Sara McMann

Personal life

McMann's parents are Paula Jean and Thomas William McMann. She has one sister, Nickolina, and had one brother, Jason. Jason, who wrestled at Quince Orchard High School in Gaithersburg, Maryland, was murdered January 23, 1999 at the age of 21.

McMann attended McDowell High School in Marion, North Carolina where she was coached by Timothy Hutchins. In addition to wrestling, she participated in theatre productions. She earned a degree in Theatre at Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, where she was a member of the school's wrestling team under the coaching of Carl Poff from 1999 to 2003. She previously attended University of Minnesota Morris from 1998 to 1999, where she was coached by Doug Reese.

In August 2010, McMann was awarded a MA/EDS with a major in mental health counseling from Gardner-Webb University in Boiling Springs, North Carolina.

McMann does volunteer work for Habitat for Humanity, a Christian housing ministry. She traveled to Sri Lanka with Olympic teammates to help victims of the Tsunami rebuild homes for those displaced by the tidal wave. She also helps with youth clubs and speaks to upcoming girls and boys about wrestling.

On September 3, 2004, while driving her Jeep in Colorado on the way to Iowa with her fiance, former ASU three-time NCAA All-American wrestler Steven Blackford as her passenger, the vehicle ran off the road and rolled over. He was ejected from the vehicle, and died at the scene. McMann was hospitalized with a broken arm and other minor injuries, and later charged with careless driving.

McMann is the mother of one child, a daughter who was born in 2009. The father is Trent Goodale former head wrestling coach at Limestone College in Gaffney, South Carolina. As of August 29, 2014 Sara McMann has officially taken on the nickname of "THE" Sara McMann. The nickname was originally started by her Revolution Fight Team and close friends. It became official upon her 5-year-old daughter saying "OMG is that "THE" Sara McMann."

Mixed martial arts career

McMann announced in late 2010 that she had signed a three-fight contract with Strikeforce. She planned to fight at 135 pounds. However, she did not sign on with the promotion due to an extension clause in the contract.

McMann was first scheduled to make her professional mixed martial arts debut on November 14, 2010 in Jamaica, but the event was cancelled due to safety problems with the cage.

She then had more fights fall apart after opponents backed out, including a scheduled April 30, 2011 fight against Mariah Johnson.

On May 28, 2011, McMann made her pro MMA debut at Universal Cage Combat: Revolution. She defeated Christina Marks by submission in the first round.

McMann faced fellow Olympian Julie Malenfant at Blackeye Promotions 4 on June 17, 2011. McMann defeated Malenfant by TKO early in the first round.

McMann faced Tonya Evinger at Titan Fighting Championships 19 on July 29, 2011. The fight served as the co-main event. McMann defeated Evinger by unanimous decision.

ProElite

After ProElite reincarnated under new management, McMann faced Raquel Pa'aluhi on the promotion's first event post-EliteXC at ProElite 1: Arlovski vs. Lopez on August 27, 2011. She defeated Pa'aluhi by submission due to an americana in the third round.

McMann returned to ProElite to face Hitomi Akano at ProElite 3 on January 21, 2012. She defeated Akano by unanimous decision.

Invicta Fighting Championships

On April 28, it was announced that McMann would face Shayna Baszler in the main event of Invicta Fighting Championships 2. The event took place on July 28, 2012. McMann defeated Baszler via unanimous decision and the bout was named fight of the night. The bout was a title eliminator, with the winner scheduled to face the winner of Alexis Davis vs. Hitomi Akano.

Strikeforce

On September 4, 2012, it was announced McMann had signed with Strikeforce. She was expected to debut at Strikeforce: Cormier vs. Mir against former bantamweight title challenger Liz Carmouche, but the event was cancelled.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

In February 2013, McMann officially joined the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). It was rumored she turned down a fight with then-title holder Ronda Rousey. However, this was false information and no such fight was offered or even presented to McMann at the time. She became the third female to earn a victory in the UFC by defeating Sheila Gaff at UFC 159.

McMann was slated to face former Strikeforce champion Sarah Kaufman on August 28, 2013 at UFC Fight Night 27. However, McMann withdrew from the bout for, at the time, undisclosed personal reasons. In January 2015, she disclosed that the reason for withdrawing was due to her father battling aggressive lymphoma.

McMann faced Ronda Rousey for the UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship at UFC 170. She lost the fight by TKO after getting knocked down with a knee to the body. This stoppage created controversy, with some sports writers and attendants finding it premature.

McMann faced promotional newcomer Lauren Murphy at UFC Fight Night 47 on August 16, 2014. McMann won the fight by split decision.

McMann faced Miesha Tate at UFC 183 on January 31, 2015. Despite a strong first round, she lost by majority decision.

McMann faced Amanda Nunes on August 8, 2015 at UFC Fight Night 73. She lost the fight via submission in the first round.

Mixed martial arts

Submission grappling

Amateur wrestling