Weakley finding her sporting niche

For Ashley Weakley, a budding Mixed Martial Arts fighter, having a pugnacious spirit could have been a curse, but has turned out to be quite a blessing.

Weakley chuckled as she recalled the time in her past when the Manassas Park High School graduate had a life-altering brush with the law. It was life-altering because it led her to Dino Phillips, who serves as her strength and conditioning coach, and also became her boyfriend.

"I got into a street fight one time when I was younger and the officer in charge of the case knew Dino, and he got me involved with boxing. Once I started doing it, I fell in love with it," Weakley recalled.

When asked what attracts her to the sport, Weakley cited the "adrenaline rush" she gets, especially before a match.

"It is an amazing feeling, both during training and during matches. Being able to (channel) the fighting instinct in a competitive way is something you can't get during a street fight. It's the ultimate to have that feeling of dominating an opponent."

The love affair has resulted in six-day-a-week training sessions with coaches Phillips and Dave Reeves, her mixed martial arts coach, and has birthed an amateur career that has risen more quickly than even Weakley herself could have envisioned. Weakley boxes with Team Leo Dalla in Woodbridge and it was Dalla, who encouraged her to "take up the rising sport of MMA," Weakley said.

So far so good. Weakley has a 3-0 amateur record, having beaten Emily Peters-Kagan of the nationally-renowned Greg Peters' program in the quarterfinals of the Tuff-N-Uff 135-pound Women's Amateur Championships in Las Vegas. She advanced to Fri-day's semifinals where she will take on Jocelyn Lybarger at the Orleans Hotel and Casino.

It appears Weakley has found her sporting niche after trying gymnastics from about age 6-12, then participating in both softball and track after that. Weakley, who had only trained for MMA for just seven months before her first match, said the way she has won her matches has been a bit surprising.

"In my first match, it took 2:20 (two minutes and 20 seconds) and I expected it to go all three rounds," Weakley said. "My next match ended in 23 seconds and then I was invited to take part in the Las Vegas tournament and things kind of blew up after that. Beating a strong fighter (in Peters-Kagan) from a strong program was great. I feel like my career is building to where I want it to go."

The ultimate destination includes fighting on the pro circuit sometime in 2011 and then ultimately a career in acting and stunt work. Toward that end, Weakley said she has received a few offers for television reality shows including NBC's Ultimate Women Challenge and a similar show on Spike TV.

"I don't know how much I can say about these shows yet, and I am letting my management team handle all that. But I know any exposure that comes from my (amateur) success will help me with my ultimate goals down the road."

Weakley said her success so far has been a result of two things. First, having gained the support of her parents, Manassas Park residents Gary and Cindy Weakley, after initial reluctance.

"When I first told them I wanted to do this, they said, 'Call us after the match if you are still alive.' And then after I won, they started getting behind me. They paid to see my last fight (online) and have really gotten behind my career because they see this as something I want to do."

Secondly, Weakley credits her determination and knowledge of her body as the other key ingredients to her success.

"I don't ever feel I have done anything perfect. After a bout, my coaches and I analyze everything and see what I could have done differently or done better. That's what keeps me going." Weakley said.

"And knowing that if I am sore after doing a particular skill (jujitsu, boxing, or kickboxing) that I need to stop right then. I tell my coaches right then 'I think I need to take a day' and then I take a day. There's no sense pushing it. If your body is telling you something, it's best to listen to it."