Baffled by Bellator 195 winner Kristina Williams' quick rise? She thinks it's 'wild' too

THACKERVILLE, Okla. – It’s been said that luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity. That may not be true for everyone, but it seems to apply to Kristina Williams.

The first opportunity came from Bellator, fewer than five months ago. Williams, who’d had a total of zero pro MMA bouts by then, was matched up with undefeated pro boxer and 1-0 MMA fighter Heather Hardy. The two went into the cage holding similarly lacking MMA records, but the attention was in no way evenly split between the relatively unknown Williams and hyped 4-1 favorite Hardy, a decorated pro boxer.

Then preparation came in: A shin that landed flush on Hardy’s face meant a nationally televised ssuccessful pro debut for Williams.

Then, at Friday’s Bellator 195 event, yet another opportunity: Williams (2-0 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) was paired with the more experienced Emily Ducote (6-4 MMA, 4-3 BMMA), who was fresh off a failed bid for Bellator’s inaugural women’s flyweight title. Although more work went into this one, which ended in a split call, Williams added another win to her blooming record.

So how does one grasp the reality of going from a 0-0 pro fighter to legitimate contender in less than half a year?

“That’s just wild to me right now, still,” Williams said after the Paramount-televised main card bout. “I’m just kind of blown away.”

For those looking from outside, being thrown to the wolves – twice – like this may seem like too fast of a move for someone who’s just coming into her own as an MMA fighter. But Williams takes pride in the “two really big, hard” fights she’s been given so far.

This time, William will admit, the locker room jitters were a little more intense than in her debut. But, as she walked out at Winstar World Casino and Resort in Thackerville, Okla., the calmness kicked in. From then on, she started enjoying herself – with, apparently, a little help from her opponent’s gameplan.

“I was surprised that she didn’t try to grapple me a lot more than she did and she kind of decided to stand with me,” Williams said. “I was happy with that, and I was comfortable with it.”

Not that there wasn’t adversity. At the end, Williams said, some “complacency” on her end led to Ducote being able to land a good takedown. Not to mention early on, when her opponent threw some head-kicks that Williams definitely wasn’t expecting.

Ultimately, though, Williams thinks Ducote was “a great fight.” And her record, which now shows wins over a highly watched prospect and a former title challenger, probably agrees.

As far as continuing to build said record goes, Williams is keeping an open mind and her feet on the ground. Whenever Bellator decides, she said, she’ll be ready.

“I just want to keep fighting and getting better,” Williams said. “I think I have a lot of work to do, just getting more basics down and everything. But I want to go as far as I can.”

For more on Bellator 195, check out the MMA Events section of the site.