Women’s flyweight contender Colleen Schneider was hugely impressive the night she made her Bellator debut in January, as she submitted Chrissie Daniels inside the very first round via anaconda choke. Now, seven months later, the Syracuse-native looks to build on this result in a Bellator 182 fight against Kate Jackson on Friday (August 25).
Ahead of the fight, Schneider, 11-7, took a moment to answer the questions of Fighters Only contributor Tony Reid.
Q: You are taking on Kate Jackson at Bellator 182 this Friday (August 25). What are your thoughts on what she brings to the table and how do you see this one playing out?
Colleen Schneider: She is a good opponent. She has a good record. She is 8-2. She did really well on The Ultimate Fighter. I was really impressed with how well she fought on the show. She is a good challenge. I look forward to her as an opponent. She is a good grappler. She has a good top game and good control on the ground. My grappling has been super on point this year and I am looking forward to getting in there and showing it off.
Q: This Bellator card is repping WMMA pretty heavily; there are a record five female fights on it. How cool is it to be a big part of such a power-packed night for the women of the organization?
CS: It’s awesome. I love that they are doing that. I think Kate and I should be on the main card over Bruna Ellen and Veta Arteaga. It is what it is. I think this is the most female fights Bellator has ever had on a card.
Q: You have talked about being bigger, stronger and faster as a flyweight. You had a super-impressive Bellator debut back in January with an early submission win over Chrissy Daniels. What are your takeaways from that fight?
CS: What I did in the fight was exactly what my coach and I had been working on over and over in camp and it came together perfectly. Any time that happens it just gives you that much more confidence in your coach and in your training and ability to go out there and execute in a fight what you are doing in the gym. It was great. It felt great.
Q: How many fights are you away from a potential title shot?
CS: That’s up to Bellator. I would absolutely love it if I were to go out there, put on a hell of a fight against Kate and they say, “All right, Colleen, you are going to fight for the title.” That is my dream scenario right there. That’s how I want it to play out.
Q: One of the biggest questions or challenges was deciding on a T-shirt design. How did you come to a final decision?
CS: Excellent question. DEFILA Sport makes all my fight outfits and we wanted to do a T-shirt. We decided to do a little fan poll in terms of what people wanted me to do as my inspiration for the outfit. I put it out there and got tons of responses back and we just picked the one we liked. Someone suggested Rollerball as inspiration. I love that movie. I love the aesthetic and seventies vibe of it. The fight outfit and T-shirt are inspired by Rollerball. I have to point out that I’m not referring to the new one. That one shouldn’t exist. I’m definitely talking about the original.
Q: I saw that you were on the softball team on a recent Tosh.0 segment. How did that come to be?
CS: That was just an acting gig. I don’t play softball at all. I think softball and baseball are super boring. It definitely had nothing to do with the sport. It was just a gig. I used to watch Tosh all the time, so to be out there on the filed with him was cool.
Q: How often do you dip your toes in the acting waters? Is that something you want to pursue on a larger scale at some point?
CS: It’s just something I do as it comes up. If the opportunity is there and I have the time to do it, I will. I would never let it interfere with fight training, though. That is 100% my priority. It’s fun. I live in Hollywood, so why not? I have to get those IMDb credits up there.
Q: As far as training this time around you have said, ‘Hard training. Clean eating. Bed time at 9:30.’ Is that still accurate?
CS: That is completely accurate. I am so happy when I go to bed at 9:30. There are days I go to bed before 9:00 and it’s like full-on grandma status. It’s my life and I love it. I am totally happy going to bed at that hour. Plus, when you are trying not to eat more food one way to not eat is to just go to sleep. It’s a life hack. If you want to not eat, just go to sleep.
