"Both my parents were addicted to drugs" - Ex-UFC star Pearl Gonzalez reflects on how getting into MMA saved her life (Exclusive)
Pearl Gonzalez vs. Monica Medina takes place at XFC 50 this Friday. But at one point, her MMA journey saw her compete in the UFC. This journey began with self-preservation, which she touches on in an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda's own Dylan Bowker.
The former UFC 115-pounder explored numerous topics over the course of her interview, even detailing her parents' harrowing history with addiction. Determined to forge a better path for herself, Gonzalez did everything she could to turn out differently than her parents and found martial arts, which changed her life.
"It really has saved my life and changed my life for the better, you know? Both of my parents were addicted to drugs, and very heavy drugs. Actually, most of my family were involved, at some point or another, into drugs. So, growing up in the hard parts of Chicago, and some of these tough neighborhoods in Chicago, you don't have a lot of examples of athletes."
With most of her family involved in drugs, Gonzalez had little in the way of structure. That is how martial arts, MMA specifically, became her outlet.
"Fighting not only gave me an outlet, my dad raised me as a single parent, my dad got his sh*t together before my mom did. He raised me as a single father, and he worked all the time at Firestone, and so I either had to go hang out at Firestone, which was a pain in the *ss for him and for me, or he had to find something for me to do, and so he found a mixed martial arts gym."
Check out Pearl Gonzalez's comments about her MMA journey (16:19 and 17:29):
Unfortunately, Gonzalez never achieved the heights expected of her. She took part in two UFC fights, losing both: the first was a rear-naked choke to Cynthia Calvillo, and the second a unanimous decision loss to Poliana Botelho.
Booted from the UFC, she has found a new life in both BKFC and Invicta FC.
Pearl Gonzalez talks about viral Power Slap audition
Last year, Pearl Gonzalez went viral for a parody video that she joked was a Power Slap audition. It consisted of her slapping Power Slap executive producer Gary DeFranco. Now, she has finally detailed her experience. In the same exclusive interview, she said (6:42):
"It's a new combat sport, and I love being one of the first to get in there. I love to compete, I love war period. So, yes, I'm game for that too. And yes, Gary had to take one for the team."