Bec Rawlings
Rebecca "Bec" Rawlings is an Australian mixed martial artist and bare-knuckle boxer, who currently competes in the flyweight division of Bellator. She was ranked as a contender strawweight fighter according to the Unified Women's Mixed Martial Arts Rankings.
Mixed martial arts career
Australian competition
Known for her aggressive fighting style, unique look and quirky personality, Rawlings began her mixed martial arts journey in Launceston, Tasmania in 2010 before relocating to Brisbane, Australia to further her opportunities and experience in early 2011. A mere ten months after giving birth to her second son, Enson, Rawlings made her professional MMA debut on 15 October 2011 at BRACE 12 in Hobart, Tasmania. Rawlings fought at bantamweight in her debut against Rhiannon Thompson. In what was declared "fight of the night" by the promotion, Rawlings lost her debut fight by way of a highlight reel head kick knockout.Bouncing back and publicly rallying within the Australian MMA circuit for more fight opportunities at her suited weight class, Rawlings secured consecutive submission victories over Sarah Morrison and Daniela Marjanovic. Two more victories over Rachel Sheridan and Christina Tatnell propelled Rawlings to a four-fight winning streak in 2012. This streak, coupled with a noticeable lack of legitimate Australian opponents for Rawlings, caught North America's Invicta Fighting Championships' attention in late 2012.
Invicta Fighting Championships
In November 2012, Rawlings signed a three-fight contract with Invicta Fighting Championships, which is regarded as the premier all-women's promotion in the world, to compete in their strawweight division. She was originally scheduled to fight Joanne Calderwood on the undercard of on 5 January 2013, but an injury to Cláudia Gadelha resulted in Rawlings being pushed up to an Invicta FC Strawweight Championship fight in the main event against Carla Esparza. Rawlings lost the fight via unanimous decision.Her first fight outside of Australia, combined with her personality, gave her a lot of coverage in the Australian media. This led Invicta FC president Shannon Knapp to say that she had never seen anything like it, and at the 2012 Women’s Mixed Martial Arts Awards she was voted 2012 Favourite Female Fighter with 265 votes by WMMA fans, 70 more than Ronda Rousey.
Rawlings' next fight within Invicta Fighting Championships was against Jasminka Cive at Invicta FC 5: Penne vs. Waterson on 5 April 2013. She won the fight via submission in the first round.
Rawlings faced Mizuki Inoue at on 13 July 2013. Rawlings lost the fight via unanimous decision.
Ultimate Fighting Championship
The Ultimate Fighter
Rawlings' Invicta FC contract was assigned to the UFC on 11 December 2013 after the UFC created a women's strawweight division. The promotion also announced a women's edition of The Ultimate Fighter, which will crown the first UFC women's strawweight champion.Rawlings was the seventh pick to go to coach Gilbert Melendez. She was initially scheduled to face Justine Kish in the preliminary round. However, Kish hurt her knee during practice and was replaced by the previously eliminated Tecia Torres.
After TUF
Rawlings' first fight after The Ultimate Fighter was against Heather Jo Clark at on 12 December 2014. She lost the fight by unanimous decision.Rawlings was expected to face Seo Hee Ham on 10 May 2015 at UFC Fight Night 65. However, Ham pulled out of the bout on 10 April and was replaced by Lisa Ellis. Rawlings won the fight via submission in the first round.
Rawling's next fight was expected to be against Joanne Calderwood at UFC Fight Night 72 on 18 July 2015. However, on 11 July. Rawlings pulled out of the fight due to injury and was replaced by promotional newcomer Cortney Casey-Sanchez.
Rawlings next faced Paige VanZant on 27 August 2016 at UFC on Fox 21. She lost the fight via KO in the second round after being dropped by a flying head kick and a flurry of follow up punches.
Rawlings next faced Tecia Torres in a rematch at on 4 February 2017. At the weigh-ins, Rawlings came in at 117.5 lbs, over the women's strawweight limit of 116 lbs. As a result, Rawlings was fined 20% of her purse, which went to Tecia Torres and the bout proceeded at a catchweight. Rawlings lost the fight by unanimous decision.
Rawlings was expected to face Joanne Calderwood in flyweight bout at on 19 November 2017. However, Calderwood was pulled out from the card due to undisclosed reason and she was replaced by Jessica-Rose Clark. At the weigh-ins, Clark weighed in at 128 pounds, 2 pounds over the flyweight upper limit of 126 pounds. The bout proceeded at a catchweight and Clark forfeited 20% of her purse. She lost the fight via split decision.
Rawlings faced Ashlee Evans-Smith on 7 April 2018 at UFC 223. She lost the fight by unanimous decision. After losing four fights in a row, Rawlings was subsequently released from the promotion.
Bellator
After going 3–0 in bare knuckle boxing, news surfaced that Rawlings had signed a contract with Bellator. She made her promotional debut against Ilara Joanne at Bellator 231 on October 25, 2019. She lost the fight by submission in the second round.Bare knuckle boxing
On 9 May 2018, it was reported that Rawlings was released from UFC and set to appear in Bare Knuckle FC event. She faced Alma Garcia at an event held on 2 June 2018. Rawlings won the fight after Garcia refused to answer the bell after the second round.In her second bare knuckle bout, Rawlings faced Britain Hart at Bare Knuckle FC 2 on 25 August 2018. She won the fight by split decision.
On 2 February 2019 at the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship 4 - USA vs. Mexico in Cancun, Mexico, Bec Rawlings beat Cecilia Flores by Unanimous Decision.
Personal life
Rawlings was raised in Tasmania, and frequently played sports such as basketball, gymnastics and athletics during her pre-teens. As a teenager, however, Rawlings experienced rapid weight gain and suffered from a lack of motivation before turning to the sport of mixed martial arts as a way to battle her issues in 2010. This is where she met Australian professional MMA fighter Dan, and decided that she wanted to become an MMA fighter. Dan and Bec married On Mother's day of 2013, Rawlings filed for divorce due to emotional and physical abuse endured during the relationship.Rawlings also has an older son, Zake, from a relationship before the marriage with Hyatt. Her son Enson is named after MMA fighter Enson Inoue.
As of January 2014 Bec started going by her maiden name and was in a relationship with fellow Australian mixed martial artist Ben Wall. The two have since separated. As of 2018, Rawlings is in a relationship with Australian professional boxer Adrian Rodriguez, who initially housed Rawlings and her children when she escaped the abuse.