Mixed martial arts is a dangerous sport for fully engaged fighters. Allowing personal issues to fog up your focus from anything other than your opponent when that cage door locks can be the recipe for disaster.
Zoila Frausto found that out the hard way in perhaps the most valuable, albeit distressing, lesson of her life. She holds that experience close to her heart now during her career resurrection as a reminder of what she endured.
Join DAZN and watch Combate Fresno: Zoila Frausto vs. Reina Cordoba on Aug. 2
Amid her failing marriage to fellow MMA fighter Jorge Gurgel, Frausto lost four straight bouts in a trying stretch that dragged on from December 2012 to October 2015.
"A lot of it stemmed from the personal issues that I had in my marriage," said Frausto, who got divorced after the third loss of that slide. "Just my personal life … I wasn’t myself. I really didn’t want to be there anymore. I didn’t really care to fight anymore. It was a weird spot for me to be in as an athlete and a fighter.
"My mind wasn’t right, and I wasn’t in the right place. I just wasn’t myself."
The admission, even in hindsight, is startling considering "The Warrior Princess" was one of the most dominant fighters across the MMA landscape prior to that point, with a 12-1 record and her one loss coming against Miesha Tate in Strikeforce in March 2010. Frausto was also Bellator MMA’s first women’s 115-pound champion, a feat she cemented by running the table at the tournament and scoring a split-decision win over Megumi Fujii at Bellator 34 in October 2010.
After reaching the summit, Frausto’s career and personal life plummeted. But something interesting happened next: Frausto gave herself some time to breathe.
Shortly after her divorce, Frausto moved from Cincinnati back to her home state of California.
"When I got away from that," Frausto said, referring to her marriage, "it was a lot better then."
She got back into the win column with a unanimous decision participating in the Tachi Palace Fights 26 event in February 2016 and also took up kickboxing and Muay Thai, going 6-0 there. But the itch to compete in MMA was something that Frausto couldn’t shake.
This past February, Frausto made her Combate Americas debut, coming off a three-year hiatus from MMA to score a TKO victory over Jaimelene Nievera in her hometown of Fresno, Calif.
Friday night, Frausto will be back home, headlining Combate Fresno by facing Reina Cordoba at the Save Mart Center (available to watch live on DAZN).
When asked about the challenge that Cordoba will present in the cage, a savvy, battle-tested Frausto said, "Just the same challenge that I’ve been facing from every fighter the last decade. She’s going to hit hard and try to take me out. I don’t think it’s going to be any different. Pretty much the same thing, just a different day."
For Frausto, competing and overcoming what she did personally offers a new day — one that has her falling in love with MMA all over again.
"I truly love what I do," Frausto said. "I’m not young. I’m 35 years old, and I’ve been able to do this for a good decade ... and I’m still going strong."
