SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — While she may not be Rocky Balboa, a Sioux Falls woman is competing for a Flyweight World Title in mixed martial arts this month.
Cheyanne Bowers has been fighting for the past five years.
“I started training in 2019 right before the pandemic hit and shut everything down. I trained in my basement via Zoom with Bruce and Ian coaching us over the computer,” LFA Women’s Interim 125 Title contender, Bowers said.
While it may have been a rocky start, everything she’s gone through has led her to the LFA Women’s Interim 125 Title fight on September 20th.
“There is a girl that is currently the champion for LFA’s 125 belt, but she is kind of inactive right now. She just fought for Dana White’s contender series. So while she’s kind of out they’re letting us two fight for an interim title,” Bowers said.
While Bowers has won her last four matches, the other contender is also very good.
“Her opponent is going to be a girl from Russia, Veronika Borisova. And so a highly touted girl. She’s 6-0 as a pro right now,” Bower’s Head Coach, Bruce Hoyer said.
Bower’s spends over 20 hours training each week for the match, on top of her regular job.
“All summer long we’ve been prepping for this, gearing up each week a little bit more with the intensity and then dialing things in these last ten days or so,” Bowers said.
Her coach thinks she is ready to take on her opponent.
“She’s put in just a ton of work and I’m always excited to see when somebody whose put in years and years and years of work. Just every day grinding and doing the same boring stuff every single time for them to actually get a little bit of a reward from it,” Hoyer said.
“At the end of the day, the things that matter most are going to be there regardless. So I’m really just trying to think of it as another fight, put my best foot forward,” Bowers said.
If Bower’s wins, there’s a possibility she could secure a contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
The fight will be on UFC Fight Pass.
