Rachel Wray, MMA Fighter: ex-NFL cheerleader enters the octagon

Former Kansas City Chiefs cheerleader Rachel Wray has traded her pom poms for gloves and an octagon.  

The ex-cheerleader has decided to pursue becoming an MMA fighter.  Her debut bout took place at Harrah's in North Kansas City in late September.

Wray sat down with Kansas City Mixed Martial Arts blog KCMMA.com and talked about what brought her to the world of MMA.

"Last year, I was a Chiefs Cheerleader.  I have been a cheerleader or dancer my whole life and I moved here from Arkansas to Cheer for the Kansas City Chiefs.  I started working out at Title Boxing Club with some of the girls for an alternative workout.  I really enjoyed it and started taking private lessons after a little while.  One day,. I came in and they wanted me to spar.  I was nervous about someone actually punching me in the face, but I did it."

Click here for KCMMA's full article: ( http://bit.ly/U03ikU )

Wray says her Mom hates her new passion while her Dad loves it.  She aspires to one day become a professional fighter, practicing 5 times a week, 2 hours per night towards that goal.

Watch footage of her first fight below: