Female fighter, Shannon Schade returns to the cage 5 Years After 5-Second KO Victory

Female fighter returns to the cage 5 Years After 5-Second KO Victory

Shannon Schade has only one fight under her belt but it came in the form of an impressive five-second knockout victory over Jennifer Martin more than five-years ago.

The fight happened in May 2009 (video of the quick knockout below) and this coming weekend at World Cagefighting Championships XII, the 35-year old Schade will step back into the cage for the very first time since that win.

“Back in 2009 it was a struggle finding opponents. Women’s MMA wasn’t huge the way it is now, and MMA was still banned in most states in the area. The pool of Amateur women MMA fighters at my weight class was so small I was just kind of sitting back waiting to hear something,” Schade said.

“The few years following I had terrible luck finding opponents and worse luck with matches falling through. Injuries, illness, lack of paperwork, no-shows, you name it. Unfortunately with such a small pool to work with, if your opponent drops out the day or week before the fight, it’s back to the drawing board. Eat a burger, go home, and start again.”

The continuous disappointment forced Schade to rethink her fighting career. She took some time off but as women’s MMA took a rise her interests peaked once again.

“After some discouragement, I put the idea of fighting to the side for a while but continued to train. It wasn’t until I joined a new gym (Defiant), that I was inspired to try again. My coaches and team were very pro-active in finding me fights, so I was able to secure some matches, although a few fell through. I’m lucky enough to be given this opportunity this weekend that has been a long time coming!”

Schade’s fight with Brittany Inkrote at WCC XII, Dec. 6 at the Lancaster Host Resort in Lancaster, Pennsylvania almost suffered the same fate she was experiencing earlier in life.  Inkrote suffered a bad cut in training and just yesterday a replacement was found in Kasey Matthews.

Schade has been training martial arts for 16 years and MMA for about seven. She has a blue belt in BJJ under Mike Fitchett (Robson Moura NU) and Black Belt in Isshinryu Karate.

Her opponent is a Golden Gloves champion boxer and has impressive striking but Schade is confident in herself and her skillset.

“I feel younger and stronger now than I was in my 20’s. At 35 I feel I’m at my prime! Age is just a number.”

To purchase tickets to WCC XII please visit wccmma.com

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