The replacement for Laura D’Auguste (who is out due to injury) is Kelly Kobold, a Minneapolis bruiser with a 16-0-1 record!
Here’s some pics we got and a chunk of her bio.
Starting her training in June of 2002, Kelly entered the world of Mixed Martial Arts with no fighting or sport experience. She is the only woman on a hardcore team where the average player is over 200 pounds. On Kelly’s first day of training she was taken aside and told “if you want to train with us you will have to train like us. That means no one will go easy on you because you are a girl. We will show you respect by beating the hell out of you.” Her response was “Good.” At first she took to the game like a cat to water. She showed only two traits that spoke well for her: she never complained about hard work, and she never showed any quit. Night after night, teammates would remark on the girl’s heart. January 12th, 2003 in the ICC, that heart was on display for all to see.
Chick’s got pipes.
Kelly first fight was in a small show in Duluth against Geneva Cabyellow. Cabyellow’s game was just not ready and Kelly scored an easy 1st round victory. Her non-stop attack against Cabyellow lit up the crowd and saved what was otherwise a very dry show. Kobold’s next fight proved more challenging as she took on Lori Ogdahl from Jim Miller’s Innovative Martial Arts. Ogdahl has an extensive martial arts background including certifications from Eric Paulson. Ogdahl and Kobold had a wild fight that ended with Kobold connecting on a series of knees forcing the refs intervention.
Don’t know who she’s fighting here. Looks like Kedzie…
On Jan 12th, Kobold would take on Ogdahl’s teammate Lisa Huffmann. Huffmann came to the fight in outstanding shape and with sharp boxing skills. Huffmann stung Kelly with combination after combination, keeping Kelly at bay for 3 minutes scoring again and again - but Kelly had no quit and the last two minutes of round one saw Huffmann on the ground taking as much damage as she dished out in the first three minutes. The next round was one of the hardest fought rounds ever seen in MMA. Both women sustained and dealt out great punishment. Even answering the bell for the third round was a great testament to both fighters’ courage. Kobold was able to score a decisive takedown and force a tap out. A defining moment for this quickly raising star.
Tara’s maybe got some trouble on her hands with this one…
