(PRESS RELEASE) -- Fight fans, "Baby Face" Maureen Riordon has arrived. Riordon makes her professional MMA debut with The Resurrection Fighting Alliance (RFA) on July 25 at the 1ST Bank Center in Broomfield, Co. versus California native Marion Reneau (3-1) live on AXS TV.
But sorry, eligible bachelors, fresh-faced Riordon is in a serious relationship with her coach Michael Sullivan, co-owner of FusBoxe Fitness & MMA in Westminster, Co. So all her admirers will have to pick up their broken hearts and settle to watch "Baby Face" break faces instead.
Riordon also stated, "I met Michael but we were friends first. I was able to develop my own love and passion for martial arts. I'm glad our relationship came afterwards so I don't ever think, 'was this my love or was this someone else's passion and I was trying to fit into it?'
She added, "When I first started training, it was to get in shape, meet new people and learn self-defense. I had found myself in a situation where I needed to defend myself and I didn't know how. So that's what made me walk through the door". That was back in 2009...
Fast-forward to present day. Riordon's passion will come to fruition in front of her home crowd, "I thrive off the fans and love putting on a good show. If I bring my A-game, it makes opponent Marion Reneau better, win or lose. And if she brings her A-game, it makes me better, win or lose. It puts on the best show for our supporters."
Beyond her own world, Riordon realizes the how lucky she is, "Women's MMA is on a rise but still in its infancy. Us, ladies, owe it to all the female fighters before us that worked their tails off to make this happen and unfortunately had to retire before women's MMA could come about for them and we owe it to the ladies right now and to the generation after us. We owe it to the entire women's MMA community to go in there on July 25th and put on the best fight we can."
Is there added pressure being the only women's fight on the main card? "Our gym has a saying: no preference. Which means I'm just going to go in there and win. And I don't care how that's done. If comes in round one or round three? Cool. If it's by finish? Cool. I don't like to know anything about the other fighter. I let my coaches handle that. I'm the type of fighter that trusts my coaches, so I can spend my entire camp visualizing on the athlete that I am, versus focusing on what my opponent does," Riordon said.
She explained, "I made it my goal to be really well-rounded. I don't care if it stays standing, if it goes to the ground. I fought for GLORY (kickboxing), so I'm comfortable kickboxing but I'm also good on the ground. I'm not saying I'm invincible but there's not a spot that I'm scared to be in."
Between juggling her fight career, getting her bachelor's degree in nutrition which helps with weight cutting, volunteering with local children's fundraisers and being a great partner and mother of four boys ranging from 13 to 7 years old yes, four!, "Baby Face" is focused and ready for her fight, "I don't want cherry-picked fights. I want to fight and a challenge myself every time. It's about seeing how far I can go in MMA."
So buckle up because "Baby Face" Riordon's challenge is rapidly approaching at RFA 16 on July 25th.
RFA 16 - Copeland vs. Jorgensen will be televised live on AXS TV starting at 10:00 p.m. ET / 7:00 p.m. PT on Friday, July 25th. RFA 16 will be the promotion's third event in "The Centennial State" of Colorado and the second in the Mountain States region in 2014. More fights on the RFA 16 main card and preliminary card will be announced soon. Please visit RFAfighting.com for bout updates and information. RFA is also on Facebook at Facebook.com/RFAfighting, Instagram at @RFAfighting, and Twitter at @RFAfighting.
About RFA: RFA is a professional mixed martial arts promotion that gives rising stars and top contenders the opportunity to prove their talent to fans and leaders in the industry. The RFA presents up to 10 fights annually around the United States including Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Denver and Milwaukee. RFA can be seen live in over 40 million homes nationally through its television deal with AXS TV. Based in Las Vegas, Nevada, RFA is one of the most active and respected MMA organizations in the fastest growing sport in the world. (The Octagon, Ultimate Fighting Championship®, UFC®, and the eight-sided competition mat and cage design are registered trademarks owned exclusively by Zuffa, LLC. All rights reserved). About AXS TV Fights: AXS TV Fights is renowned for its universally recognized Friday Night Mixed Martial Arts and Kickboxing events. As Your Home For MMA, AXS TV utilizes an expansive network of promotions from the United States, Canada, and Europe. And Asia to broadcast more LIVE fights than any other television network. "The Voice" Michael Schiavello and five-time MMA world-champion Pat Miletich provide viewers expert play-by-play, in-depth fighter coverage, and extensive analysis to each fight card. AXS TV broadcasts world-class LIVE fight events from RFA, Lion Fight, Legacy FC, and MFC every Friday night at 7 p.m. PT / 10 p.m. ET.