I was in my car, driving on some errand on a weekday lunchtime in late May when my phone rang. It was UFC president Dana White. I pulled over and picked up my phone.





He asked where I was, and I told him I was a few miles from home in Washington, and he said, "I need you on a plane to Las Vegas at 2:45 p.m., can you make it?" That barely gave me enough time to go home, grab a change of clothes and a toothbrush, but I said I was pretty sure I could make the flight.

Obviously, I tried to ask Dana what was up but he insisted he had to tell me face to face. I couldn’t read anything from his tone of voice. Was it good news? Bad news? He just said, "I will see you in Vegas." For the entire flight to Vegas, and all the journey to Dana’s office at Zuffa’s building, I kept going over and over what Dana could want to talk to me about that was so urgent I had to get on a plane on less than two hours’ notice.

When I got there, Dana sat me down, and said: "So, this is so serious I needed to look you in the eye…"

At that point my heart sank. He had this real serious look on his face, like he was angry, my mind raced to try to think what on Earth I could have done to get myself into trouble but then Dana added, "I’m just messing with ya. It is good news for you. How you could like to coach TUF against Ronda?"

The first thing I said was, "Does it come with the title shot against her?" and Dana laughed and said it did. "I’m in!" I said and then Dana explained that Cat Zingano had blown her knee and was out for a long time.

[Related: TUF contestant suggests bout, with date with Miesha Tate on the line]

On the plane ride over, I’d hoped that somehow I was going to be asked to coach TUF but I didn’t see how that could be possible.

Dana also said I had to literally tell no one because we wanted the surprise to be captured for the show. He then took me to dinner with some of his friends, the next day I flew home, packed my bags, and flew back to Vegas hours later. I didn’t have a coaching team, a plan, nothing. It was a complete whirlwind couple of days and the only person I had told I was going to be in Las Vegas for the next two months was my boyfriend, Bryan Caraway, because he would be with me as one of my coaches.

On the Tuesday we started filming, at first, I was there alone because Bryan was busy helping put together a coaching staff in time for our first practice session in two days’ time.

But, before that, I had to come face-to-face with Ronda Rousey. Every MMA fan knows the history there. Dana had told me that she didn’t know Cat was out or that I was in, and that they wouldn’t be taking down Cat’s posters and images from the TUF gym in order to maintain the illusion that Ronda would be coaching against Cat.

I arrived at the TUF gym and was kept in my team’s locker room. Bryan and my team wouldn’t arrive in Vegas until the next morning, so I sat there alone.

After about 20 minutes, I was told to wait behind the doors to the actual gym and, at least this is how I remember it, I was supposed to walk in when the fighters were already in the room. I imagined Dana would be explaining to the fighters and Ronda that Cat was out hurt and then reveal me as the new coach.

A producer gave me a countdown to walk through the doors in 5…4…3…2…1… but when I walked through the doors, the only other person in the entire room was Ronda. It was just her and me.

I thought, "Uh oh. This is going to get real, real fast," but actually, Ronda was cool at first. She walked towards me smiling and shook my hand. That was literally the first time she and I have ever shook hands. Then she immediately wanted to know why I was there. In the episode, they cut a little bit of our conversation out. At first she thought there were going to be three teams and then she mistakenly thought that I was replacing her, not Cat. Then like you saw she stormed off to find Dana.

That is how my involvement with this season of The Ultimate Fighter began. When Ronda stormed off, I remember looking around that gym, where fighters like Forrest Griffin got their start in the UFC and legends like Chuck Liddell and Georges St-Pierre have coached, thinking what a huge opportunity this was. I also remember thinking that I was ready to do this, ready to beat Ronda as a coach and then in the Octagon on December 28.

Story continues