Most 22-year-olds who wear championship belts are probably doing so for Halloween or because they’re going to a WWE wrestling show.
But Kristi Vorce’s belt is real, and she intends to earn another one Feb. 7 in New Port Richey.
Her opponent, Gillian Robertson, is a familiar foe. In Vorce’s most recent fight, Robertson won by submission. And the stakes are higher than before now that a belt is on the line. Nothing else is on her mind right.
“Other fights have been offered to me, but if I have a choice between a title fight and a normal fight, I’m taking the title fight,” Vorce says.
A lifetime spent training has led to this opportunity, which Vorce could come out of with two strawweight championship belts to her name.
STARTING EARLY
Vorce began training in martial arts at 6 years old, when her father placed her in a Shin-Toshi karate program with her younger brother. She picked up on the art quickly, and her father saw potential.
“Because I was so good at that, he wanted me to do everything,” Vorce says. “He didn’t want me to do just that — which is what I really wanted to do — so he kind of pushed me into it. But, I appreciate it now.”
Since then, Vorce has studied Muay Thai, Tae Kwon Do, Hapkido and Krav Maga in depth. She’s also become familiar with elements of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, wrestling, boxing and Vale Tudo striking, all of which are seen quite often in MMA bouts.
Before breaking into the MMA scene, Vorce got her combat experience in tournaments and competitions held at various gyms. When she grew old enough to pay for her own training, she mixed things up a bit.
“If I didn’t have the money to train, they would stick me up against pro fighters just because they needed someone to be a punching bag,” she says. “And I would take it, because I needed the training.”
Vorce knew she wanted to be a fighter when she discovered Gina Carano. The longtime MMA fighter was everything Vorce aspired to be: calm, confident and fearless on her feet.
“It was her Muay Thai background,” Vorce says. “The way that she moves — you wouldn’t even see it coming, and she’d backfist you. She had the (guts) to turn around — turn her back to you — and nail you in the side of the head. Her knockouts were always beautiful.”
When Vorce finally made it to the MMA scene, she wasted no time trying to knock people out like Carano.
YOUNG GUN
Fighting in the 115-pound strawweight division, Vorce made her professional debut in Lakeland-based Rival Fight League on March 29, 2014. Her opponent, Kristan Miller, held a blue belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and was widely favored to win the fight.
Not that that mattered to Vorce.
“I didn’t care what everybody else said,” Vorce says. “I trained hard, ate right, and when I stepped into the cage, I completely destroyed her. She hit me once in each round.”
While Vorce didn’t get the knockout, she did win the three-round fight by unanimous decision after decimating Miller in stand-up fighting. Shortly afterward, her next fight was already planned.
“Everyone starts yelling my name outside, so I went out there,” Vorce says. “They’re like, ‘Get in the cage! Get in the cage!’ The owner, Ross Kellin, is standing there with a microphone and this girl I’ve never seen in my life. He goes, ‘She doesn’t think you’re impressive!’”
That was Yarlyn Gonzales, who held the belt in the strawweight division. Gonzales, a product of the prestigious D’Angelo school, wanted a fight soon, and Vorce agreed.
The two fought on May 31, and Vorce sent a message of her own right from the get-go.
“In the first 10 seconds of the first round, I lifted my arm and opened my ribcage for her to kick me,” Vorce says. “As soon as she did, I hit her with a two-piece in the face.“
She ended up beating Gonzales by split decision to win the belt, but wasn’t called out from the locker room again. Her next fight, against Robertson, was booked for June 14 at a different promotion, in Port Richey.
That one didn’t go so well, as Vorce lost to Robertson by submission in the first round.
“The third time she went to lock in an armbar on me, she couldn’t get it,” Vorce says. “I stacked her, and I was about to stand up. She felt that I was going to stand up, so she grabbed my ankle and twisted it until it clicked three times. That’s illegal — there are no twisting locks and no small joint manipulations.”
Robertson, an American Top Team fighter, has a strong Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu background and a 4-1 record. Her last three victories have come by submission — all armbars — in the first round. Now fighting in the American Fight Championship promotion, she holds the strawweight title and has agreed to put it on the line against Vorce.
Vorce is ready for the rematch and the flurry of submission attempts that will surely come her way. She is hoping to walk out of there with a different result — and more hardware.
“She knows about me,” Vorce says. “I know about her. We both need to be ready for anything.”
Contact Justin Kline at jkline@plantcityobserver.com.
GET HANDS-ON
Kristi Vorce only moonlights as an MMA fighter. By day, she’s a personal trainer operating in Plant City.
Vorce and Alicia Hurley run Hands-On Training, where they offer private sessions in their own studio for anyone looking to bulk up, learn some fighting techniques or just get in shape. The two train by the hour, and pricing can be discussed by phone or in person.
The studio is located in the plaza at 645 E. Alexander St., Unit 643. For more information, call (813) 326-1643.