I needed something to challenge myself a little more. I found fighting, and it completely fit my personality.

I think the reason why people have trouble fighting me is because I don't come from a specific background, and they can't prepare to fight me. I come in, and I push the pace, and I think that pushes a lot of people off their game, as much as I push the pace through the whole fight.

I think the hardest thing I went through in the UFC was my first loss. It was terrible. It was traumatizing. But it's just going back and rebuilding and getting better.

I am very much a girly girl as well as being this tough, athletic fighter. I grew up a tomboy. I got my first four wheeler when I was eight. I got my first dirt bike shortly after. So, I have a lot of these manly qualities, I guess you would say. But, I also like to go get dressed up every weekend.

I was diagnosed with bipolar affective disorder at 19, which I thought would derail my career. Thankfully, I was able to get help and continue the path, and I think, for me, the buzzword is perseverance.

Have I done more business-related things to help my career grow? Yeah. I took the business end more seriously, hooked up with a manager, got some help, because at a certain point, you get frustrated when you go do auditions, and people say you did a great job, and then you don't get he part.

Nobody likes a smart alec. Which is why it's always better for your career to be wrong and in company rather than right and on your own.

There's a disappointment there because I still feel there's an emptiness in my career that just wasn't filled.