Everyone takes their own unique path to the bright lights and big stage of legendary sports arenas such as Madison Square Garden.

But, this is something else.

On Friday night, one of the combatants entering the cage at Bellator 222 will be Larkyn Dasch, a woman who doesn’t make her living as a cop, firefighter, bouncer, or construction worker, like many boxing and MMA fighters do. On the contrary, Dasch works at Hooters, a job one would not normally associate with tough, fighting women.

However, listening to her talk about her upcoming bout, it doesn’t take long to realize she’s a fighter.

“She’ll have to kill me to win,” Dasch said of her opponent Valerie Louredo . “I won’t give up. I’ve only lost by decision. It doesn’t matter what you do, you’ll have to knock me out. If she knocks me out, good for her. But I have a gameplan, and I’ll fight with more heart than she will.

“That’s what I’ll bring to it. I’ll fight with more heart, and I think I fight with more heart than 99 percent of all female fighters.”

While Dasch is more than happy to be fighting this weekend, she’s not necessarily familiar with her opponent.

“Actually, I have never heard of her,” Dasch said of Loureda. “I follow Bellator and the UFC, but at the same time I know there is the potential that I could one day end up fighting those girls. And I don’t like to know my opponents.

“I would rather my coaches tell me exactly what I’m supposed to do, give me a gameplan and then go in there not knowing who this girl is, because at the end of the day she’s just another female fighter who trains every day and has the same struggles that I do.”

As for whether Dasch will incorporate Hooters into her fight gear, that’s something she’s still pondering.

“That is still undecided,” she said. “We’re still trying to figure out what we’re going to do, but it could be that way. We’ll see.”

Follow Dylan Gwinn on Twitter @themightygwinn