Sarah Goodlaxson Interview

Sarah Goodlaxson was one of the first fighters I interviewed. First time I talked with her I was impressed with her. Great personality and a genuinely nice person. Then I found out how talented a fighter she is. Sarah has the determination and work ethic to match her skill level and is bound to go far in this sport. After not fighting for a short while she is prepared to get back into it and will no doubt produce exciting fights as her start continues to rise. I am happy to present my second interview with Sarah.





Q: First Sarah, thanks for taking time to do another interview.
A: Thank you so much for providing me the opportunity! It’s been a while, so I’m very excited!

Q: For those who may not be familiar can you tell a little about yourself.
A: I am an amateur MMA fighter, currently 2-2! I fight at 105lbs.

Q: So I understand you are getting back into the cage. Do you know when and against who?
A: This weekend (December 4th) I am scheduled to have a kickboxing fight but I haven’t heard of an opponent confirmation so I’m just crossing my fingers and praying there is someone for me! The day after that I will be competing in a grappling tournament so I know there will be competition there- although they will definitely all be bigger than me! Haha (Note: The kickboxing did not happen, however Sarah did very very well in the grappling tournament)
I am currently waiting on an opponent confirmation for December 18th but it’s looking like it’s not going to happen. My first opponent I was suppose to have said they didn’t want the match-up and the second just isn’t answering… so I’m not holding my breath! Haha
HOWEVER… I WILL be fighting on January 22nd vs Jessica Philippus!!! It will be in Quincy, Illinois for Extreme Challenge. We are Co-Main event and the fight is for a title! This fight is a for sure thing haha! Jessica and I have been trying to fight each other for a very long time, it just hasn’t worked out until now! I am SO excited about it! She is a very deserving and tough opponent and has been working very hard lately! She’s come so far since I first saw her fight earlier this year at G-fight so I’m very happy and of course will be training my butt off for it! haha


Q: You haven't fought in a little while. Any reason? Why have you decided to get back in at this time?
A: My last fight was in March of this year. After that fight I had several backouts. I actually had a fight scheduled in May, had my hands wrapped and everything when I got the news that my opponent decided not to show up. Talk about disappointing! A few months later, a lot of things in my life changed. I switched gyms twice and ended up moving to Michigan. I had planned on fighting in April Penrod’s 105lb women’s tournament that took place October 30th but was diagnosed with Bell’s Palsy a couple weeks before. Bell’s Palsy is a temporary paralysis of one side of your face due to inflammation of the 7th cranial nerve. The specific cause is unknown and treatment includes taking medication and trying to wait patiently while your body heals itself! I have recovered quicker than most and am so thankful for that! Many people don’t get all their movement back but I seem to be one of the lucky ones.
Now, I am 100% healed, have a good camp, and have been training hard. I am VERY excited to fight again. It’s been hard not fighting for so long- you miss everything about it!

Q: I know you have been going to school. What have you been studying and why did you choose that?
A: I have been accepted to Eastern Michigan University where I plan to study Exercise Science. It takes a year to establish residency in Michigan so I am still taking online classes from my old college back home. I’m studying courses in Science as that is a good base for my degree. I chose Exercise Science because I love everything about it. I want to be able to help people achieve their fitness goals, feel good about themselves, and help prepare athletes so they can be in top shape for competition!

Q: Besides school, whats been going on in your life since your last interview?
A: Well like I said, I moved to Michigan so that’s been the biggest change! After I left my first gym I trained at Miletich for a few months and absolutely LOVED it there. Pat is a great trainer and everyone there was extremely nice to me and took time to help me learn. Pat isn’t like a lot of trainers where he isn’t there a lot- he was there all the time and helped me a lot. Unfortunately, training doesn’t pay the bills so I guess you could say I was hit with a huge dose of reality. I wasn’t going to school at the time and I couldn’t find a job there so I decided it was time to grow up a little bit and take responsibility for my future. Being accepted into Eastern Michigan University was a great start for me and now I’m currently working full-time as a nanny! I love living here, I have great new friends, and an all-around great new life!

Q: Where have you been training at these days?
A: I’m training with Dom O’Grady and his team. MMA isn’t huge here in Michigan yet but you would actually be surprised at the diverse training I have found! I’ve also started training in Judo and Boxing- something I didn’t have access to when I lived in Illinois.


Q: Since your last fight, is there one aspect you feel you have improved on the most?
A: I have definitely been working hard on becoming comfortable on the ground. It’s easy to tell if you look at my two losses that the ground game wasn’t my strongest point. At my first gym, classes were set up so that we did an hour of conditioning, an hour of stand up, and then an hour of grappling- that was every night 5 days a week. By the time you got to grappling you were already exhausted so that part of my training always got less attention than the others.
Once I switched to Miletich their classes were set up much better. There was a separate time for conditioning, and different days for stand up and bjj. I started doing gi (thanks to the pushing of some good friends here in the world of women’s mma) and fell in love with it. After gi was no-gi so you could definitely say I actually spent a good amount of time rolling for once! That’s when I really started putting things together on the ground. I don’t want to be a one-dimensional fighter so I have been working very hard since then!

Q: Any idea on how active you would like to be in MMA. For example how many fights you would like to have in the next year?
A: Well I would definitely like to be able to fight more than I was able to this year! I’ll be thankful for any opportunities I’m able to take!

Q: Have there been any fighters you have watched lately who have impressed you at all?
A: Yes! Very recently I’ve been very impressed with Jessica Pene and Julia Budd. Jessica Pene recently made her 105lb debut and she is a huge asset to the weight-class! I was excited to see Julia Budd make her MMA debut as she is very skilled! She is exactly what women’s MMA needs- women who take this sport and their training seriously!

Q: Where did the piranha nickname come from?
A: The nickname came from me always attacking and coming forward in training. I’ve obviously been the smallest person in my gym(s) but I don’t give up. I was given the nickname and I guess it just stuck!


Q: You are obviously a very attractive woman. Do you think that in any way makes people not take you serious as a fighter?
A: Well thank you, first off! But, to be honest with you, there are many attractive women who fight and who are very serious and talented and they have been very successful. So, in general- I would say that if you are considered attractive then it has nothing to do with how serious people take you.

Q: What do you think is the biggest misconception about women fighters?
A: I think the consensus is still that women don’t deserve to be in the cage and that we aren’t as skilled as the men. I can tell you that I totally disagree. However, it is a fact that our talent pools aren’t as deep as the men- our sport is still developing! With time, there will be more women fighters and more and better competition! Just a couple months ago the Strawweight division was added to the women’s rankings… so that tells you just how “new” our sport still is. We have a lot of work ahead of us still but with the talent we have now, and the new talent that will be coming up- we can do it :-)

Q: When you have free time, any hobbies or activities you enjoy?
A: Well, I’m either working or training… when I get home at night I’m probably hanging out with my boyfriend, watching TV, EATING, or hanging out with friends! On the weekends, I’m either training for fun (haha) or visiting friends

Q: What is your current training schedule like?
A: Monday is Kickboxing and Judo. Tuesday is GI. Wednesday is MMA sparring. Thursday is No-Gi. Friday is kind of an open day. We train Saturday morning- mostly sparring and working on areas we need extra time on. Sometimes on Sundays we get together with new training partners to roll and things like that. I do my lifting, running, and conditioning on my own and work with my boxing coach before or after training during the week. I love it!

Q: What is your favorite and least favorite part of training?
A: During conditioning I HATE mountain climbers! Haha! But, I love everything about training… obviously some things are harder for me than others. Since Judo is so new I guess that’s the hardest thing right now!

Q: Do you prefer fighting early on a card or later on the card
A: Well, later if the card gets off to a good start! I recently went to an event that didn’t get done until after midnight. That would be awful if you were one of the last fights! You’d be waiting for hours! On the other hand, I guess it would be nice to just get the nerves over with! Haha

Q: Finish this sentence. In five years I will be____
A: Graduated from college and fighting professionally!

Q: Any sponsors or anyone else you want to take this time to plug, promote, or thank?
A: YES! A double thank you to my sponsors who have stuck with me through my period of absence! It’s been a really hard time but they have been very patient! Tussle Fight Gear, Fight Chix, Catfight Gear, AdapTX Labs, Vegas Chompers Mouthguards, and Rudog Nutrition.


Q: Are you looking for sponsors? If so, how can they reach you and what are they getting in Sarah Goodlaxson?
A: Help is always appreciated but I am not actively looking for sponsors at this moment. I feel like I should fight and show the MMA community all my hard work before I ask for or accept any sponsorships! Watch for my fight results from January 22nd! No one will be disappointed! :-)

Q: Sarah, thanks again for doing this. Any last words before you go?
A: I want to thank you, Jason for having me do this! With some good vibes sent my way, I won’t be having another extended stay away from fighting so you’ll be seeing a lot more of me :-)