ONE ON ONE FT. RACHEL PARSONS
[We open to an interview set, in front of a backdrop of posters for UGP 45 in Minnesota. On one side of the desk sits Isaac Cohen, dressed as ever up to the nines–on the other, one of the hometown fighters for the weekend, the former Everest Strawweight Champion, Rachel Parsons, who’s…very much not dressed up, just a Minnesota United FC hoodie and jeans.]
ISAAC COHEN: “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Union GP One on One, ahead of this weekend’s incredible Union GP 45 card, featuring a massive lineup from top to bottom, including a trio of title matches all featuring Twin Cities fighters–the new Middleweight Champion, Noah Vanderkaay, defends against the man he took the belt from just a couple months ago, Lovelie Saint-Cyr; the Heavyweight king, Gauge Lattimore, defends against the former champ Owen Barnes; and an interim Lightweight Champion is crowned, in a rematch from their Everest days, as Alistair McKay and Abbie Peterson square off again, this time for interim Union gold and the next shot at Lightweight Champion 2Face Rodriguez!”
[Isaac’s unusually boisterous opening makes Rachel laugh a little bit.]
ISAAC COHEN: “And speaking of the Twin Cities gym, one of the rising stars of that gym joins me now–please welcome, Rachel Parsons!”
[Rachel smiles and waves to the camera, taking Isaac’s hand as he extends it.]
ISAAC COHEN: “Rachel, thank you so much for joining us.”
RACHEL PARSONS: “Yeah, absolutely. My pleasure.”
ISAAC COHEN: “Before we get into this weekend, I want to take a look back at the last year or so of your career, since moving up from Everest–you never fail to put on spectacular performances, between the wars with Gibrelle Arroyo and Lena Lyons, the early domination of the Bantamweight Grand Prix earlier this year, but…then there’s the obstacles, Lauren Moore and Isabel Azevedo in particular. You’re 6 fights into your Union career now, how do you feel it’s gone, really?”
RACHEL PARSONS: “It’s…frustrating, to be honest, because I know I’m better than a 3-3 record. For one thing, I thought I beat Lena, that was…that was really disappointing, that kinda felt like it derailed anything I coulda done at the time. But…yanno, it is what it is, you push forward, and like you said, going into the tournament earlier, I felt great. Ignacio’s a tough dude, I got him outta there in 1; Eugenie put everyone on notice until she lined up with me, I put her down in 1; going into that fight with Izzi, I was feeling great, then…things just kinda went sideways.”
ISAAC COHEN: “There were some concerns in that fight back in LA that you suffered some kind of rib injury on one of the takedowns, we haven’t had a chance to talk since then, what’s the status there? Everything good?”
RACHEL PARSONS: “Yeah, it wasn’t as bad as it looked; I’ve watched that fight back, I watched myself just kinda…squirming, it’s not a good sight! But, luckily, it wasn’t anything major, just got the wind driven out of me and I was trying to recover from that, while defending whatever Izzi was about to do, but…yeah, it just sucks to have to go back and see that, see where I kinda…I don’t wanna say gave up, cuz that implies Izzi didn’t earn that win, but like…that’s pretty much where the fight goes wrong for me, I guess. But to answer your question, no major injuries, no big hangups, just been on the sidelines while the tournament plays out and such.”
[Isaac nods while Rachel speaks, leaving “Razor” to prop herself up on her elbows on the desk.]
ISAAC COHEN: “Well, let’s turn the focus to this weekend’s fight–you’ve got a chance to turn things back around after that loss, in your hometown no less, against something of a wildcard in the Bantamweight Division, Magdalena Moruga.”
RACHEL PARSONS: “Yeah, this is a wild fight, honestly. She’s been really impressive so far, 3 outta 4 wins. She’s kind of a wild fighter, I expect this to be a pretty tough night.”
ISAAC COHEN: “My cohort on the predictions show, Kayla Chapman, made a point that I thought was interesting–and honestly hadn’t really thought about, which is the only person who’s really taken the fight to Magdalena, is also the only person to have beaten her in her Union career so far, the reigning champ Redd Lennox. You’ve got a similar style, that never back down, push forward pace, do you think that’s going to be the difference in the fight?”
RACHEL PARSONS: “I think the difference in the fight is going to be the difference in caliber that we’ve dealt with so far–that’s nothing against the people she’s fought, but a vast majority of her career was fought in small companies; I turned pro in Everest, I’ve been fighting Union GP level opponents literally my entire pro career, and…aggressive as she is, impressive as she’s been, Magdalena doesn’t bring anything to the table I haven’t seen before. She’s a straight-up striker, so she’s going to fight me where I’m comfortable, and that…doesn’t generally end well for people. The fact that she’s struggled in the past with people who are going to push her back just…helps, I don’t think it’s the deciding factor.“
ISAAC COHEN: “The last time we were in Minneapolis was the night you fought Lena Lyons, which you’ve already said you felt like you won–is there any extra motivation there, to make sure that doesn’t happen again?”
RACHEL PARSONS: “I think so, yeah; you never want to disappoint, especially in your home town. Last time was at least a performance I could be proud of, I thought I defeated someone with significantly more experience than me, in a style of fight that really should’ve favored her, so…I may not like it, but I could hang my hat on that. This time, nothing less than a convincing win will be good enough.”
ISAAC COHEN: “One last question for you: despite coming off the loss to Izzi, you’re currently ranked #3 in the world–with Gianna Howard’s status still in limbo for the moment, and Redd eliminating Dallas Meechan from the Grand Prix, a win here seems like it could catapult you into title contention–is that what you have in mind with a win this weekend? Is this weekend the litmus test?”
[Rachel laughs a little bit, mulling over the thought as she drums her fingers on the table.]
RACHEL PARSONS: “My goal this weekend is pretty simple: I want to put Magdalena down as quickly and as violently as possible. If that earns me a title shot, great, I’m certainly not gonna say no to it…but to be honest, I don’t pay much attention to the rankings or anything, I just fight. So, yeah, obviously that’d be nice, to earn a title shot after a win at home, but I don’t make the matches. I just fight whoever’s in the cage with me.”
ISAAC COHEN: “Fair enough. Well, Rachel, thank you again for joining me, I don’t want to take up much more of your time as you get ready for a big fight this weekend.”
RACHEL PARSONS: “Of course, thank you for having me.”
[Isaac turns from Rachel, to the camera, and smiles as he gets ready to close the interview out.]
