Twenty-four-year-old Australian born “Rowdy” Bec Hyatt (4-2) will make her Invicta FC return on Friday when she faces Austria’s Jasminka Cive (5-0) in a strawweight match-up on the Invicta FC 5 main card being held at Ameristar Casino Hotel in Kansas City.
Although she fights in the 115-pound weight class, Hyatt has the personality of a giant. Her unique look and aggressive fighting style has made a very big impression in a relatively short amount of time. Yes, women’s MMA is big enough for two “Rowdy’s” and we caught up with the Aussie this week to talk about the bad blood between her and her opponent, what fans can expect from her on Friday, Fallon Fox and much more.
Recently you earned the WMMA fan favorite award. If you were a member of the voting panel what reasons would you choose Bec Hyatt for the recognition?
The voting panel were the fans themselves and I was very honoured and surprised to be awarded the 2012 WMMA Fan Favorite. It was even more surreal because I was voted ahead of Ronda Rousey! Look, it’s no secret that I focus heavily on the promotional side of MMA and that I try to interact with my supporters as much as possible throughout social media and forums, but that’s only because I already understand this game better than most. MMA is sports entertainment and if you don’t make people care about you as a fighter, how can you expect anyone else to? As for reasons, well I’m an entertainer at heart and I appeal to a lot of different demographics, being that I’m a mother, a fighter, a gamer, a tattoo enthusiast and formerly overweight. I have one of the greatest support bases any fighter could ever ask for and I’m not naive to the fact that without my supporters, I wouldn’t be where I am today.
Do you consider yourself the face of WMMA?
I’m certainty nowhere close to being the face of WMMA! Ronda Rousey holds that claim followed by countless other fighters who have spilled a whole hell of a lot more sweat and blood than I have. There’s no doubting that my popularity has risen quickly & that it’s still rising at a crazy rate but I don’t believe I’m the face of WMMA under any circumstances. Would I love to be some day? Of course, but my main priorities are to continue learning, gaining experience and proving all the naysayers and critics wrong.
You seem to have a lot of fun with the sport as well. How does that benefit your training for a fight?
What’s the point of living life if you’re not having fun? A fight is a fight and regardless of your approach, as long as you’re mentally and physically ready with a hint of self-belief, you’re in the ball game and that’s all that matters. Having fun with this sport is what makes it so appealing to me and I’ll never make any apologies for my antics or my approach to fighting as I’m having the time of my life with it all. MMA is what you make it!
You and your next opponent (Jasminka Cive) have been doing some social media sparring. Who started the beef and will the war of words end after the fight?
Neither of us started it actually. My opponent’s fiancé did after repeatedly abusing me on my fan page for the past six months, well before this fight was even signed. To begin with, I was more than happy to let this match up happen with no pre-fight drama, but once I actually put two and two together and realized this muppet attacking me was my opponent’s fiancé, that was the green light I needed. I’m untalented, a disgrace to MMA, nothing but a Facebook fighter, a poser, a steroid abuser and a junkie apparently. My opponent claims she never knew of any of this, yet she liked every single comment made and as this is the case, she best hope her hand gets raised Friday night when it’s all said and done. As for after the fight, if I somehow slip on a banana peel and lose, I’ll show my respect, but that’s not going to happen and my opponent and her team will be shown no respect as they absolutely deserve none.
What is the one comment from her that has gotten under your skin?
No singular comment has really got under my skin per say, but I do get the feeling she thinks that I’m scared of her or that I should be? This isn’t Austria anymore and she is in for a rude awakening come April 5th because for the first time in her MMA career, she’s actually going to fight someone who can fight back and knows their asshole from their elbow.
Any words you’d like to share with her in this interview?
My only advice at this late stage of preparations would be to soak in all the media attention you’ve gained as a result of fighting me. Come April 5th, the only thing you’re going to be remembered for in MMA is the beat down I lay on you in Kansas City, USA!
Is social media addictive?
I guess it would depend on who you ask? For me, social media is a very important tool in today’s society, a tool that’s helped my career in more ways than I can care to list and I think that more and more fighters should start embracing it. If you’re one of those fighters who believes that once you sign a fight contract, that your only job now is to train and fight, good luck ever making any waves in this sport. News flash; promoters more often than not care about how marketable you are and how many tickets you sell, that’s the reality.
What are thoughts on people who report on MMA but don’t actually train in the sport?
In my opinion, if a reporter is critical of a fighter but has never themselves stepped foot on the mat or inside a cage, I find that a bit rich, but I certainly don’t believe you have to train to be able to report on MMA generally. As I always say, anyone can be an MMA reporter nowadays and with so many “experts”, it’s becoming increasingly easier and easier for people like me to prove people wrong. In the end though, reports are more often than not just one person’s opinion and just because it’s said in the media, it doesn’t make it so.
Fallon Fox. Your thoughts?
This isn’t exactly an issue I’m overly interested in, but to be brutally honest, I think MMA has come too far for someone born a male to be able to fight females. I have no problem with her life choice, but that’s just my opinion from a fighting point of view. I’m sure Fallon is a lovely person and I’d have no problem with her fighting males, but nobody can tell me she doesn’t have a significant advantage over her female opponents no matter what type of operations she has gone through. Touchy subject I know, but that’s my opinion.
Any other thoughts or comments?
I’d just like to give a shout out to all my loyal supporters. Without you guys, I know I wouldn’t be where I am today. Thanks also to Impact MMA, Integrated MMA, Danny Galvan on the Gold Coast, my new major sponsor Americana MMA and my management company Alchemist. Please follow me on Twitter @RowdyBec and don’t forget to order IFC 5 on IPPV via www.invictafc.com!