Ashley Yoder Carrying TUF Experience into Invicta FC Debut | MMAWeekly.com

Coming off her experience earlier this year at The Ultimate Fighter 23, strawweight up-and-comer Ashley Yoder feels like she was able to use her time on the show to her advantage and has become a better fighter for it.

In particular, it was an opportunity to train with top-level females in her weight class, that Yoder believes was the biggest influence on her during her time in TUF.

“My whole style has been evolved around guys and how they train; not small females of my size,” Yoder told MMAWeekly.com. “Being able to train with them, it’s completely different, but the concept of it is something that you can take with you and you can apply it to your own training.

“It was kind of a mental boot camp on the other side of it: Not knowing who you are going to fight, when you are going to fight, not being able to talk to your coaches or your family. Overall, I think it was a growing experience for me.”

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While her time in TUF had a big impact on her, Yoder is happy to be back home preparing for a fight with her own team for the first time this year.

“It makes you appreciate your coaches and your team that much more when you’re away from them that long,” said Yoder. “I’ve trained nearly every single day for the last five years, so six weeks isn’t too long a time to really soak in new styles, but it is definitely good to be back with my coaches.

“They see my confidence has gone up. They see my style of training is probably more intense than it’s probably every been, and they build off that.”

Yoder (4-1) steps back into the cage for the first time since TUF when she makes her Invicta FC debut on Friday in Kansas City, against former title contender Amber Brown (6-2) in a main card 115-pound bout.

“I don’t really look at my opponents too much,” Yoder said. “I let my coaches do that. I just go in there and do what I do best.

“From what I hear, (Brown is) an aggressive girl, and I like that style of fight. I like to go for Fight of the Night. I like that intense, everything-for-the-crowd-style. I expect it to be a great fight, so I’m excited to be on this card against an awesome opponent.”

Back to fighting for the first time in a while, Yoder is looking forward to building herself up in Invicta, and eventually getting a shot at the UFC.

“The ultimate goal, especially for us who was on the show, is to get back to the UFC,” said Yoder. “I think that’s where everybody’s mind is.

“I’m blessed to be part of something like TUF and Invicta, and I’m just here working as hard as I can and trying to get better every single day to become champion. My goal is for 2017 is to become a champion and get back into the UFC.”

(Photo Courtesy of BAMMA USA)

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