Ashlee Evans-Smith: UFC 181 “The Perfect Debut Fight For Me”

Saturday at UFC 181, Ashlee Evans-Smith will finally have her opportunity to fight on the big stage. Evans-Smith has been competing in MMA, far longer than there has been a female division in the UFC; back when Dana White said that women would never fight in the UFC. Stepping in as a replacement for newly signed bantamweight, Holly Holm, Evans-Smith is set to take on Raquel Pennington. On the Fox Sport 1 Prelims.

Ashlee Evans-Smith is most notably known for her TKO victory over transgender fighter, Fallon Fox. Since that win, Evans-Smith signed with the World Series of Fighting, but only had one fight with the promotion. Although happy with the organization, she did not get the opportunity to fight as often as she had hoped, “they might have run into some business plan problems and possibly signed more fighters than they could keep busy.”

Now that time has passed, and reality has set in, the initial shock and excitement is gone, and her game face is on. Ashlee Evans-Smith is looking at this fight as just another fight, but also feels this win will be the sweetest of her career.

In regards to Ashlee’s opponent, Raquel Pennington, who will be across the cage from her Saturday night, “She’s a great fighter but I just feel that I have the upper hand in every area, especially the ground.”

“My coaches, teammates and everyone who likes to put in their two cents have been telling me how this is “the perfect debut fight for me” and I’m really on the same page as all of them.”

After this fight, Ashlee Evans-Smith wants to continue staying active, and have less downtime between fights. She feels she becomes a better fighter the more she fights, and she simply loves the sport.

You can follow Ashlee on Twitter @AshleeMMA1

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