Melissa Mullins has jumped endless hurdles on route to her third UFC bout this weekend.
She fights at UFC Vegas 100 on Saturday night against Poland’s Klaudia Sygula with the aim of continuing her climb up the women’s bantamweight rankings.
From growing up in poverty, dealing with the death of her parents to substance abuse and even navigating a divorce – she’s definitely faced her share of life’s challenges.
Yet, Mullins has found solace and purpose in the world of mixed martial arts.
“You could say that life should have been very different and could have been very different,” Mullins told talkSPORT.com exclusively.
“I never found myself knowing what MMA was before I joined A-Team. I didn’t know I was certainly going to be fighting in the top and most established promotion in the world.
“That was never a vision. It was never a goal. It just happened to fall in my lap and I worked hard to get here in regards to loving the sport and trying hard within the sport.”
Mullins left her previous MMA gym in December last year as she was going through a divorce with partner James Dixon.
She then joined former UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards’ Team Renegade in Birmingham, but had to stop attending because the travel was too intense for her financial budget.
‘No Mess’ now resides at Total Martial Arts Academy in Coventry, where she fights out off, and cites the move as a blessing in disguise for her MMA career.
“To be honest, I could be sitting in a nine to five job, not enjoying life,” Mullins added.
“I’m working for somebody else. And yes, that would bring financial ease. Would I have it any other way than I currently have it?
“Absolutely not. I love what I do. I love what’s falling into place. I love what I found in the sport of martial arts.
“It’s something I’m very, very motivated by to keep going and enjoying what’s been given to me in whatever capacity this is going to be.”
Mullins was finished in her last UFC bout by Nora Cornolle after being caught with a vicious knee to the body, but was successful in her debut with Dana White’s promotion in October 2023.
She still remembers receiving the call that informed her that she would be fighting in the UFC.
Mullins remarked: “Shoutout to First Round Management, they’re the guys that got me into it.
“I was asleep, or about to go to sleep, should I say. Literally about to put my phone down flat so there wasn’t any lights to wake me up.
“And literally as my phone went to touch the floor, it lit up. I turned it around and it was the company at the time that was managing me, ringing me.
“[They told me] you’re not going to be able to sleep now. You’re in the UFC. And you can only imagine, as I said, it was really late at night.
“I tried calling everybody, but nobody was there to listen to my excitement. So I just had to try and settle down and try to go to sleep. But yeah, I can remember that moment perfectly.
“It was a very warming moment in my life. It showed me or it made me feel like I had mass accomplishment. And it showed that eventually something that I am doing in life will pay off. So yeah, it was good.”
Mullins is looking to secure a big knockout at UFC Vegas 100[/caption]
Mullins has taken her one and only UFC loss to Cornolle in stride, using it as a lesson rather than a setback.
She believes that losing early on humbles a fighter and sends them straight back to work.
“She [Cornolle] won and there was nothing that I could do,” Mullins stated.
“Straight out back, I was so frustrated and so annoyed at the situation. But a clean shot is a clean shot. I wanted to just leave the venue straight away.
“I was so agitated, so frustrated, because that kind of loss, you can’t do anything about it. It’s such a momentum of your body just building up to a point of.
“You can’t come back from how your body’s reacting to it. Whereas a knockout or a wobble or getting your lights switched on a little bit, you can somewhat try to recover within a round.
“But being liver-shotted and your body literally just shutting down, it’s a disgusting feeling.”
Poland’s Sygula is making her UFC debut this Saturday against ‘No Mess’, as Neil Magny and Carlos Prates headline the UFC Vegas 100 card.
Mullins isn’t fussed about her opponent’s style, instead focusing on her own training and preparations.
“Ideally, I’d like to knock her out,” Mullins continued. “For me, how I’ve envisioned it is if I was to knock her out, I would love to be on the mic and be like, this is a bit overdue.
“But realistically, based on training, I think I’m going to land some beautiful elbows and potentially cut her open. My striking has evolved so much over this period of time.”
Julianna Pena is the current UFC bantamweight champion, with former champion Raquel Pennington and Kayla Harrison both top contenders in the division.
When asked about her chances against the women at the top of her division Mullins said with a ‘little more experience’ she could be one of the fighters who could do a good deal over someone like Pena.
UFC Fight Night takes place this weekend for the 100th time at UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
UK fans can watch the main card from midnight on TNT Sports. Mullins is expected to fight first in the prelims, which begins at 9pm BST.
