German MMA fighter Mandy "Monster" Böhm is about to make her second appearance in the UFC. After a defeat by a judge's decision, the first victory should come at UFC London (Saturday 5 p.m. DAZN/UFC Fight Pass). In an interview with ntv.de, the 32-year-old explains why the defeat in her first fight in the elite league was a wake-up call for her career and private life, what goals she still has and why social media is necessary but often hard work.
ntv.de: Ms Böhm, you have your second fight in the UFC, due to the pandemic it is the first in front of an audience - 20,000 spectators in the O2 Arena in London. What are your expectations and how great is the anticipation?
Mandy Böhm: So for me as a girl from Gelsenkirchen, with a great football club like Schalke behind me, couldn't it be better? Yet! It could be better if I competed in front of my home crowd. The English crowd is also like a home game for me. The atmosphere, especially here in London, is brutal. You saw that at the event in March. The people are loud, they go along, they support. And that's what I've been waiting for. It sort of feels like my real UFC debut.
After losing to Ariane Lipski in September 2021, you are now fighting Victoria Leonardo. What kind of fight will this be?
In my opinion, Ariane Lipski is on a better team and is an incredibly good striker. I see Victoria more as an all-rounder. She definitely has her strengths when standing, but she is also very good on the ground. She has wins by submission and ground
Does that mean that the preparations were mainly in the direction of grappling and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu?
Grappling and Jiu-Jitsu are always part of my preparation because it's just part of the sport. I also feel comfortable on the ground. I'm comfortable wrestling too, but of course we also worked on the takedown defense.
You moved to the USA especially to prepare. Why this step and why did you end up in the Xtreme Couture Gym?
Las Vegas is the mecca of martial arts. We have great gyms there and I chose Xtreme Couture because it suits me best. I looked at the trainers and the training there and the successes speak for themselves. You train among some of the best athletes in the world. And that's exactly what I was looking for - a place to work where the ethics and attitude match those I practice for myself. I have not regretted this step for a second.
When are you returning to Germany?
When I will return to Germany permanently, I cannot say yet. My schedule ends on July 23 at around 6 p.m. - when I get on the Octagon. Everything else will be decided afterwards. And I think it also depends on the result.
The event in March showed the enormous potential of events outside the USA. A knockout, like Molly McCann's elbow - and the whole world is talking about you.
Naturally. That's what people want to see. They don't perish, like Israel Adesanya, seeing 25 minutes of tactical striking. The crowd comes for clinking knockouts, gore and submission. That's just the way it is and I think, especially here in London, people want to see action - that's what they pay for. What fighter doesn't dream of getting the knockout of the evening in front of such a crowd - I dream of that too.
This may not be a nice transition, but she couldn't win her last fight. That was your first defeat as a professional. What has it done to you?
My first thought right after the fight was: oh my god. I broke my mom's heart. She had to see how I was really brutally beaten up three times. But I showed that I have a huge fighter's heart, because afterwards I got up and kept fighting. That's that ticket for broken fighters: Just put your hands in front of your face and wait a few more punches until the ref breaks off. That's never an option for me. Of course I couldn't really deliver. The "UFC jitters" got me full pound.
UFC jitters? You have to explain that!
It's like when you were a kid at Christmas dinner before the presents were given, presents are about to come and you can hardly wait. You think you might still see Santa Claus when you go for a walk outside with your parents and you're just totally blown away. It was a bit like that in my UFC debut. Suddenly you sign posters, get your own fighter kit for the first time. You walk into the arena and you're supposed to be in the tunnel and I'm like, oh my god, there's UFC President Dana White in the front row. That's cool, but it might not be the focus you want when you're about to have a 15-minute battle.
And that hampered your performance?
In my opinion, I fell well short of my performances. I hope this time it's different. Apart from that, this defeat didn't damage my mindset and my personality. It was like a reset for me. Being a woman is different than being a man, who is at their best in their 30s. I can hear my biological clock ticking and I have a very strong desire to have children. You ask yourself: where do I stand here with my wishes and dreams? Is it really still what I really want? For many, those thoughts may be unimaginable once you've finally made the leap into the UFC. This loss came at the perfect time to figure out what I want. And I know I want nothing more than this win on Saturday.
Does your own family planning then ensure that your career has already been calculated?
I don't calculate anything at all. Sure, there's just a point in time when I say: It's over now. I think at the age of 36 or 37 you can still have children.
You could also fight again after the offspring are here?
I don't know if I still want it then. That's an option I'd like to keep open. I can imagine that it is such a drastic experience that you are willing to give up a piece of yourself in order to really be there as a mother for the children. I don't know if, as a new mom, I would maybe focus on my children and I don't know if I only want one or maybe a second one will follow.
You currently live in the USA. Would you then want to raise your children there?
No, absolutely not. I love Germany. It always sounds stupid, but all this getting around shows how grateful you have to be to live in a country like Germany because we are so privileged without even knowing it. So with us nobody has to starve, with us nobody has to freeze. You always have the option of being caught by the social network. Of course I know that it looks a bit different in theory than in practice. That means once you get out of this bubble, you really learn to appreciate what you have. And yes, I love Germany and I love the city I come from - Gelsenkirchen, my home, from the cradle to the grave. And I can just imagine, after my career, this city that has made me the person I am, to reflect something in the form of an MMA gym. This should then also be a contact point for kids and young people who grew up with problems in their youth or in their family structure.
If you look at MMA in Germany - what has happened in recent years, what is currently going well?
From "people don't have the faintest idea what MMA is" we have meanwhile pounded three to four adequate promoters out of the ground. We created an amateur area for many athletes that didn't even exist when I started fighting. We started as a baby, but we are still in our infancy when it comes to know-how and professionalism. But we have to see that positively, it's not criticism, it's all a process.
And in which areas is it still missing to the top?
What is still missing is simply the science. So to say on a sporting level: how do I get my athlete to be in the best shape of his life on day X without breaking him. Sometimes less is simply more. And I think that still has to get through to the minds of our old-school coaches. There is also still a lack of openness to just work together. We are not Team X against Team Y in Germany. This Olympic idea of supporting each other to get to a higher level needs to be more widespread. Athletes should exchange ideas with each other, but the trainers should also be open to new things and exchange ideas with each other.
Has mixed martial arts even arrived as a sport in German society?
I don't think the sport has found the acceptance it deserves in Germany, because people often focus on brutality. There are classic rules that we follow in our society, such as: Don't hit someone who's lying on the floor. This culture simply implies that it is rejected at first. It has a totally brutal effect on the viewer, who is completely alien and has no idea about the subject. But that is changing now that people are realizing what a high level of sporting achievement is behind it. One must never forget that it is athletes who invest their lives, who are very well educated and not pubs and street thugs. The sport will become more established over time. You can see that MMA is slowly replacing boxing and the audience is getting much younger.
You yourself are a trained industrial mechanic and have graduated from high school. So a lateral entry is also possible?
A few years ago MMA was a sport attributed to bar thugs and bouncers. But that's just not the case - there are teachers, psychologists, firefighters, police officers who practice this sport. Sport appeals to everyone. And I think we managed to present it to the German audience in exactly the same way. We simply showed that smart guys do this sport too. If you want to make a football comparison, then MMA is like a game in the Champions League as far as the martial arts are concerned.
And the UFC is then the absolute top. Who from Germany do you trust to make the leap into the UFC next?
I think there are some hungry wolves on Germany's streets right now. And I would wish it for everyone. But I'll just say Khurshed Kakhorov - my man (laughs).
With your nickname "Monster" you have a "Monster Nation" behind you with your fans on social media platforms. But basically you have to work on this brand yourself. How's that for you?
That can be tough. People always underestimate that social media and Instagram really is a complete job in itself. If you're just a tiny bit careless, you immediately lose range. In Germany they say: You can't dance with your ass at two weddings at the same time. But that is exactly what is required of us professional athletes. We should be super marketing-wise on social media, but at the same time put our full focus on preparing for the sport.
It's like dancing on a knife's edge for me. I appeal to my followers to leave a like, write a comment and react to my stories. That remains an important source of income at the end of the day - you just have to market yourself these days.
What of course brings attention and possibly followers would be a victory in the UFC.
Definitely - and that's the win I'm working towards right now.
Michael Bauer spoke to Mandy Böhm
