INTERVIEW WITH NAAFS NATIONAL AMATURE SERIES MATCHMAKER NICHOLE LONG

KIA MMA – What task do you perform for NAAFS?

Nichole – I am the amateur series and female amateur series matchmaker.

KIA MMA – How long have you been with NAAFS?

Nichole – I’ve been with NAAFS since 2008 and was with another promotion in 2005.

KIA MMA – What made you get involved with the fight game?

Nichole – When I was a little girl I watched boxing with my family. It was an easy transition. I started as a ring girl and then kept picking up the slack, doing little odds and ends here and there for other people. Then I got a chance to help run a show and we ended up getting an award for the “best fight of the year”.

KIA MMA – What to you is the most exciting thing about MMA?

Nichole – The fact that you never know what’s going to happen in a fight. It’s fun to watch the faces of the crowd. You can get two 135lb guys, one all muscle and the other scrawny looking, and the scrawny kid comes out and pulls off the upset.

KIA MMA – What advice can you give to new fighters?

Nichole – Take your time and fight for a good promoter. Don’t just jump into any fight. Do your research on the promoter. Don’t just train in the garage by yourself. Train in a gym with someone that has knowledge of the game.

KIA MMA – Do you have a favorite local fighter?

Nichole – I don’t have a favorite fighter, I have a favorite type of fighter. Fighters that show up and come out and do what they say they’re going to do. They make weight and put on a show that pleases the crowd and it’s someone that I’d want to call for another fight.

KIA MMA – What can we expect to see in the future of NAAFS?

Nichole – We will be on Fox News this Thursday. We have the first female fight series in Ohio as well as the first female amateur champion in Ohio. We have coming up September 18th at the Akron Chapparell’s Center the first ever all female pro am fight card.

KIA MMA- We would like to thank Nichole long for taking the time to talk with us and give us some insight on the up and coming NAAFS events. We look farward to watching the all female Pro Am series fight card.