One of the world’s best muay Thai fighters will be on full display in the fight capital of the world Friday night, but most people involved in the realm of combat sports don’t even know her name.
At just 23 years old, Barlow has achieved a lifetime of accomplishments in muay Thai. She’s amassed an overall record of 85-5-3 with 35 KOs and has already snatched up multiple world titles in both the amateur and professional ranks. During the last three years, she captured an Enfusion world championship and has defended that crown four times. Last September at Lion Fight 31 the dominated Jeri Sitzes to win the promotion’s super bantamweight belt, the same strap she’ll be defending against old rival Meryem Uslu.
The two fought back in 2011 in Barlow’s homeland of England and Barlow came out on top. She’s been on an absolutely tear since then, and she doesn’t intends on slowing down anytime soon. But Barlow isn’t expecting the rematch to look anything like her first encounter with Uslu.
“I don’t even really remember our first fight,” she told Sherdog.com. “I had just taken a year off from the sport and she was my first opponent back. I had put on a lot of weight during that time off so it wasn’t at my [natural] fighting weight and I was really nervous. I know I won, but I honestly don’t even remember much of what happened or how she fought me that night.”
But just because she doesn’t recall the machinations of their encounter doesn’t mean that she is in the dark as to what the German brings to the table. Not only have Barlow and Uslu have become friends over the years thanks in part to a stint on the Enfusion reality show together, but Barlow really does know Uslu’s style.
“She’s a really strong fighter,” she said. “She’s really strong with her boxing; more like a K-1 style opponent. It’s going to be a great test for me. We fought six years ago and I beat her, but I was such a younger fighter back then. We have both developed considerably over the years so it’ll be interesting to see what happens.”
While Barlow is among the elite in women’s muay Thai, the sport just isn’t big enough for her to earn a sizeable living just by beating up opponents. “The Pretty Killer” works full-time outside of the ring as a teacher’s assistant, where she helps troubled boys who have mental health and behavioral issues. She admits that job can be taxing on her emotionally, she cherishes her role in that she can make a positive impression on young kids.
Barlow is set to fight for the first time in Las Vegas and while she won’t be able to celebrate a potential successful title defense by doing the typical “Vegas thing,” she was able to have some fun while in town. She and her team attended the Carl Frampton-Leo Santa Cruz rematch at the MGM last weekend and spent the rest of her camp at Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s gym. Though “Money” wasn’t around while the Brit was finishing up her camp, she said she made new friends from the boxing world.
“To be here in Las Vegas, it’s amazing,” she said. “And for me to actually be fighting in the biggest fight city in the world, it’s wicked. I saw the Lion Fight billboard and I was on it. It was surreal, really, to have this all happening. Everything’s coming together and it motivates me more to be an even better fighter, to represent Lion Fight properly and to defend my title.”