I've got to go ahead and bring a championship home."<h2>McKee is on a Conor McGregor-esque run to the top</h2><div type="image" title="A.J. McKee at a pre-fight event." height="1331" width="2000" msid="84899873" hostid="261"></div>McKee's start to the 16-man tournament couldn't have been more perfect. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/watch-aj-mckee-score-an-8-second-ko-2019-9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">He scored an 8-second knockout win over Georgi Karakhanyan</a> in 2019, backflipped off the cage, then yelled "I want my mother-f---ing belt."Looking back, McKee said: "Man, the crazy thing about that knockout is, while we were out in the back, I was hitting mitts and told my dad: 'Dad, I'm going to get Bellator's fastest knockout.'"I didn't know how, but I could just feel it. That was the goal," McKee said. "It goes to show the power of the mind. And that when you truly believe in yourself, and truly believe something is capable [you can achieve it]."Though the fight was over moments after it had started, it was the most fun McKee has ever had in his career.After that opening round smash-and-grab, McKee submitted Derek Campos with an armbar in the quarterfinals, before neck cranking Darrion Caldwell in the semifinal - a submission-of-the-year win.He's returned three finishes from three wins in three tournament fights so far, but for McKee, none of that is good enough until he gets a fourth. The only way he can do that is if he finishes Freire."Even though Patricio Pitbull is the man - he's got to go!" he said.McKee's visualization strategies, and the way he talks about the power of the mind, are not the only things that bear comparison to McGregor's run to the UFC featherweight championship five years ago.McKee is the new upstart in a division that has been dominated by a Brazilian legend. It is a situation McGregor found himself in as he fought his way to a title shot against Jose Aldo.And, just like McGregor wound up Aldo by taking his belt at a pre-fight event, Freire stormed out of the room Thursday when McKee got his hands on the Bellator championship at a fight week press conference.Though McGregor poleaxed Aldo in 13 seconds, he didn't seem to peak until he left UFC's 145-pound division, and knocked Eddie Alvarez out at 155-pounds to add the lightweight championship to his honor roll.In 2017, he earned approximately $100 million for a boxing match with Floyd Mayweather, which he lost. His career - and life - then seemed to unravel.McGregor never seemed far from controversy as he threw a dolly at a bus injuring UFC athletes on board, stamped on a fan's phone and walked away with it, and threw a punch at an older man at a Dublin bar. There have also been allegations of sexual assault which he has long denied.He has started losing far more fights than he won.Khabib Nurmagomedov dominated him in a lightweight title fight in 2018 before submitting him with a neck crank.McGregor bounced back by thumping Donald Cerrone in 2020, but suffered brutal back-to-back losses to Dustin Poirier this year.He's currently nursing a broken bone and types obscenities on Twitter, before deleting the posts.It has seemed like McGregor's fall from the top of the sport has been as sharp as his ascent was.For McKee, money has been the contributing factor in the fighter's decline - and he's determined not to make the same mistake."Man, if it's not broke, don't fix it - straight-up," said McKee. "You see the money play a big part in Conor's life where it has now changed him. He has no motivation anymore."He was a quitter anyway in the beginning. If you give him a way out, he'll take it - he'll tap. Me? I'm a proven mixed martial arts warrior. I'm going out on my shield. If you put me in a rear-naked choke, you best believe I'm not tapping. I'm going to sleep. That's just the way I was bred, raised, built."Obviously, honestly, the money changed Conor. Veneers, licking his teeth in interviews. He's not the same person! He's buying Lamborghini yachts - it's awesome! Those are fun things to have - fun toys. But you've got to stay grinding."The character he came up with - Mystic Mac - has also changed. He went from calling stuff out, speaking stuff into fruition, to bad-mouthing Dustin: 'You're wife's in my DMs.'"Like, there's got to be a line where enough is enough. He hasn't found that line, and it's showing in his career."Though McGregor made 100 times more for losing to Mayweather than what McKee could make this weekend should he top Freire, it will still be a career-high payday for the American.He says it won't change him, and wants to pay off his dad's mortgage before he even makes a down payment on his own home."A million dollars is a lot of money, but don't get greedy," he said.<h2>McKee says he's introducing his own stardom to the world</h2><div type="image" title="AJ McKee Bellator MMA" height="1334" width="2000" msid="84899880" hostid="261"></div>From the outside looking in, McKee is one of the most exciting fighters in all combat sports. But from the inside looking out, things aren't as clear. "I can't really tell where I'm going," he told us."I know I've got a bright future," McKee added. "I'm undefeated, and this would be the new beginning of a new beginning. An introduction to my stardom. Me introducing the world to who A.J. McKee is."So, who is A.J. McKee? "I don't know! I'm slowly but surely realizing it. But I'm thinking it's to do with this number here, man," he said, gesturing to his purple LA Lakers jersey. "The number 8 - it's the infinity number."That's how Kobe started his career and there's a reason why we're drawn to certain things, to certain people, why we look up to people as certain role models."That's someone I'm looking forward to being for many kids, you know. I'm now realizing I'm the older guy in the gym and I've got younger guys looking up to me, when I was always the younger kid looking up."Though he's inspired by Bryant's work ethic, it's not just the NBA great he admires. He quotes Muhammad Ali at will."I don't count the sit-ups," Ali said. "I only start counting when it starts hurting because they're the only ones that count. That's what makes you a champion."For McKee, that's his strategy in the gym - a strategy that ensures he stays grinding, and doesn't fall into the trapfalls he thinks McGregor is going through."You see Kobe on the court, after practice, still shooting threes. That's why the man doesn't miss. It's repetition and becomes muscle memory."That's my mindset, to follow these work patterns and evolve not just himself, his team, help people do better and be better."He had a really big impact on a lot of people's lives out here in Los Angeles, and put the city on his back. That's the goal, the path."For me, no one has brought home a world title or championship to LA this year, so I feel like it's my time to shine, man, do what I do best, put LA on my back just Kobe, just like LeBron did last year, and bring home some world titles."That's the aim of the game."The Freire vs. McKee fight is the main event for the Bellator 263 card that takes place Saturday at The Forum in Inglewood, California. It will be broadcast on Showtime.

High-flying American fighter A.J. McKee channels Kobe Bryant as he hopes to bring greatness back to LA

<ul class="summary-list"><li>It is a good news week for <keyword id="6150626" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="bellator-mma">Bellator MMA</keyword>.</li><li>The Santa Monica-based fight firm holds back-to-back behind-closed-doors shows on September 11 and September 12 in Uncasville, Connecticut.</li><li>It also announced Friday that it will be the first major MMA firm to host an event in Paris, France, in front of a limited amount of fans on October 10.</li><li>The France card will be one of a number of European Series events, the Bellator CEO <keyword id="3395273" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Scott-Coker">Scott Coker</keyword> recently told Insider.</li><li>Coker also told us that some of the company's biggest stars — like Douglas Lima, Cris Cyborg, and AJ McKee — will definitely fight in 2020.</li></ul>AJ McKee, Cris Cyborg, and Douglas Lima will all compete for Bellator MMA in 2020.That's according to the company's CEO Scott Coker, who told Insider recently that his international MMA firm has grand plans to navigate the coronavirus era in combat <keyword id="6356028" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="sports">sports</keyword> by booking elite matches for its biggest stars and continuing its popular European Series.With three behind-closed-doors live events in the bank, Bellator is used to the new-normal imposed by the pandemic.There has perhaps been no bigger Bellator story in the COVID-era than the Russian light heavyweight <a href="https://www.insider.com/watch-vadim-nemkov-drop-ryan-bader-to-win-bellator-title-2020-8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Vadim Nemkov dominating the American two-weight champion Ryan Bader</a>, winning the championship in the 205-pound weight class in style with a second round stoppage, last month.But Coker plans to unveil more elite offerings in the coming weeks and months."You will see [Bellator welterweight champion] Douglas Lima," Coker told us."We're trying to put that fight together with [former Bellator middleweight champion] Gegard Mousasi — an amazing fight. That's one of the fights we're really looking forward to."<div type="image" title="Bellator MMA stars" height="750" width="1000" msid="78066131" hostid="261"></div>With Lima being Brazilian and Mousasi hailing from the Netherlands, Coker said that coronavirus-enforced travel restrictions have thwarted some fight announcements, even if the bout agreement is otherwise there."The issue has been the travel ban coming into the country, and now Europe has a travel ban going the other way. So it's been tough."We're working hard through lawyers and with assistance from The White House to get some of the fighters in. We've been successful on a couple and think it will open up a little bit for us," Coker said.Coker told us Cris Cyborg will defend her Bellator women's featherweight championship, and the blockbuster Bellator featherweight grand prix will resume this year."You will see Douglas Lima fight, you will see Cyborg fight, and you will see AJ McKee fight," Coker said."The AJ McKee fight with Darrion Caldwell is the fight we're going to continue on with the featherweight tournament — that will happen this year, for sure."<h2>Bellator is breaking new ground in Paris</h2><div type="image" title="Bellator Paris" height="675" width="1200" msid="78066134" hostid="261"></div>Bellator announced Friday that it will head to the Accor Arena in Paris, France for a October 10 event, with fans.The main event will be contested between hometown hero Cheick Kongo and middleweight rival Timothy Johnson, supported by a welterweight bout involving Michael 'Venom' Page and Ross Houston.In a statement, Coker called it "a monumental moment in the history of the sport [to] promote the very first MMA event in France by a major promotion."Most of the competitions on the card will be fought using mixed martial arts rules while three other bouts will be boxing rules.This is something Coker has often dreamed of.Insider spoke to the South Korea-born American businessman last month, and asked whether his partnership with Showtime Boxing and the broadcaster's president Stephen Espinoza could yield a multi-discipline event involving mixed martial arts matches and boxing fights."That would be beautiful, honestly," Coker told us."If you watch some of our fights in Europe, we have a kickboxing show and MMA show on the same night [in Italy]. The ring collapses and we bring the cage down from the rafters."It's a 10 or 15 minute transition from having the ring there and then the cage set up. But I would love that, and I've always thought that's a great idea."As a fan, I love boxing, kickboxing, MMA … all combat sports. For a fan coming in to see boxing, the sweet science, and MMA, on the same night — that would be amazing."Stephen [Espinoza] and I have talked about it. Like you said, Stephen and I go back. And I'll tell you a quick story … I first met Stephen when I was trying to sign Mike Tyson for K-1 [kickboxing] in 2001 to fight Bob Sapp, a big football player who was popular."I've known Stephen for 20 years," he said. "Bellator's doing its own thing but together I think we could do some cool fights, fun events, which I love to do, thinking outside the box."The Paris event is, perhaps, evidence of Coker's thinking outside the box.<h2>But France will be one of many Bellator ventures into Europe</h2><div type="image" title="James Gallagher" height="600" width="1200" msid="78066136" hostid="261"></div>Next month's show in Paris will have added significance because a limited number of fans will be allowed to attend, with tickets going on sale Tuesday.Coker is planning on overseeing multiple events in major European cities, including London and Dublin."I tell you what I love about the European Series most. When we went to London, of course they already have fights there, and in Dublin, people do MMA there."There are some places … Italy, nobody knew what MMA was. It's a kickboxing country. We went in there and did half kickboxing, half MMA, and fans are starting to gravitate toward MMA as well."And now it has it's own identity. We started it from scratch. There was one fighter Alessio Sakara who was fighting at the time, but to have a country which didn't have any MMA, now we're doing several fights a year in Italy. Fighters are breaking through, gyms are expanding … we've started a movement inside a country, and I'm proud of that."We want to help build local MMA scenes. Israel never had an MMA event there but we went in there, and I heard now there's 20 gyms inside Tel-Aviv alone. This is growth of the sport."On the next steps for its European Series specifically, Coker said: "We're moving into Europe in October to recreate what we had done years."He said there are approximately 100 contracted fighters from Europe, "Many from London, Dublin, Western Europe, and we'll keep [Conor McGregor's Straight Blast Gym-mate and featherweight hotshot] James Gallagher, and those guys busy."If we can't get them over here, we'll have them fight over there."Bellator MMA has back-to-back events this weekend starting with Bellator 245 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville on September 11, ahead of Bellator 246 in the same venue September 12.Select bouts include:<ul><li>September 11: Phil Davis vs. Lyota Machida — light heavyweight</li><li>September 11: Cat Zingano vs. Gabby Holloway — women's featherweight</li><li>September 12: Juan Archuleta vs. Patchy Mix — bantamweight</li><li>September 12: Jon Fitch vs. Neiman Gracie — welterweight</li></ul>Bellator Dublin is booked for October 3 ahead of the landmark Paris event the following week.Read more:<a href="https://www.insider.com/bellator-243-preview-how-fighters-stay-in-an-mma-bubble-2020-8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bellator boss Scott Coker has 'a little army' to ensure his young fighters don't run off and burst the company's coronavirus bubble</a><a href="https://www.insider.com/dana-white-signed-mma-novice-he-was-like-mike-tyson-2020-9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dana White signed a raw MMA novice because he reminded him of a young Mike Tyson and 'scared the s---' out of the UFC boss</a><a href="https://www.insider.com/khabib-nurmagomedov-conor-mcgregor-offers-nothing-as-a-competitor-2020-9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Khabib Nurmagomedov says Conor McGregor offers nothing as a competitor, and is no longer interested in a rematch</a><a href="https://www.insider.com/mike-tyson-cried-in-pain-after-training-for-boxing-video-2020-9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mike Tyson said he was in so much physical pain he cried for a week in bed after training for a boxing video this year</a><a href="https://www.insider.com/video-mma-fighter-disqualified-for-a-soccer-kick-to-head-2020-9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">An MMA fighter was disqualified from a match when he hit his opponent with an illegal soccer kick to the head</a>

AJ McKee, Cris Cyborg, and Douglas Lima will all fight in Bellator MMA in 2020, CEO Scott Coker says

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>Heather Hardy is a fighter.</li><li>She once suffered a nose injury so bad, she spat chunks of bone out her mouth, but has insisted to Business Insider that mixed martial arts (MMA) is a fun sport - one she has fallen in love with.</li><li>The same is not true for boxing where she says world titles are not lost, they're taken from fighters because they don't happen to be the "promoter's girl."</li><li>Hardy's life story is filled with tragedy. She survived a sexual assault aged 12, went through a challenging divorce, and was left homeless after a hurricane ravaged her home town.</li><li>She once had to work seven jobs to make ends meet. But now she's only got one - fighting, and she is next in action on Saturday when she returns to the cage at Bellator 222.</li><li>"I'm a beast," she told us. "I wouldn't want to fight me."</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</li></ul>When Heather Hardy suffered her first loss as a professional athlete, she walked out of the cage with her "f------ nose hanging off" her face.She had already won 20 fights as a boxer, setting records, and was an accomplished amateur. But in 2017 she switched sports, signed a contract with mixed martial arts firm Bellator, and won her cagefighting debut in her home city, New York, in the summer.After that win, Hardy addressed the press, smiled despite bruising on her cheek, a black eye, and blood splattered over her white training bra, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQM44ZsY-20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">and said she had "fallen in love"</a> with the game that night. "I'm so happy right now," she beamed. "I don't even care I have stitches in my face."She lost her second Bellator bout later in the year but showed great heart by fighting through moments that would distress normal people. She wanted to carry on throwing punches even though she was wearing a mask of blood.Her opponent Kristina Williams landed a perfect kick - shin bone to face - in the second round. According to the combat sports website Bloody Elbow, Hardy suffered a nose <a href="https://twitter.com/BloodyElbow/status/921563184066002951" target="_blank" rel="noopener">"explosion"</a> and bled profusely. The ringside doctor said Hardy was in no state to continue. It was over.To <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKccCcd7Am0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Luke Thomas on Sirius XM</a>, Hardy would later say she was kicked so hard she was blinded temporarily. She was also "spitting chunks of bone" out her mouth.For many people, this might seem like the stuff of nightmares.But Hardy is not like many people. For Hardy, this was just an occupational hazard from competing in the sport she loves.Watch a recap of her first MMA fight here:Hardy is now just days away from her fourth MMA bout and has been telling Business Insider why fighting is so much fun."I have a lot of cockiness and confidence in the boxing ring as I know what I can and can't do in there," Hardy, who is an undefeated featherweight world boxing champion, said."In the cage, it's like: 'Fight for your life!'" she said."So it's a different kind of fun in both, right? There's a lot more going on in the cage, a lot of stuff I don't know how to do, or how to get out of. You get to see my primal instincts and the street come out of me."I've walked out of MMA with my f------ nose hanging off my face. I'm not afraid to fight, I'm not afraid to lose."<h2>Hardy had a warrior's spirit before she pulled on the gloves</h2><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div></div></div>Hardy survived <a href="https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/gvaxj3/heather-hardy-doesnt-back-down-from-any-fight" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sexual assault when she was just 12 years old</a>, a difficult divorce from an ex-husband who didn't pay child support, and homelessness when a natural disaster ravaged her neighborhood.Hardy tells us when she divorced in her 20s, she moved her daughter in with her sister and her nephew. Hardy took on the role of the father while her sister played mom to their kids, she said.She worked seven jobs in the New York gig economy to bring money into the house. She sold lights in the Bowery district, stacked shelves, and did internet marketing. She delivered books to high schools and did secretary work "for random companies." She even volunteered for USA Boxing, the national governing body for Olympic-style amateur boxing in America, and answered phones in the city's iconic fight club; Gleason's Gym, a place steeped in boxing history as Rocky Marciano, Muhammad Ali, and Roberto Duran all trained there.The divorce made her try something new: fighting.It turned out she was a natural even though she began the sport as a 28-year-old. "Within 18 months, I had won every title you could as an amateur boxer." She won Golden Gloves, national championships, and was the number one amateur competitor in her weight class in her country, she said.Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/keith-thurman-boxing-not-about-killing-people-2019-5?r=US&amp;IR=T" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Manny Pacquiao's next opponent Keith Thurman has pushed back against Deontay Wilder's controversial comments, saying boxing is 'not about killing people'</a>Hardy turned professional after her 30th birthday, in 2012. Shortly after, Hurricane Sandy hit New York and devastated many communities throughout the five boroughs.The hurricane put the Hardy home in Gerritsen beach, Brooklyn, "under seven or eight feet of water," Hardy said. It made her and her daughter homeless.Hardy sent her daughter to live temporarily with relatives while she worked and slept at Gleason's, even <a href="http://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/22407787/heather-hardy-fighter-own-words" target="_blank" rel="noopener">crying in an office</a> at the gym, until she got back on her feet.Hardy's boxing coach Devon Cormack took her under his wing. "Devon taught me how to teach people [to box] and took me on as an apprentice. I was able to quit one job at a time until I had enough of a clientele. I could use his office at the gym, he let me use the equipment and stuff, and he moulded me into the coach that I am today."By 2013 and 2014, I became a full-time fighter and a full-time coach and trainer at Gleason's."This meant she never had to worry about working in the gig economy again.Hardy said in <a href="http://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/22407787/heather-hardy-fighter-own-words" target="_blank" rel="noopener">an ESPN feature</a> last year that people would say to her that she'd never be able to "make a career" out of boxing, and that if she were to compete then it would have to be for fun.For Hardy, boxing remains behind the times. It fails to sufficiently promote its athletes, more so its women, and has been beaten to the punch by MMA, which makes superstars out of Ronda Rousey, Miesha Tate, Cris Cyborg, Amanda Nunes, and Valentina Shevchenko."It was 2012 before women were even allowed to box in the Olympics. Boxing is the oldest sport since the first Olympics. And girls in 2012 are just allowed to box? We're so far behind the times," she told Business Insider."Women have been openly welcomed in MMA as fighters, but boxing has been slow coming around to it. I'm 37 years old. I don't have 10 years for the sport of boxing to come around."She has long been a full-time trainer and fighter, but it's only since she made the decision to move into MMA that she experienced a significant bump in pay.Are Bellator fight contracts considerably larger than the ones she received because of boxing. "Yeah!" She said with no hesitation. "I mean, I've fought in a [boxing] world title fight. I fought for a world title in October. On HBO, right?"Hardy said the broadcaster helped fund a $4.2 million purse to compensate boxers Daniel Jacobs and Sergiy Derevyanchenko for their main event fight. But Hardy's bout against Shelly Vincent, also for a world title, didn't get anywhere near that much. "They put 10 grand in the pot for my fight."She added: "I make more in MMA than I did in my world title fight in boxing."<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div></div></div>If competing as a mixed martial artist in Bellator's circular cages provides a superior salary, surely she wouldn't be tempted to return to the ring. "Well … if the money's right, then you can still convince me! If it makes dollars, it makes sense."One boxer <a href="http://www.irish-boxing.com/heather-hardy-open-to-2019-katie-taylor-fight/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hardy has long been linked with is Katie Taylor</a>, a wildly successful amateur with 18 gold medals, including one at the 2012 Olympic Games. Taylor has the backing of boxing juggernaut Matchroom Sport, the same company that promotes Anthony Joshua, Callum Smith, and Oleksandr Usyk.Taylor recently fought Delfine Persoon in a lightweight title unification on the undercard of Joshua's unsuccessful American debut at Madison Square Garden, when <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/andy-ruiz-jr-knocks-anthony-joshua-out-in-heavyweight-shocker-2019-6?r=US&amp;IR=T" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the heavyweight lost his titles to Andy Ruiz Jr</a>. in a seventh-round upset.Controversy surrounding the result, a win for Taylor, was somewhat overshadowed by the nature of Joshua's loss in the main event. But Hardy believes the victory was not fair, that the belts were taken from Persoon. She decried what she saw as injustice on her Twitter account.Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/anthony-joshua-setback-should-have-listened-to-floyd-mayweather-2019-6?r=US&amp;IR=T" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Anthony Joshua's humiliating setback proves he should have listened to Floyd Mayweather 2 years ago</a>"I'd love to clarify a little bit," she told us. "I'm in no way shape or form a Katie hater. I am one of Katie's biggest fans. What she's done for the sport of women's boxing, the way she carries herself, she is a true champion and a true queen. And I genuinely mean that."My being upset comes because with a fight like that you have two champions in the ring, two champions defending their belts, right? You're supposed to have a fight where the only way a person loses their belt, is if the other person beats them for it, right?"There is no way Delfine Persoon lost her title. They were taken from her. Katie didn't earn that win. And I know I'm not the only one to score it that way. The way that girl fought her heart out and outworked Katie in the last four or five rounds of that fight, she did not deserve to walk out of that stadium with that ending."And it just really speaks to the politics of boxing. If you're not protected and you're not the promoter's girl, it doesn't matter if you win. What's yours will be taken from you. The politics of boxing does not care who it takes from, whether its a single mom, a full-time police officer, or a world champion."That is one of the reasons Hardy feels more at home in MMA than in boxing. "I just hate the thought of handing it over, you know what I mean? That's the s--- part about boxing."<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div></div></div>Regardless, she won't rule out defending her boxing championship. "I'm WBO world champion, single mom, fighting in both sports."Hardy fights on Friday at Madison Square Garden again in New York. She takes on Taylor Turner in an MMA fight at Bellator 222.It will be a festival of fights and includes big-name combatants Aaron Pico, Dillon Danis, Darrion Caldwell, Lyoto Machida vs. Chael Sonnen, and the headlining bout Rory MacDonald vs. Neiman Gracie.It is a big event for Hardy, for Bellator, and the fight game in general. It is the third weekend in a row the Garden has hosted a big combat sports event, after Gennady Golovkin's knockout win over Steve Rolls, and Joshua's stunning loss to Ruiz Jr.&#xa0;Hardy's opponent Turner has traded wins for losses throughout her career, but has beaten her last two opponents by stoppage. Hardy isn't taking her lightly, but she also has no fear. "She's got a ton of experience, man. I'm not taking this chick lightly. My team is preparing me for her type of style."But I'll be honest with you, I'm a beast. I wouldn't want to fight me."And neither would we.<div></div><div></div><div></div> <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-american-men-suck-soccer-world-cup-2018-6">The US women's national team dominates soccer, but here's why the US men's team sucks</a></h3> <div> </div> </div>

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