Shayna Baszler

Shayna Baszler (August 8, 1980) is an American mixed martial artist and professional wrestler. She currently trains under former UFC Heavyweight Champion Josh Barnett. She has a record of 15 wins and 10 losses, with 14 wins by way of submission.

Baszler gained recognition for her pseudo-chicken wing submission that she has used to defeat many female fighters, including Roxanne Modafferi. In an audio interview with Jordan Breen on the Sherdog Radio Network, she dubbed the submission, which she created in training, as the "Shwing."

Under Billy Robinson, Baszler is the only certified female catch wrestler in the United States. Robinson has contributed immensely in training several mixed martial arts legends including Kazushi Sakuraba and Josh Barnett.

As of January 2015, Baszler is ranked #27 bantamweight female fighter in the world according to Fight Matrix, and #22 according to Tapology.com.

Mixed martial arts career
Baszler faced Amanda Buckner at MFC: USA vs. Russia 3 on June 3, 2006. She lost the fight by TKO in the third round.

She faced Samantha Anderson at NFF: The Breakout on March 10, 2007. She won the fight by kimura submission in the first round.

Elite XC
Baszler debuted for EliteXC at a ShoXC event on July 27, 2007. She submitted veteran Jan Finney with a first-round armbar and repeated the feat three months later against Jennifer Tate. After defeating Keiko Tamai with an impressive Twister submission at a third ShoXC event, Baszler moved up to the main EliteXC cards.

Baszler next faced Cristiane Justino on CBS television at EliteXC: Unfinished Business on July 26, 2008. She lost the fight via TKO in the second round.

Strikeforce
Following EliteXC's closure, Baszler debuted for Strikeforce at Strikeforce Challengers: Villasenor vs. Cyborg on June 19, 2009 in a fight against Sarah Kaufman, but lost by Unanimous Decision.

Baszler entered the Freestyle Cage Fighting Women's Bantamweight Grand Prix at FCF 39 on January 30, 2010 in Shawnee, Oklahoma. She submitted Megumi Yabushita with a twister submission in the first round of their quarterfinal bout. It was the second time that Baszler had won an MMA fight with the unique submission.

Independent Circuit
Baszler faced late replacement Alexis Davis in the second round of the FCF tournament at FCF 40 on March 27, 2010. She defeated Davis by unanimous decision.

Baszler was scheduled to face Jan Finney in the tournament final at FCF 43 on June 12, 2010. However, Finney withdrew in order to compete in Strikeforce and Baszler faced Adrienna Jenkins instead.[12] Baszler defeated Jenkins by first-round armbar to become FCF Women's Bantamweight Grand Prix Champion.

On November 19, 2010, Baszler faced Elaina Maxwell at The Cage Inc.: Battle At The Border 7. Baszler defeated Maxwell by submission due to a kneebar in the first round to become the first TCI Women's 140 lbs Champion.

Baszler was scheduled to defend her TCI title in a rematch with Alexis Davis at The Cage Inc.: Battle At The Border 10 on July 30, 2011. However, the fight was cancelled after Davis signed with Strikeforce.

Baszler agreed to face Kelly Kobold in a rematch at Cage Fighting Xtreme: Spring Brawl on April 21, 2012. However, it was announced on March 16 that the event had been cancelled.

Invicta Fighting Championships
On April 28, it was announced that Baszler would face Sara McMann in the main event of Invicta FC 2: Baszler vs. McMann. The event took place on July 28, 2012. In a back-and-forth affair, Baszler lost the fight in what was considered to be a controversial unanimous decision. The bout was named fight of the night.

Baszler faced Sarah D'Alelio at Invicta FC 3: Penne vs. Sugiyama on October 6, 2012. She defeated D'Alelio via submission due to a rear naked choke early in round two.

Baszler faced Alexis Davis in a rematch at Invicta FC 4: Esparza vs. Hyatt on January 5, 2013. She was defeated via technical submission due to a rear naked choke in round three. The bout was named fight of the night.

The Ultimate Fighter
In August 2013, it was announced that Baszler was one of the fighters selected to be on The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rousey vs. Team Tate. In her fight to get into the TUF house, Baszler faced Colleen Schneider and won via an armbar submission in the first round. Baszler was then selected by Rousey as the first team pick and the first fight of the season against Julianna Peña. Baszler lost to Peña after tapping out due to a rear naked choke in the second round.

Ultimate Fighting Championship
Baszler was expected to face Sarah Kaufman at The Ultimate Fighter Nations Finale. However, on April 2, 2014, she pulled out of the bout due to an injury.

For her promotional debut, Baszler faced Bethe Correia on August 30, 2014, at UFC 177. She lost the fight via TKO in the second round.

Baszler faced Amanda Nunes on March 21, 2015 at UFC Fight Night 62. She lost the fight via TKO in the first round after taking multiple leg kicks and was subsequently released from the organization.

Professional wrestling
On March 1, 2015, at Ring of Honor's 13th Anniversary Show, Baszler accompanied reDRagon to the ring for their ROH World Tag Team Championship defense. After they won, she helped cut a celebratory promo, where they described her addition to the team as "[finding] our Ringo". On September 26, 2015, Baszler made her professional wrestling debut against Cheerleader Melissa for Quintessential Pro Wrestling (QPG) in Reno, NV. Baszler was attacked by Nicole Matthews setting up a future match between them. In October 2015, Baszler worked two events for Japanese promotion World Wonder Ring Stardom, during their American tour in Covina, California.

On January 23, 2016, at a MAGNUM Pro Wrestling event in Omaha, Nebraska, Baizler defeated "Miss Natural" Heather Patera with a Double Wristlock.

In June 2016, Baszler made her debut for Shimmer Women Athletes. On July 17, Baszler defeated RAZE to become the Women Athlete's Championship at Premier XIII. On September 9, Baszler defeated Heidi Lovelace to win Absolute Intense Wrestling's Women's Championship. On September 27, it was reported that Baszler was receiving a WWE tryout.

Personal life
Baszler was born and raised in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, the daughter of Skip and Margaret Baszler. Her father is of German descent, while her mother is of Chinese descent. Baszler majored in religion at MidAmerica Nazarene University in Kansas before beginning her mixed martial arts training.

Baszler was a key spokesperson in the movement to create a South Dakota athletic commission for combat sports. She once delivered a speech that touched opposing Rep. Steve Hickey, who once labeled MMA as the "child porn" of sports. Hickey later changed his mind about the sport after visiting Baszler at the Next Edge Academy of Martial Arts, the training place of Baszler, as well as other mixed martial arts fighters and practitioners.

Baszler is also a coach for the South Dakota-based roller derby team, the Sioux Falls Roller Dollz. She is a certified Emergency Medical Technician (EMT).

In wrestling

 * Signature moves
 * Armbar
 * Double Wristlock


 * Entrance Music


 * Nicknames
 * "The Queen Of Spades"


 * Managers and valets


 * Teams and stables

Mixed martial arts

 * Freestyle Cage Fighting
 * FCF Women's Bantamweight Grand Prix Championship (1 time)


 * Invicta FC
 * Fight of the Night (2 times) vs. Sara McMann, Alexis Davis


 * The Cage Inc.
 * TCI Women's 140 lbs Championship (1 time, first)

Professional wrestling

 * Absolute Intense Wrestling
 * AIW Women's Championship (1 time, current)


 * Premier Wrestling
 * Premier Women's Championship (1 time, current)


 * Pro Wrestling Illustrated
 * Ranked No. 40 of the top 50 female singles wrestlers in the PWI Female 50 in 2016


 * Quintessential Pro Wrestling
 * QPW Women's Championship (1 time)