To my surprise, once I had been chosen to compete next, I felt more relieved than stressed. I had gone multiple weeks of not knowing when I would fight or who it would be against. Finally, I had an opponent to focus on. The best part for me was that I had wanted to fight Jamie as I felt she was one of the strongest competitors on Team Joanna and securing a victory over her would not only boost my team's morale but also give me the confidence to know I can win this entire show. I believe in never backing down from a challenge and by taking the difficult route, I become the best version of myself.
My mind is often at ease due to the overwhelming amount of love and support I receive from my friends, family and boyfriend. This makes dealing with the pressure that goes alongside with fighting a little bit easier. It reminds me why I am fighting and who I am fighting for when I'm getting ready to get in the cage.
I found a unique way of bringing my family and team in spirit during my warm up. I had written down sections of the letters my family had given to me to bring to the house on note cards and used this as motivation to conquer the challenge ahead. Reading their words of encouragement and hearing their belief in me made it as if they were in the locker room cheering me on.
My warm up went extremely well and as it was time to walk to the cage, there was a relative harmony which is strange for this sport as it's usually chaos before you compete. Everything was organized and it was my time to shine.
Since the moment Claudia had said that I was the next bout, my entire energy had changed from the fun loving, laid back Amanda Bobby Cooper, to the focused, driven fighter who needed to secure a win for myself and my team.
Now was the time, everything had lead up to this moment, the door opens backstage and I'm walking out to the biggest fight of my career against a woman whom I've had respect for since I became a professional in this sport. And nothing else mattered.