Athletes
Shanna Young’s Work-Life Balance
Flyweight Shanna Young Faces Miranda Maverick At UFC Fight Night: Rodriguez vs Lemos
Being a professional mixed martial artist is a very stressful job.
Fighters train day and night, pushing their bodies to its limits, all to then fight another person whose goal is to cause you as much physical harm as they can. This ongoing process can be overwhelming at times and warrant a temporary escape to help free your mind and body from the consequences of the job.
Cruising the streets of Las Vegas in her motorcycle, UFC flyweight Shanna Young hits the road as a form of therapy, to achieve bliss in times of distress.
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“It’s my mental break,” Young said. “I keep saying that my second career will be racing Harleys or something crazy like that. I love to just get away; it’s my little mental solitude.”
“It’s a stressful life we live. The ups and downs of the fight life and then immediately it’s over and then you’re back training and getting ready for the next one.”
Whenever she’s not in the cage, Young is trying something new and exciting. Competing in amateur fights a decade ago, the extrinsic value wasn’t matching the love she had for the sport, so she continued her journey to the UFC while teaching herself important life skills that she couldn’t afford to have others do for her.
“I grew up with my dad messing with stuff in the garage, and I’ve always been this big Tomboy,” Young said. “I love to work on stuff. Being a fighter, you don’t really have a lot of money coming up, so for years and years I’ve been super poor because I’m chasing this crazy passion, crazy dream, and a lot of times you learn how to do things on your own instead of having to go pay somebody to do it.”
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“I’ve always done a little bit of something else,” Young said. “After every fight I will go out and do something crazy just for fun. After my first fight I went to truck driving school and got my truck driving license. I want to learn how to weld, so maybe that’s something for the future. I’d love to be a Harley mechanic, but that takes a lot of time and would probably take a lot away from training.”
And for right now, training is at the forefront of Young’s agenda, with an upcoming bout against Miranda Maverick at UFC Fight Night: Rodriguez vs Lemos just a few days away. The bout was originally scheduled in August, but weight cutting issues forced a postponement that brings the two flyweights to the UFC APEX this Saturday.
Shanna Young Earns Comeback TKO In Round 2 | UFC Fight Night: Font vs Vera
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Shanna Young Earns Comeback TKO In Round 2 | UFC Fight Night: Font vs Vera
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“I’m ready to go this time,” Young said. “The camp was odd; we were struggling with my weight the entire time. I was working with the PI and just couldn’t really get my body to respond, I think there was some weird hormonal stuff going on. This time it felt a lot more normal.
“More of the same,” Young said of having two consecutive training camps for Maverick. “It’s been crazy, I feel like I’ve been getting ready for this one opponent for six months and I really have. It’s been long, drawn out, a lot of the same stuff. I mean, we added a little bit here and there but, for the most part, I’m ready for this to be over so I can focus on somebody else.”
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Not only did Young battle through two training camps for Maverick, but this is also the second time she’ll be competing against the highly touted prospect. Meeting in 2019, Maverick won in impressive fashion; a first round submission via rear naked choke.
“I fought [Miranda] before so there’s always that looming idea in the back of your head how it went last time, what you’re going to do different this time,” Young said. “It’s definitely a confidence booster getting that win the last time and I’m ready to go out there and [put on a show].”
When asked how fans can expect the fight to play out, there was no detailed description, no hints on where the fight may go, just an undeniable confidence that she’ll leave the Octagon with her hand raised.
UFC Fight Night: Rodriguez vs Lemos took place live from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada on November 5, 2022. See the Final Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!
