The Hawaii fights were something to talk about tonight with Mia St. John’s debut against Rhonda Gallegoes following the World Title Match of “Sugar” Shane Nelson and Kaleo Kwan. The crowd was wound up and ready, especially after the men of Island Hustlaz took off their shirts and started throwing hats and tank tops into the audience. The bout wasn’t more than 45 seconds. St. John took the first kick and both women went right into some boxing. Gallegoes got a few punches in, forcing St. John to step back and gather herself. Once she did, she went right back in, taking Gallegoes down with a swift powerful right hook ending the match.
KS: So What did you do to prepare for this fight?
St. John: My trainer, Mark Carrett, and I did a lot of ground training. I told him that my strategy was that I want to stay standing cause that’s what I’m used to. But he told me that if I ended up on the ground I needed to know what to do. So we spent a lot of time working on that. I mean it’s a tough sport and I really admire all of these other fighters cause they work hard.
KS: For sure. Can you take me through the fight, I know it was short but what was going on through your head?
St. John: I was afraid that because of her lack of experience, even though she came from boxing too, I just thought she might be too wild and street-like and I hate that. I hate girls like that because they just start winging and you don’t know what direction it’s coming from. But luckily she didn’t come out that way and she looked to me like she was still in her boxing game, which I thought, oh that’s good. So I started using my kicks a little and when I was comfortable with that then I started the punching. I definitely felt good knowing that she was ready to box and that I felt like I had an advantage there.
KS: Wasn’t that a straight right you got her with?
St. John: Yes, and that’s my best punch in boxing. I was worried that because the gloves are so small I was going to break my hand but I didn’t.
KS : How do you feel about your first MMA experience?
St John: It was exciting. My first boxing match was 54 seconds in the first round. And again, I was kind of bummed cause I wanted it to go longer just cause I was getting the hang of it and starting to have fun. You know we spar a lot but it’s very different when you have the crowd and the cameras and the lights. Your adrenaline is going and I wanted a little more time to feel that out. But I’ll take a knock out any day.
KS : Because you feel so comfortable in boxing, how do you feel about a match where there might be more grappling?
St. John : Yeah, I will need to train more and feel more comfortable but you know, no matter how good I get on the ground, my strategy will always be to stay on my feet. With 23 years of Tae Kwon Do and 12 years of boxing, I need to stay on my feet.
KS: So what is the rest of the year looking like for you?
St John: I’m going to keep training and I’m going to fight again. I have a boxing fight in April and then I will retire from boxing but I’ll keep going in MMA.
KS: What can you say to some of the fighter girls out there that might be new to the sport?
St. John: Train really, really hard. I feel like all combat sports are so brutal and so tough. Just protect yourself at all times. That is my number one thing. I pray while I’m in the dressing room that all the fighters go home safely to their families. I never want to see someone really hurt, it’s not worth it, we’re supposed to be having fun and it is about winning, but ultimately it’s a sport.
KS: I’ve read that you talk about how you are innately either a fighter or your not.
St. John: Yeah, when I step into that ring and the fight starts, a switch goes on and I just pound away. After it’s done I want the other person to be okay but during it’s just something that goes on automatically and if it doesn’t come on when you’re in the ring you’re S.O.L.
KS: That was great, thank you so much for your time and I’m wishing you many more knockouts. Have a great stay in Hawaii.
St. John: Cool, thank you so much