Athlete of the Week Interview with Michelle Ould

Q: Can you start out talking about how you got into the sport?
A: I know a lot of girls that get into it, they always say they did this that and the other. Some girls were top athletes and some girls did it cause they were always getting into fights and stuff. I guess I fell somewhere in the middle. I guess I always liked fighting when I was younger. I remember my parents would throw these parties and have friends over from work and would be like "I will put my daughter up against any of your sons and guarantee she will beat the crap out of them". And they would all place money bets and stuff, and I always won. Usually they were always drunk to have that stupid an idea. But I thought it was always funny. I wouldn't get emotional about it or anything. It was always "woohoo I win". It was like getting an A or a sticker on a paper. It was just fun. I was just always competitive in every single sport and every single thing. It was my one getaway from my horrible home life growing up. In P.E. I always did the most pull ups and most push ups. I would beat all my little boyfriends, I had to win no matter what it was, soccer, gymnastics, everything. I would go home and practice cause my parents were too poor and too consumed in their own selves to ever take us to practices or be involved in sports. So I always kind of choreographed my own stuff at home. My parents weren't really supportive of any of the sports I wanted to be in. As I got older and there was less and less P.E. and all that other stuff, I started fighting alot in school cause girls would pick on me cause we were poor and lived in bad areas and stuff like that. And whenever you are the new girl and a minority at that you had to learn how to fight. You didn't have a choice unless you wanted to get beat up every day. I didn't even have to learn, I was automatically able to hold my own and eventually people stopped picking on me. Then Is tarted lifting weights and trying to stay in shape after I had my kids. My ex husband was a professional boxer and hes tarted training me a lot. I never competed cause I just wanted to take care of my kids. I eventually saw one of my friends get into amateur MMA and was like "You kidding me, I am way tougher than them". I went pro though, I wish I would have done amateur but I got tricked into going pro when I was in Idaho. I did a pro boxing match and they told me I could still do MMA amateur and they totally lied to me. I wanted to do amateur, I didn't care about boxing, I did it for fun. But MMA I really wanted to focus on and do amateur and then pro. I was automatically already pro so the rest is history.

Q: When you started training, was their one aspect you kind of picked up way faster than the other stuff?
A: My ex husband was a boxer and that's how I met him. I started out of high school just to stay out of trouble I started hanging out at boxing gyms. I picked that up real quick and he thought that was cool. So first we thought I was really good at stand-up, then I started doing jiu-jitsu and caught on with that really good, and now everybody thinks I am more of a wrestler cause I caught onto that really good. So I really don't know what my favorite is, I just like to be well-rounded. When I focused on one thing I forgot about everything else. So now I try to be equally good at everything. Wherever I go I want it to be sharp. So initially it was boxing but I can see something like a move and grasp it pretty quick..

Q: No secret you are attractive....
A: Thanks.

Q; Welcome, do you think in the beginning it made people take you less serious?
A: I don't know. Honestly, my ex boyfriend was really not into that side of it. He was like "no makeup, none of that. Portray yourself as basic. Any pictures, look the same way as when you work out". I think it was more jealousy and insecurity on his part. But the way he made it out to me was he never wanted me to be taken for granted for my looks. So as I got a little more comfortable people started asking to do photo shoots and stuff. That's something that's recently come around because before I would say no to that because I was against it. My ex, and he's a successful fighter, in the UFC now, and I trusted him, but come to find out he was trying to hold me back. But I don't try to over do it. Cuteness doesn't work in the cage. Yeah I get dressed up once in awhile, but sitting around the house I am a scrub. I think I am good looking because I do take care of myself in that aspect, but I wouldn't look at me twice because I usually have my hair up and am n between workouts. On the weekends it might be a different thing, but even then I am at the beach and swimming. I'm not constantly trying to look all hot and whatever unless its for a reason and I don't overly exploit myself. At the same time I do have the aspect to me. Since I have gone to Dan Henderson's I go there scrubbed out cause I am there to train, I don't wanna get my make-up over the guys stuff so I go in their plan. Then they request me on facebook and are like "Holy crap, you look like that" they don't even recognize who I am.

Q: You mentioned being at Dan Henderson's. How has that improved your game?
A: I like it there. There is more girls. They guys are bigger than at Urijah's, but there is a lot less B.S. down there. There's not a bunch of groupies hanging out at the gym all the time. A lot of people are older and its a family oriented. Almost every guy is married and their wife comes in with kids, and that's me, I have kids, I am family oriented as well. At Urijah's everybody is young and partying and traveling all the time and has a girlfriend or five of them in the gym every week and its a bunch of drama. I wanna go home and hang out with my kids. That's what most of the fighters do, its different and I like that. It helps me feel more comfortable. They train in the middle of the day, which is easier for me cause in the morning I take my kids to school and I could never make it to Urijah's pro practice. Here they spar almost every single day and it's awesome. And even Dan will come and grapple and spar with me. He doesn't care how famous he is, he is just.... he cares about all of us and is real friendly. He allows us to beat the crap out of each other, he doesn't baby anybody. I am extremely happy with my decision to come here.

Q: Let's go back to the Zoila Frausto fight. Leading up she made some obviously false and unprofessional statements. How offensive was it for her to do that?
A: Honestly, leading up to the fight she never said anything about me, the week before and weigh ins she was super nice, smiled in my face, all fake and phony, and I guess the whole time she was on twitter talking crap about me. The whole time she was smiling in my face and saying "hi" you know what I mean. Being so two faced. I had no clue, someone else brought it to my attention. I didn't say anything about her, didn't fall into that drama. I expected her to start talking about me and it never happened and then the day before she was saying that stuff. I was like "you kidding me". Now as more and more women are realizing what good of shape you need to be in to not look like a complete pantie waste in the cage, not get gassed, you have to be in good shape. A lot of women are coming up that are in really good shape, way better shape than me. They have way better abs then me. I don't see her calling them out being on steroids. Its because now you are realizing you need to be in shape and all our body types are different. My legs can really cut up, but there are girls who have better abs than me but I feel I am in better shape then them, but you can't tell, but I don't say they are steroids. It's what she does. There are a lot of girls like that, and that's what she does. I'm not confrontational. I never start it, but if a girl says somethign about me, like the little trifecta, her, Miesha and Nicadli, they sit around and talk, and I don't care what any of you do, but if my name comes out of your mouth I am gonna say something. Other than that I don't care cause you are just getting my more followers on twitter. Especially Nicadli, she called me "thunder c-u-n't" like that's really mature. You never said anything to my face. It's just cause she is good friends with Zoila now. I tried to fight her two years ago and she backed out. Now she's saying she is going down in weight but still looks like crap. Just don't talk so much. Just train and go do cardio and things like that, then you won't be so chubby and won't have to be jealous of girls and accuse them of being on steroids. Bunch of crap, bunch of catty girls like a high school clique.

Q: When she talks before a fight like that, does it make it hard to stick to a game plan instead of just trying to go beat her up?
A: No. I had a few people tell me she was doing that to get into my head. But personally I was just flattered cause I'm not guilty of anything. If they wanna do a drug test let's do a drug test. obviously you are jealous of my body cause you are still flabby no matter how skinny you get. So keep on talking I guess. Doesn't matter to me. I'm not trying to make friends. I have a ton of good girl friends in this sport, and good guy friends. Most people who hang out with me like me. It's not to be a name dropper. If I am your friend I am loyal. I don't need to make fake friends. A lot of these girls that go around and talk crap and then fight and are BFF's after. They say some hateful shit about each other. I am not gonna be your friend after that. It's not how it works. I will fight someone I respect and not make up lies to get in their head. No matter what you say, if they are a better athlete and fighter they are gonna beat you. If anything, it makes you look worse. To me, that's asking for a beat down. I will never lie about another girl and don't like when they say it about me, but it just motivates me more.

Q: Reality is with that fight, it ended due to an injury, not because she actually stopped you. But she did a lot of bragging about stopping you and didn't even mention the injury. Did that bother you?
A: That's what she does. She is a lair like some other girls who are delusional. Her camp actually is cool with me now. They split with her. They supported her for a second, but after that fight and the way she acted, they hit me up on facebook and apologized and said I was doing awesome and was beating her and was unfortunate the way she handled it after. She was confused when the ref stopped because my ankle, I was grabbing it and Tonya (Evinger) was like "get up get up" and I was like "I can't" and I was gonna ride it out and hope they stood us up and clinch again. I would hop on one foot. When they stopped it she was confused, she didn't know, it wasn't a TKO. Everybody was confused, they looked at my foot and it was immediately swelling up and they had to put a brace on it. It was a half-assed celebration for her cause she still wasn't sure if it was a win or not. But technically when a fight is stopped due to injury its an automatic TKO. They she made up this story that she TKO'd me, and that never happened. She didn't know what happened. My corner came in and looked at my ankle and were like "she can't go on", then they stopped it. She wasn't whipping my butt. She made that up, she is a freaking liar, she is delusional. She also thinks she beat Jessica Aguilar. So to me she is obviously crazy and so egotistical with no respect for the sport. When Josh Thomson got his butt kicked but got the win he said "I have no idea how I won that fight". That right there gained him so much more respect from the fan that yes it was a judges boo boo or whatever, but people didn't hate on him any more after that. She's just a douche bag and her day will come. I wish I was the one to give it to her and I did for the first round. I felt like I jinxed myself. We were doing an interview and they asked if there was any way I saw myself losing and I said "Only if I lose it to myself" and then I break my foot on her knee. I feel I jinxed myself. I regret saying that. I wasn't upset with the loss cause I felt so bad my foot hurt so bad and it was horrible. Then I heard she was saying she TKO'd me. Were you not in the same cage as me? She just makes up stories and lied more on her blog saying I was making an excuse. Are you kidding me? It was a three and a half hour surgery. She is just a hateful person and makes stuff up. Karma is a bitch and eventually she is gonna get hers.

Q: Moving past Zoila, recently there has been issues with Miesha Tate. What led to that?
A: Someone spun off a lot of drama between Miesha and Tonya and we ignored it. Tonya never liked Miesha, doesn't mean I am gonna dislike someone, I never had a problem with Miesha. I had promoters contact me to talk to Tonya. I spoke on Tonya's behalf cause Tonya just doesn't like to. We had people try and get Miesha to Fight Tonya for the SCF title that she had and she defended against Valerie Coolbaugh instead, who weighed 120 pounds, which we thought was lame because everybody tried to get her to fight Tonya and she wouldn't. People felt Miesha picked and choosed who she fought. Then another promoter tried to get Miehsa and Tonya matched up and the promoter told me Miehsa said "Why don't you just take Tonya off the card and have me fight and we'll pick who I fight". Are you kidding me? That's so disrespectful. Then a third promoter contacted me about getting Tonya to sign with them, but another promoter also wanted her. They offered more money and they thought Miesha only had one Strikeforce fight left, and would convince Miesha to sign with them and pay her more money to fight Tonya and build it up. They asked Tonya to fight her in two weeks, not for good money, but on t.v., though they weren't gonna build it up. It was an under card. These promoters said "No, hold out we'll pay more money". So we said we will go with them and said "we really want the fight with Miesha but want it to be a big deal, people to have notice". I even thought Miesha should have got more money cause before she did that tournament I heard she wasn't making much and wasn't happy about it and I agreed. So that's three different promoters who told me that Miesha, ever since she lost to Kaufman has been very very picky about who she fights. She has fought a lot of smaller girls and girls with losing records. Part of me wants to say "I don't blame her. Who wants to get knocked out". But at the same time don't brag that you're so great because you haven't fought anyone in the 135 pound division that's tough and beat them lately. Shannon was fine, she won't fight Shannon, she won't fight Alexis, Sarah Kaufman would beat her again, the fight with Marloes she backed out. Whether it was an injury or not I don't know, I'm not Miesha, but if I wanna talk crap I sure can say "You kind of have a history of it". So we wanted the fight for the promotion offering more money that would make it a huge deal. So I told the other promotion "why don't you try Alexis Davis or Julie Kedzie". Alexis told me "thanks so much I have been trying to fight Miesha but she wont fight me" and Julie said the same thing. They went back to Miesha and came back to me and said "Now Miehsa has a shoulder injury". I was like "really.... I thought she was doing a seminar today in San Francisco". It was a bunch of crap, she doesn't want to fight anybody to tough. When the opportunity arises..... I see a pattern, and I called her on it. She talked crap about Tonya and I was like "Don't open your mouth cause your stories are full of holes. Don't talk about Tonya till you beat the girls she fights". Tonya will fight anybody. She took that fight with Alexis on a weeks notice and was whupping her but but gassed out. You can't get your cardio up n that amount of time and Alexis is tough. She is just really picky about who she fights. Her last five fights are against smaller girls. Whether she thinks that's a factor or not, there is a reason there is weight classes. Just because you weighed in the same, that girl probably didn't cut weight, but you did and put on ten or fifteen pounds overnight and you will be bigger. These girls just took the opportunity because someone persuaded them to, and it wasn't a good idea. She is really good at manipulating the system, that's for damn sure. But there are a lot of girls who agree with me and they know, so many girls have tried to fight her and she wont fight. There are going to be wins and going to be losses. Fight the tough fight, don't just try and be number one contender forever. How long you gonna drag that out? You cant keep backing out from fighting Marloes and keep telling everyone you are number one contender forever cause they are gonna eventually take that from you. You have to fight, whether she's tough or not, whether it hurts or not, whether you lose or not. You have to fight. If you are gonna call yourself a bad ass and a fighter, you have to fight. So she said something on twitter and somebody brought it to my attention. She told Zoila "Next time you fight Michelle I hope you beat her up" or something like that. Somebody let me know cause I don't go on anyone else's twitter. I told Miesha "Oh really? Why don't you just fight me then cause I am a 125 pounder and you seem to like 125 pounders". And then everybody was talking about it and she kept ignoring it. Somebody called her out and said "We say you never responded to Michelle" and so now she is making a fuss about it saying "I am on a five fight winning streak" and I'm like "who cares you fight girls who are all smaller than you, I would beat the crap out of 115 pounders to except maybe Megumi Fuji". That's nothing to me, I don't care. So now she is talking "facts" So I know some facts to. You dodge fights, Marloes knows you dodge fights. So don't even talk. That's what started that whole thing.

Q: Ok lets, talk about you. Any idea when you are fighting next?
A: Here in Riverside on July 9th. Just waiting for a contract but we verbally agreed. Just a local promotion. They saw on facebook I was trying to get back into it and sent me an email with a good financial offer and I said sure. He find me an opponent and I didn't know who she was. She was 3-2 but I'm not sure cause I heard she fought and lost last week which is a bummer for me. Hopefully she won't back out, but if she does we can find someone else. Then hopefully in New Mexico for Evolution, an all girls card, and then September hopeful back in Boise. I am trying to fight once a month, I don't care. Now that my surgeries are done I am trying to fight as much as I can.

Q: With an injury like that, some people in the back of their mind worry about it happening again. Is that an issue for you?
A: Yeah cause I throw that kick. If I cut the angle just right I can get it without clipping the knee and hit the back of the leg, but if I don't get the angle so well I hit the knee and even body kicks that sometimes hit the elbow. I try and put a little brace on it but I don't baby it too much. I'll probably do it again but hopefully I will wear those braces and won't happen any more.

Q: If a promoter came to you and said 'You can have any fight you want" who would you pick?
A: Ooohhh. A toss-up between Miesha and Zoila.

Q: So perfect world, you pick one, beat them, then fight the other?
A: Exactly. And I wouldn't mind fighting Nicdali either. I would like to fight her because I didn't know she was so rude, but she's Miehsa's best friend and sucks on Zoila's nuts now to. So she was saying derogatory things about me to. I was like 'Really? You just got taken down by Felice Herrig like three times. Felice Herrig!! She's not a takedown artist. You are supposed to be training with Miesha "Takedown" Tate and didn't take Felice down one time and you looked like a turd ball". Don't talk about me. I didn't say nothing to or about you and you backed out. Her manager said I was too tough for her. She's had more fights than me, and who cares you have to fight tough people not just 12 year old girls from middle school just so you look good. There are tough girls out there. Besides you take those fights against girls who are 1-6 and they beat you, that makes it even worse. There is no guarantee, fight the tough fight and people will respect you. I didn't even care who won between her and Felice because I avhe no loyalty to either of them, but I though Felice looked good and was dominating and taking her down. Come to find out Nicdali has been calling me names and things. So busy talking and that's why you don't look good in your fights.

Q: Our sports are different. Mine is bodybuilding, yours is MMA. But still I have said you are a big inspiration to me. When someone says that about you, how important is that to you.
Q: I am very flattered. I feel like I still have a lot to learn. You are an inspiration to me. Me and Kaitlin (Young) we talk about you, and also Jessica Eye, there are so many girls who respect what you do and the struggles you go through and the work you put into the sport you love. Then you come and build us up and help us out, that's really awesome. If I can inspire one person that's awesome to me. I don't wanna be the poster girl, the most popular and famous. I have enough pressure raising my children. I wanna do whats right for them everyday and you can't always be a people pleaser and make people like you all the time. I want to have a clean slate every time I go to bed and wake up. The things I say they might not be the friendliest, but I try to be honest. When I am in the gym I work my butt off and I don't always choose the right partners to go with, I get guys who beat the crap out of me. But I don't try to make myself look good, I try to make myself better. Sometimes an ass kicking is what makes you better, sometimes things that hurt make you better. I have had a hard life up until now, I am in control and have a good head on my shoulders. I have a balance and my kids are not babies so I have time to focus on what I love, MMA, working out and back in school. I have a good rasp on things. I love nothing more than to give back to people who grew up like I did, and never had an outlet and give them some sort of hope. There are a lot of athletes who were the star wrestler and this and that and always had it good and don't know what its like to struggle and ask for favors and have nowhere to live, like for example Zoila Frausto haha. I have always been the underdog, taking last minute fights. I want to overcome that and come out on top. Believe in yourself and who cares what anyone thinks. Jason, you are the perfect example of that.

Q: Thank you. I really appreciate that. The Zuffa purchase of strikeforce, good or bad for women's MMA?
A: Ya know they haven't been putting many girl fights on the cards. I don't know. There are so many good people who do want to put them on there, but in the end the last person to make the decision ends up being a jerk off. It seems we are headed in the right direction. There are enough girls and attention on the women that we aren't gonna regress. Hopefully by the time I turn 40. There are a lot of injustices in the world. We live in a sexist world and that's how it is. When we are in our own world we can make the decisions, but its not that way, never has been. Hopefully it will be eventually. Get in where you fit in and be grateful for what you can do. I wish they put more televised girl fights on. They have the excuses that there aren't enough girls, but there is enough to put one good match on every major card. But they make it seem there is hope. Give it a good six months and see where we are.

Q: Anyone you want to thank or mention?
A: I just recently signed with Grudge Sports Management and am excited about that. Ricky Vazquez is now my manager and he is a good guy. Love my gym, Danny Henderson is the man, Team Quest all the way. Clinch Gear, Pacific Outlaw Industries, Kip Hummell does everything for me, and they are a brand I would like to promote. Dynamic Fitness, they are amazing here in California. They are so scientifically one step ahead of the game. They get these guys in shape from the ground up. My kids are awesome. That's about it.