Chelsea Chandler (0-1) vs. Mitzi Merry (2-0) opens the show at Invicta FC 32 this Friday. For Merry, the road to Invicta has been filled with pain and uncertainty, which not only threatened her fighting career, but also her life.

The 31-year-old Merry had her first professional fight in 2008. She beat Vanessa Bohleber-Higdon (with an armbar) at Collision at the Coliseum 4 - Caged Combat in Lafayette, LA at a time when women’s MMA was five years away from being under the radar.

Merry told Bloody Elbow that she didn’t have an extensive martial arts background when she took her first fight. A life-long athlete, Merry played rugby for Oklahoma State University before joining the kickboxing team in 2007.

Shortly after she began training in kickboxing, she was invited to compete. She then began dabbling in jiu jitsu and before too long she was thrust into a cage. “I just got kind of thrown into the fire.”

“It was very green back then, very new,” said Merry. “Women weren’t really accepted that much. After my first fight I was even ranked in the top 30, which was a surprise for me, because it was only one fight and I definitely didn’t think I was on par with Miesha Tate, Gina Carano and Cris Cyborg, and they were at the top of that list.”

The second fight of Merry’s career came in December 2017, where she beat Erica Torres at Primus FC. The nine years spent between her first and second fights were harrowing for Merry.

Just after her debut, the first incidents to sideline Merry’s MMA career were mundane compared to what was to come. Merry said her first MMA coaches quit, which stunted her development and ability to get a second fight. She sought out training with former UFC fighter Mikey Burnett in Tulsa. Then Merry broke her wrist. When she returned Burnett closed his gym. Some time later Burnett opened a new gym and Merry signed up with him again.

This stuttering attempt to build on her debut win came to a screeching halt when Merry became pregnant in 2012. After securing no fights in four years, and having her personal development interrupted by a lack of stable training opportunities, Merry faced at least nine months away from fighting and perhaps an end to what had become her dream career.

Merry gave birth to her daughter in December 2012 via an emergency c-section. “I almost stroked out,” revealed Merry about the traumatic birth that, thankfully, resulted in a healthy child. During the delivery Merry suffered nerve damage from an epidural, which led to pancreatitis; a condition which would go undiagnosed for years, but cause persistent bouts of sickness and pain that would land Merry in hospital.

But Merry would persevere through her condition, while raising her infant daughter. And eventually she was able to comeback in her fight against pancreatitis and regain her health. Once fit, she joined RYSE MMA in Woodward, OK. “I was finally able to step back in and go after my dreams.”

I’ve just always wanted to do this, once I found it. This is a desire in my heart and soul. This is what I love. Not being able to do it was just devastating.

A healthy Merry beat Torres by rear naked choke late in the second round. She cried as her hand was raised. “I was like, ‘Ugh, finally, finally I’m back. I can do this and I’m not going to let anything get in my way. I’ve just always wanted to do this, once I found it. This is a desire in my heart and soul. This is what I love. Not being able to do it was just devastating. Yeah, there was a lot of emotion after that fight.”

Merry had to wait almost another year before getting her next fight, which happens this Friday at Invicta FC 32. She chalked that wait up to some ‘accidents’, one of which caused a slice on her foot that required 16 stitches.

For her third professional fight she will face Chelsea Chandler, whose pro debut came in a decision loss to Kerri Kenneson at Invicta FC 28 in March. Merry called Chandler a “game opponent.”

“I think her jiu jitsu is legit,” she said. “She’s very quick on attacking from different angles and trying to go for different submissions, so I know I need to be careful with that. I think she’s going to be a great opponent for me, to test me, and possibly push me into deep water. So I’m really excited to fight her and I think we’ll put on a great show.”

Unlike most fighters, Merry welcomes the ‘deep water’ that comes with being dragged into an exhausting dog-fight. The reason for this is simple; it’s nothing compared to what she’s been through.

“I’ve felt the worst kind of pain and came back from it,” stated Merry, with authority. “So there’s no fear in, ‘Oh this might hurt.’ I’ve got heart for days and no one can break that. I love that I’m able to test myself and push through and showcase that it’s really not just skill, a lot of it is heart. A lot of it is being able to be thrown into that fire and being able endure that and push through.”

A display of heart in the cage in Shawnee, OK this weekend is something Merry is excited to share with the friends and family who will be in attendance, as well as her sponsors* who Merry said have enabled her continued, and often rocky, journey in MMA. It’s also something she hopes will provide a positive example for her daughter, whose already following in her mother’s footsteps.

Merry’s almost six-year-old daughter trains in jiu jitsu and dressed as the alien warrior Gamora (from Guardians of the Galaxy) for Halloween. Though, the young girl recently tried to quit BJJ, because she wanted to do gymnastics instead. When Merry told her that meant she, “won’t be able to be a little fighter like me,” the young girl changed her mind, “Oh ok, nevermind. I’ll stay.”

Mitzi Merry’s fight against Chelsea Chandler is the first bout at Invicta FC 32. The card is headlined by a fight for the vacant Invicta FC featherweight title between Felicia Spencer and Pam Sorenson. Also on the card is the Invicta debut of UFC veteran Viviane Pereira, who takes on former DEEP JEWELS champion Mizuki Inoue.

The action begins at 8PM ET live on UFC Fight Pass.

* CW Ranch and Cattle, CannaHealth of Oklahoma, Hawley Services, Northwest Oil and Gas Consultants, Yulonda Merry Redesigned Originals.