It certainly took Yoder’s toughness to new levels. Yes, the 8-8 record isn’t what she’d like it to be, but 10 of those fights have been in the UFC, she’s fought elite competition night in and night out, and she’s gone the full 15 minutes – win or lose – every time. That’s not easy, but she has no regrets.
“No regrets at all,” said Yoder. “I think as a younger fighter, I wish I would’ve listened to my body. When we do have bumps and bruises, it’s kind of like ‘suck it up; your opponent has no days off.’ I think that’s the most bulls**t thing you could say to someone that really is working hard because that instills this lazy mentality that is not really there. So if I could talk to my younger self, I’d say when you listen to your body, take care of your body, it’s not important to be the toughest fighter. It’s important to be an efficient fighter.”
Yoder has proven her toughness throughout her career. Maybe in her return on Saturday against Emily Ducote, it’s time to add efficiency into that mix. She’s done it in the gym. Now it’s time to do it on fight night. And she’s prepared to do just that – for the first time in a long time.
“I missed the actual competition,” she said. “One of the things I didn’t realize I was going to miss is seeing my friends get all these fights and then I’m like, ‘Man, I want to be out there.’ And I think it comes from me wanting to prove myself. When you don’t get a finish in a fight or you don’t get your hand raised, you’re like, ‘Man, I know I’m better than this. Let me go in the gym and fix my mistakes and get back out there.’ So I think I’m just trying to get to this goal in my own head of seeing the best Ashley possible before it gets past me. I’m not as young as I was when I started, and I know it doesn’t last forever, but I still feel like I’m kind of in my prime and I have a huge chip on my shoulder that I’m trying to prove to myself.”
