STORMING OUT OF RETIREMENT: DALLAS “THE DESTROYER” CORDTS

Posted on | May 15, 2007 | 1 Comment

STORMING OUT OF RETIREMENT: AN INTERVIEW WITH DALLAS CORDTS
By: Rich Bergeron

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Dallas Cordts is used to seeing lots of blood and guts having been trained in forensics and also through her work as a mortician. She’s also an avid fighter in mixed martial arts, and every now and then she gets the chance to produce a blood spatter she doesn’t have to analyze.

“I’ve been training in mma since I was about five,” said Cordts. “I went to see some fights with some of my friends, I decided I wanted to do it, and I did it one time. After that it kinda’ stuck. I’ve been doing it for about nine years now.”

Asked which opponent was her toughest, she chose the diplomatic route in her answer. “It’s hard to say. Every opponent’s different. Each one has their own strengths, and I consider all of them very tough opponents. It’s hard to pinpoint just one.”

As far as what she enjoys most about the sport, she said it is “the diversity, and the different styles coming together” that intrigue her.

She considers the rear naked choke her favorite submission, and her favorite style is Muay Thai.

Cordts has high hopes of being the first woman to break into the UFC. “Hopefully one day I’ll be able to fight in the UFC if they ever allow women to fight. Right now my main goal is to fight the best competitors that are out there right now,” she said. “One of my goals is to be able to fight Gina Carano. She seems like a really good opponent that I think would be a really good match-up for me. I would like to do that.”

She is with Dean “The Boogeyman” Lister’s fight team and hopes they can help her reach all her goals.

She connected with Lister through word of mouth and started talking to the MMA superstar. “He got me hooked up with Haymaker’s Empire, and they put me on the fight team,” she said. “They’re real good managers, and it’s a really strong fight team, and I’m really proud to be a part of it.”

The 32-year-old Cordts is also a trainer in the sport, and her husband is one of her students. She’s pushing him to make his own MMA debut soon. So far she’s compiled a record of 18-0 in competition, and she doesn’t call herself “The Destroyer” for nothing.

Still, like any woman in the sport, she’s come across some people who try to discredit her abilities just because she’s a female. “One thing I’ve noticed is that, early on in the sport, and I’ve been around since MMA went mainstream, I did encounter a lot of problems with people viewing women as weaker. I saw that myself until people watched me fight and saw that I had abilities,” she explained. “There’s some really good women fighters in the sport now, and it’s really starting to grow. Men may be physically stronger than women, but women usually train with a lot of men, so they’re a little bit more technical.”

She’s seen some major progress for female fighters since she began her career. “It seems like women are really starting to come out now and compete. When I first started, there weren’t many, but the ones I encountered were really strong individuals,” she said. “Nowadays I’ve seen some of the women fighters today, and they do fight a lot different than they used to. I’m looking forward to competing against the best out there.”

She has several role models in the sport she looks up to. “First, I would have to say Dean Lister, and luckily I got on his fight team. That’s a big bonus for me,” she said. “Royce Gracie is another one, just because he’s very good at jiu jitsu, and I always admired his style. Actually, anyone that steps into a cage is a big inspiration for me, because it shows a lot of courage.”

Outside of MMA she can only point to one major role model in her life, and even that one has a connection to the disciplines behind the sport. Grandmaster H.U. Lee, the founder of the American Tae Kwon Doe Association, who passed away, is someone she met through training with the ATA since she was five years old. She heralds Lee as one of her earliest inspirations.

Cordts is happy to see MMA becoming so popular and taking Martial Arts up a notch, too. “I think it’s wonderful. I’m so happy that MMA is finally getting recognized as a good, strong sport like boxing,” she said. “The fan base and everything is growing so much, and the sport has evolved so much, it’s just gonna bring more and stronger competitors. Just in general, Martial Arts is also still continuing to grow, and you’re seeing more and more people getting involved than in the past. More and more people are doing grappling tournaments and more martial arts tournaments now. It’s becoming more popular, and everybody’s trying to do it. That’s a great thing.”

Cordts will next do battle in August. Already used to the heat from living in Arizona, she will be going to another tropical clime to fight. “The date hasn’t been set yet. It’s all going through my manager, but it will probably be in Las Vegas or Florida,” she reported.

Asked what she considers the most important thing to do to prepare for a fight, she answered, “Really train on technical things and a lot of cardio. You have to have a full gas tank going in there. I do a lot of weight training, because you have to be strong and able to hit hard, and I work a lot on my jiu jitsu.”

Given a chance to add her own thoughts, she reaffirmed her desire to face the best and thanked all her supporters. “I’m just coming out of retirement, and I want to be able to match up with the best female competition out there, and anyone willing to step in the cage with me will be facing tough opponent,” she said. “I just want to thank Orange County Fighters, Rage and Glory, Cryogel, Pirate Island Entertainment, and Haymaker’s Empire, my manager. I’d also like to send a shout out to Dean Lister and the team.”

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