Ashley Yoder may have been disappointed with her performance, but, her win against Miranda Granger was one of the most impressive of her career. Previously, Ashley hit a rough patch in her career losing two fights back to back. However, now Yoder credits her mental health coach as part of the reason for her newfound success inside of the octagon.
Yoder was able to have her way with Granger. With total control on the ground, Ashley secured two takedowns, in addition to landing 62% of her significant strikes. At the end of the final round, Yoder was able to secure a rear-naked choke. However, it was too late for her to get the finish.
Ashley Yoder on Hiring Mental Coach
Speaking with Jimmy Smith of Sirius XM, Yoder revealed the key to her recent success. During the conversation, she said that hiring a mental health coach helped her flourish.
“Mentally, I was feeling better than I’ve ever felt,” said Yoder. “I haven’t had the best track record. I’ve had close fights, close calls, but I never (felt) secure going into multiple fights. So I’ve always had that (pressure of losing) weighing on me.”
“I hired a mental coach the day I lost my last fight,” said Yoder. I’ve worked with him for exactly three months. I can handle the technical side of anyone and I’ve proven myself to be a worthy contestant at this stage of the UFC. But, the mentality is something that I’m learning on the job.”
🔊 @AshleyYoderMMA shares how hiring a mental coach has added to her game and helped her feel at ease heading into her winning performance at #UFCVegas14 🧠👊@jimmysmithmma pic.twitter.com/QUhXTGDYwX
— MMA on SiriusXM (@MMAonSiriusXM) November 18, 2020
Assessing the Last Performace
Yoder’s last loss was a unanimous decision in favor of Lívia Renata Souza. During the fight, Souza and Yoder traded action back and forth throughout the bout. However, Ashley found her groove too late into the match.
With her mental coach, Yoder feels like she’s able to compete at high levels in all facets of mixed martial arts. It’ll be interesting to see how far it takes her through the next steps of her career.
