Russell readying for first MMA fight

Ross Martial Arts is preparing this summer to send another fighter inside the cage for MMA competition.

Ronda Russell, one of the owners of the Demopolis-based martial arts and fitness center, is set to step into the cage for the first time Aug. 23 in Meridian when she competes for Strikehard Productions.

For Russell – who possesses a varied martial arts background and has made a name for herself locally for helping dozens of local people reach their fitness goals – the door to that cage appeared to be closing faster than she’d realized.

“I thought about it back before I got pregnant with Dylan, but I really didn’t have the grappling experience that I do now. Then after having him I really just felt like after getting in shape and focusing on my health and fitness, specifically with Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, obviously we lacked grappling here. We thought we knew what we were doing with the grappling, but we felt like Brazilian Jiu Jitsu was the one that we needed to meet to make a full circle from striking to the ground and back up again. My focus was on Jiu Jitsu,” Russell said of her previous flirtations with engaging in mixed martial arts competition. “I started to get approached again for fighting. MMA was getting more popular. They were starting to get weight classes in women’s divisions. They didn’t have that for a long time.”

However, as she looked over a life that was filled with a husband, two children, a growing business and a host of battle scars, the lure of that cage appeared to be more of a fading fantasy than a viable option.

“I felt like I was kind of too old. I was in my 30s and I’d had knee surgeries and two kids,” Russell said. “The only people looking like they were fighting were these 22-year-olds looking like I used to when I was 22 years old.”

Still, the cage and the competition that it might contain continued to be alluring for Russell, whose opportunities to fight remained constant as she helped to train other MMA fighters such as Daniel Alexander alongside her husband and business partner Jay Russell.

“I’ve been approached a lot more lately,” Ronda said. “I’m 34 now and Jay said something along the lines of I could either keep saying I’m just too old or I could go ahead and do it before I get too old. That made sense to me.”

The lack of trained female fighters – especially those near the 115-pound weight class in which Ronda will be fighting – has helped to put her acquired skillset at a premium for promotions such as Strikehard.

“There’s not a whole lot of trained girls near my weight class. They’re always looking for people. They found me a fight (back in January) and wanted to know if I’d take it and I did but the girl backed out,” Russell said of previous attempts at MMA. “They want to put on a performance. They don’t want a bad show. They want people to look good. That makes sense from a production standpoint. The better the fights look, the more people are excited about watching them.”

The performance promises to be a compelling one as Russell will for one evening lay aside all of the concerns of motherhood, matrimony and administrative responsibility to step into that long-enticing cage and focus on another MMA as she faces off with Kayla Stricker. In 20-year-old Stricker, Russell will face an opponent with a decorated athletic background that includes martial arts, cross country and powerlifting.

“I know that she is a Taekwondo black belt. She has trained in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. I’m not 100 percent sure about her rank,” Russell said of the Hattiesburg, Miss. native. “I know that she was listed as Athlete of the Year her senior year in high school. She is a marathon runner.”

While Russell was welcoming her second son, Dylan, into the world in 2009, Stricker was 15 years old and earning Female Athlete of the Year honors as a runner and power lifter at the State Games of Mississippi AT&T

Stricker would go on to continue her sprinting career at William Carey University in Hattiesburg.

But, as divergent as their backgrounds may be, Russell and Stricker will see their paths converge inside that cage in Meridian, Miss. on Aug. 23.