OTHER VITALS
CAREER STATUS: Prospect
WALKOUT THEME: “Champion” by Carrie Underwood
SPONSORS: Trifecta, RDX, Venum
FIGHTING STYLE
PRIMARY: Muay Thai
SECONDARY: N/A
STANCE: Southpaw
STRENGTHS
GET OVER HERE!: The clinch is Rachel’s friend–and her height advantage over most people she’s ever fought makes it even better for her.
Out Of My Way: If there’s one thing Rachel excels at, it’s not being there when the punches are coming. She’s not arrogant, she knows she won’t go untouched, but she’s got a good eye for what’s coming her way, and how to avoid it.
Piece by Piece: Rachel’s not going to be someone to KO you with one punch; more likely than not, she’ll pick you apart limb by limb, piece by piece, until she can put the finishing touches on you.
WEAKNESSES
Get Up!: Her ground game is…well. Rudimentary would be putting it nicely. Rachel’s “ground defense” is essentially getting back to her feet ASAP.
Needlessly Flashy: Rachel can be too flashy for her own good. If it were up to her, she’d throw spinning everything, just for the entertainment factor. She isn’t stupid enough to wholly rely on these moves, but it’s not uncommon for her to throw them…whether it makes sense or not.
Recklessly Aggressive: Rachel is dialed up to 11 when it comes to a fight. No backpedaling, no hesitation, just full-tilt go.
STATISTICAL INFORMATION
#1 Punches: 18
#2 Kicks: 18
#3 Clinch Striking: 15
#4 Clinch Grappling: 12
#5 Strength: 15
#6 Agility: 15
#7 Dodging: 18
#8 Takedowns: 5
#9 Takedown Defense: 8
#10 Heart: 15
#11 Ground & Pound: 5
#12 Ground Game: 5
#13 Submissions: 5
#14 Submission Defense: 5
#15 Conditioning: 16
#16 Toughness: 16
#17 Control: 12
#18 Aggressiveness: 12
#19 KO Resistance: 15
CONTRACT
4 FIGHTS – $400,000 (EXCLUSIVE)
(0 FIGHTS LEFT)
CAREER EARNINGS: $6,240,000
ACCOLADES
CHAMPIONSHIPS: 1
1x Everest MMA Strawweight Champion (SZN 1)
HONORS: 0
N/A
FIGHT OF THE NIGHT: 3
(Boss Fight XXXIV, Boss Fight XXXV, Boss Fight XXXIX)
PERFORMANCE OF THE NIGHT: 3
(Boss Fight XL, Boss Fight XLI, UGP 46)
BACKSTORY
Born in Duluth, Minnesota, but raised in St. Cloud, Rachel Parsons was the third of four kids her parents had, and…well, she was acutely aware of that fact. From a young age, she did whatever she had to do to stand out against her siblings–including wanting to take up martial arts as a kid. She started in Taekwondo, as a lot of kids do, but eventually moved on to kickboxing and Muay Thai. Her family jokes that “she was training in the womb,” as it’s basically the only thing Rachel took seriously in life.
She graduated from Apollo High School in St. Cloud in 2015, and was admitted to the University of Minnesota’s Theater Arts program, but she took a year off before attending school to “make sure it’s what she wanted to do.” Rachel’s commitment to her education has always been part-time, though; she discovered Twin Cities MMA while searching for a place to train while she’s in school, and focused more energy into training than she ever did into school.
Despite her want to stand out, though? Rachel took a long time to transition to actually competing; she joined the gym in fall 2016, but only took a handful of amateur fights, ultimately earning the nickname “razor” when she won 3 in a row by cutting her opponents with elbows. After testing the waters as an amateur, she decided she wanted to go pro in MMA with Everest’s Strawweight Division…and now that she HAS turned pro?
She’s determined to be seen for the talent she knows she is.
