Tucsonan Rosselyn Chavira got her start fighting in the most traditional of way: Standing up to bullies in the schoolyard.
Twenty years later, the Tucson mom is training for her biggest fight yet.
Chavira, 29, will take on San Diego's Tyler Schaefer in Combate Global mixed martial art's COPA COMBATE extravaganza, airing Sunday on Univision, TUDN USA and Paramount Plus.
The one-night tournament features eight fighters from eight different countries as they compete for a $100,000 grand prize. Chavira's match against Schaefer is part of a pair of women's "Superfight" bouts that will take place between stages of the tournament.
Rosselyn Chavira trains with her coach, Bernie Arenas, in the ring at Dominate Fitness and MMA.
Despite her early love for the sport, Chavira's path to becoming a professional MMA fighter wasn't a linear one.
"I first started fighting when I was about 9," Chavira said. "My brother and I would get bullied at school. It would cause a lot of problems and I was getting into trouble and fighting a lot."
By high school, Chavira's mother's patience had run out. She took control of the situation after the police were called in response to a fairly serious fight.
"She just thought I was a troublemaker," Chavira said. "But she took me to a boxing gym and I trained there for awhile."
Chavira stopped when she became pregnant, and at 15, she gave birth to her daughter.
"But I couldn't go back (to fighting) because her dad was jealous and possessive," she said.
Rosselyn Chavira wraps her hands before her workout at Dominate Fitness and MMA.
By the time she turned 19, Chavira had gotten out of the relationship and was ready to get back into fighting. She signed up with USA Boxing and trained hard for the next several years, winning the Arizona State golden gloves boxing competition in 2017.
But shortly after she found herself drawn to a different sport.
"One of the gyms I trained at was half-MMA, half-boxing. I saw it and I was really curious," Chavira said. "I just wanted to try it and see the difference."
Six months later, she fought her first amateur bout at the age of 24.
In June, Chavira fought in her first professional match, traveling to Sinaloa, Mexico to take on Sofia Salazar in iKON's Fighting Federation 7. Chavira came out victorious, with Salazar submitting to a rear naked choke.
Rosselyn Chavira trains with her coach, Bernie Arenas, in the ring at Dominate Fitness and MMA.
The pandemic has made her professional debut a bit rocky, with the usually fight-heavy Southern Arizona region dry, thanks to the coronavirus and venue restrictions. For COPA COMBATE, she's traveling to Miami.
"The pandemic wasn't too much of a setback as far as training, but getting fights has been hard," Chavira said. "But I'm always staying active and doing something."
A mother of two who works two jobs while also training, Chavira is more than active by most people's standards.
She wakes up at 4:30 a.m. to squeeze in weight training or strength and conditioning before getting the kids ready for school.
Chavira and her boyfriend each have a daughter, with the girls staying at the couple's house together every other week.
After the kids are dropped off at school, Chavira heads off to her first job, testing pools for Tucson Unified School District. She hits a pool or two a day, and after a few hours, is on her way to her second job. Chavira works part-time at a COVID-19 testing facility, spending about four hours a day at one of Pima College's campuses.
After the girls are picked up from school and fed a snack, Chavira gets ready to train.
"Sometimes I take my daughters with me," Chavira said. "They like to come with me to the gym and sometimes they take classes."
She tries to work in two to four sessions a day, alternating between wrestling and jiujitsu, or jiujitsu and MMA. Saturdays are for sparring and Sunday is a light run or jog. And of course, for family time.
"Fighting has helped me be a better mom and a better person, all around," she said. "It's helped me get through tough times in my life. Every time there's something going on, training just helps me cope with it."
Chavira said she's "really excited" about Sunday's fight against Schaefer, saying she loves how the tournament is geared towards Hispanic viewers and that there are multiple ways to view the fights.
"A lot of the audience (on Univision) aren't even MMA fans, but because it's on a local channel, a lot of people tune in," she said. "Combate Global is a really big platform and I'm excited because, you know, I'm a girl and it's a man's sport."
Rosselyn Chavira takes a sip of water in between training bouts at Dominate Fitness and MMA.