Rugged and durable Mollie Estes will step in the cage in front of her hometown, July 13th at Invicta FC 6 at the Ameristar Casino in Kansas City, MO. A strong advocate of the sport, Estes is a welcome addition to an already stacked card.
Originally scheduled to square off at Invicta FC 5, Estes will faced noted strikeout artist Veronica Rothenhausler. Estes will look to test her opponent’s stamina as she tries to have her hand raised in victory on July 13th.
Corey Smith: You will be returning to the Invicta cage for a third time on July 13th. What has your experience been like with the company?
Mollie Estes: I couldn’t be more pleased than to fight for Janet and Shannon. They are first class ladies and professional business women. I feel very blessed.
CS: You spoke about how fighting before a hometown crowd can provide distractions leading up to the fight. How do you try to minimize those distractions?
ME: I plan on making this fight my focus. Just like turning off the TV, I plan on turning off many social and work aspects of my life and placing them on hold until this fight is over.
CS: Reading your comments about previous opponents, you seem to identify weaknesses very well in your opponents. Where does that come from?
ME: That comes from loving the sport. I have watched my own videos over and over and tried to re-live those unsuccessful moments in a more radiant light for my own benefits. Every move we make forms a pattern of who we are and we tend to repeat those same patterns. Humans are predictable and the ones who aren’t…well they are Beck Hyatt, lol, and we can’t get enough of that.
CS: You stepped in on short notice to face a well-respected veteran of the sport in Julia Budd at Invicta FC 5. What grade would you give yourself on your performance?
ME: Being competitive I was SO disappointed. Logistically it played out as anticipated by the critics, but my what-ifs keep following me. “What if I would have beat Julia to the take down each round instead of letting her shoot first? ” and ”Why wasn’t I meaner, more ruthless?”
ME: Honestly Julia is the strongest woman I ever fought. To finish my thoughts I did want to have more of a stand up fight, but she followed protocol and brought it to the ground again just as she had done in her past few fights. But if the shoe fits, wear it. I left the ring hoping that I made her feel like she earned her paycheck that night.
CS: Since the Budd fight, what have you been focusing on in the gym? What areas have you been trying to improve the most?
ME: I have been repeating more simple scenarios during this fight camp. Basic things that I think will remind me how to finish a fight more swiftly the moment that I am in a position to do so. It’s like watching UFC where one fighter gets top mount and ends up getting beat up from the guy on the bottom. I don’t want to waste any time to finish this one.
CS: You will be facing your original Invicta FC 5 opponent, Veronica Rothenhausler, at Invicta FC 6 on July 13th. How much training and game-planning was completed before the opponent switch last time? How familiar are your with Veronica’s game?
ME: Veronica has a right hand J . I worked on footwork, stand up, keeping my hands up and a lot of take downs to prepare me for my last fight that was to be against Veronica. Now I have been going over what I learned from the last camp. I am sure many would like to know if Veronica can go the distance.
CS: What are your goals for the remainder of 2013 in MMA?
ME: I always train one fight at a time. My vision as a competitor leads me to July 13th, however as an advocate for the sport I plan on helping out much beyond my fighting years. I give monetarily to the MMA community and that will not stop. I plan on getting my trainingforwarriors.com certification in August and my personal ambition is to help strengthen women’s minds as they empower their bodies by learning self-defense and MMA.
CS: Are your sons involved in martial arts at all at this point? At what age do you think that it is appropriate for children to begin instruction in some type of martial art?
ME: My two boys love sports and play so many, but for some reason they think ju jitsu is just a fun game and team sports is the serious side of the spectrum. I don’t try to persuade them either way and I never force them to go to class. It’s kept casual. Kid time should be fun time.
ME: Five years of age is a good time to start children in MMA. They are cognitively developed by that point, enough that they will enjoy it and learn. I do believe that one should not teach children to punch anything but mits and a bag though, until they are much older. It just isn’t necessary. Ju Jitsu is a perfect way to begin and mutual respect is the first rule that they should learn.
CS: With a strong history in rugby, and all things being equal, if rugby and MMA are on tv at the same time, which are you watching?
ME: J World cup final vs. a Versus UFC rerun?? World cup. Or Collegiate All-Star games vs. a Rhonda Rousey fight night? Ronda …ok I am cheating. MMA pulls me in like people staring at a bearded lady. MMA wins.
CS: Lastly, MMA is equally a team sport as it is an individual one. Who would you like to thank?
ME: I would love to thank Steve Crawford’s American JuJitsu and coaches whose home is inside my favorite gym, 68 Inside Sports.
ME: Also thanks to my largest sponsors: The Mladenoff Clinic and iStressed out.com, Ahlers Building Maintenance and Timeless Tattoo KC, MO.
http://www.crawfordsmma.com/, http://68insidesports.com/, http://sedca-ceutics.com/custom_content/c_224224_istressedout.html, http://www.mladenoffclinic.com/,www.abmaintenance.com, FB: Timeless Tattoo KC.