Ashleigh Snover - Photo by Nathan Morley
Private Investigator, Ashleigh Snover to make MMA debut at High Desert Brawl
Ashleigh Snover is not your typical 26-year old mixed martial artist. A car accident derailed her initial journey into the combative arts, leading to a later start than she would have hoped for.
“I started training five or six years ago but I got into a car accident and injured my back and then I just got back into it about two years ago,” Snover said.
Living in Reno, Nevada, Snover completes her martial arts training under Kelly Anundson at Combat Sport and Fitness. One of her teammates, Auttumn Norton will make her pro debut this week at Invicta FC 36.
“My family is not the biggest fan of it,” Snover said of her announcing that the will be stepping into the cage to compete in an MMA fight.
“My dad, he’s always been a fan of it. He had always like fighting in general, he watched MMA as a sport. But, I’m his only daughter so he was a little iffy as first when I told him I wanted to get back into it. Now he is super proud of me, but he hasn’t been able to come to any of my matches or tournaments yet. I think he has mixed feelings.”
“It was probably around December 2017 that I really wanted to pick up striking and start fighting,” she said in anticipation of her long-awaited debut. “I started out originally in just a jiu-jitsu competition gym. About a year later I started training with Kelly when I was really serious about getting into MMA.”
Snover landed her first assigned on Pure Combat “High Desert Brawl” on August 10. She meets Denise Miller.
“I really don’t know much about her (Denise). I know Auttumn and her used to train together at Iron Horse,” Snover said. “Other than that I’m not sure too much about what she’s got. Other than her name and a little bit of what Auttumn told me about her style from back then, I don’t have too much to go on.”
Despite not having much to go on, Snover seems confident that her jiu jitsu will help her win the fight.
“Grappling just comes way more naturally to me than punching someone in the face, for whatever reason,” she said. “I’m working my takedown game, and getting more stable on my feet but usually once we ae on the ground I’m pretty much in control. Even if I’m in a bad spot, I can usually control the situation so that I can get out of it.”
The blue belt Snover may be comfortable with her submission capabilities but she also believes in letting her hands go if she needs to.
“I imagine being able to get on the inside and get her down, get on top, and ground and pound her. If I find a submission, I find a submission. In my head I’ve played it out many different ways. I’ve got my striking up to a really good point because I’ve been focusing on it for the last couple months. Just kind of…. depends on my mood. If I’m super angry I see myself punching them (the opponent) more. If I’m calm, I tend to see myself on the ground more for it.”
“I just started up with my buddy (Dustin Grate) who own his own private investigator business, Grate Detections” she said. “He trains out of Charles Gracie here in Reno, and I ran into him at Fight 2 Win, and he offered me the job. A couple months later I decided to take it and get out of private security and go more into the investigative side of it.”
“Nobody expects a 26-year old girl to come up and give you court papers,” Snover said of her career choice flying under the radar.
With only three weeks on the job, Snover is still learning the ropes, but says
“On my very first day we almost got into a fight and it was awesome,” she said of recalling some of her best experiences thus far.
“My boss isn’t much bigger than me, but he’s almost a brown belt. This big 6′ 2”, 240-pound man was trying to intimidate him. I’m standing off to the side just in case. The guy is talking trash and saying he’s going to beat him up. Dustin’s like ‘I’m right here. What are you gonna do?’
Snover and Grate did come out of the situation unscathed but the event was an experience she will likely never forget.
Although she has yet to really step into the cage for her first sanctioned bout, Snover sees longevity in her participation in the sport.
“I would love to go pro. I would love the opportunity to go pro. As of right now, this is my first MMA fight, so for all I know, something could change. But, I really do want to go pro with this. I love fighting. I love the camaraderie. As a fighter, I at least want to try and make a living out of it.”
Thanks
“I would like to shout out everyone in my gym, my coach Kelly, and all my teammates there. They are a great group of people to work with. They’ve all pushed me. If I have a bad day, they are there to help build me back up so I can focus on fighting and get my head right. Also, my boyfriend (who is also a fighter). He is my biggest supporter. Every time I thought I needed to stop or that I couldn’t do it, he is always there. He’s always got my back and he is my number one fan.”
