Warfare MMA 15May 3, 2017 by Duane Finley
Hannah Scoggins: Chasing Title And Dreams At Warfare MMA 15
Hannah Scoggins: Chasing Title And Dreams At Warfare MMA 15
Rising prospect Hannah Scoggins is on the brink of a bright future at Warfare MMA 15.
As a fighter's profile increases, so do the factors surrounding their career. The promotion surrounding them takes on a life of its own, which puts an added emphasis on the need to win every fight because the fight game is one where victory is the element that fuels everything forward.
And once the proverbial ball begins to roll, everything begins to materialize at a rapid pace.
Five months ago, Hannah Scoggins--then Hannah Rokala-- was about to enter the second bout of her career against Brianna Smith at USFFC 29. There was a growing buzz surrounding the 18-year-old strawweight heading into the tilt as her debut performance signaled a very bright future.
Fast forward to the here and now, and much has changed in Scoggins' world.
Her first round finish of Smith back in November hit viral status, as a body kick induced a response which led to Scoggins scoring a TKO finish via upchuck. As the video of Scoggins' work made the rounds, the North Carolina native was hammered with media requests, which she balanced with bright-eyed grace.
If that shift was the epitome of hectic in her world, marrying longtime boyfriend and fellow fighter in UFC flyweight Justin Scoggins was the harmony in the chaos. Therefore, in Scoggins' world things are certainly getting bigger, but keeping things moving is simply how she handles business.
"I'm doing the same thing I've always done," Scoggins told FloCombat. "I'm putting the work to improve my skills with each and every fight. The one big change we've made is with the cage work we've done in this camp. It was something we always worked on, but now we have Coach Brian Harper who was a longtime training partner of Dan Henderson at Team Quest.
"This girl I'm fighting likes to work up against the cage and keep the pressure there. With the work we've done in camp I'm confident I can handle whatever happens there on fight night."
Photo Credit: USFFC
While it was difficult for the Greenville-based fighter to find opponents under her original last name of Rokala, taking on the Scoggins name will most likely only make that process all the more difficult. Nevertheless, Scoggins has never been happier, and she believes that synergy will only serve to elevate her performances under the bright lights.
"That didn't really help," she laughed. "For real though, it's been awesome to be honest. We were already like family and the only thing that changed was my last name. People tell me all the time, 'It's going to be even harder to find a fight now,' and they are probably right. I will say Andy [Hall] from Warfare was able to find a new opponent for me rather quickly though. The other girl I was supposed to fight pulled out, twice actually, and I'm happy to still be fighting on the card."
The last time FloCombat spoke with Scoggins, she was an ambitious amateur on the rise, but now, just a handful of days out from her title fight against Laneisha Vinson at Warfare MMA 15, she's an undefeated fighter on the verge of breaking through into a much larger conversation.
And that's exactly how she wants things to be.
"Things happen very quickly for me in regard to developing skills," Scoggins said. "When I put my mind to learning something I progress at a rapid rate. My coaches keep telling me it's going to get better and better and we are considering going pro sooner because it's going to keep getting harder and harder to find amateur fights.
"I know things are only going to get crazier and I'm trying to prepare for that. I've put in a lot of hard work and it's been a lot of fun. I'm going to keep improving and continue to give my best every time I step into the cage."
Feb 6, 2016; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Justin Scoggins (blue gloves) reacts after winning against Ray Borg (not pictured) during UFC Fight Night at MGM Grand Garden Arena. Mandatory Credit: Joshua Dahl-USA TODAY Sports
Life as a fighter is full of struggles that are difficult for those on the outside to understand, and having a partner who is well versed in the circus of MMA is of value beyond measure. Her husband has traveled a similar path from highly touted prospect to a staple on the big stage, which will ultimately provide Scoggins with a proper guide moving forward.
"Justin helps me with a lot of things," Scoggins said. "He's the more relaxed one so we balance one another out very well. Even when we were dating we would go to the gym and train together. We improved together. Now we have a nice house and it's great to go home and relax after training because it keeps things from getting hectic.
"I was supposed to have a fight 10 days after we got married, but they were having a hard time finding me an opponent and I just scrapped that idea."
With her upcoming fight against Vinson this weekend in Myrtle Beach, Scoggins has a huge opportunity there for the taking. Not only will the upcoming bout be her first attempt to earn championship gold, but Scoggins also realizes there will be more eyes on her fight than ever before.
And while she's appreciative of this reality, she's even happier to actually be competing at the event. Although Scoggins was one of the first fighters to sign on for the event, it was nothing short of chaos to lock down an opponent who actually wanted to fight her.
"I knew I was going to fight on this card because I signed the contract awhile back," Scoggins said. "The girl I was supposed to fight ended up hurting her toe a few weeks into camp and pulled out of the fight. Andy started looking for a replacement right away, and had a few options, but then the original girl came back saying she could fight again.
"So we were back on with the original fight, but then the girl apparently switched gyms and coaches and her new coach wouldn't let her fight me. It's kind of crazy but what can you do? We were like two weeks out when this happened, but then LaNeisha Vinson stepped up and took the fight and that's awesome.
"Alicia is also highly ranked in South Carolina and that's great because they made it a title fight."
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/FloCombat/status/795076346720489472" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
Scoggins may be very young in the game and in the early stages of what could be a bright career, but she's already gained savvy on the promotional side of things. She knows the importance of the approach taken both inside and outside of the cage, and her ability to adapt to those things puts her well beyond her years.
Scoggins understands fights have to be memorable for things to progress, yet, that can only happen when fight fans can actually watch her compete.
"All of my fights have been on FloCombat and I love it," Scoggins said. "Invicta is on Fight Pass, but other than that, following along on these other shows has been tough if you want to watch them. With FloCombat it's very easy. I have a huge family and if they want to watch me fight they go to the site and it's simple. I've had teammates fight on other shows and it's a nightmare trying to find out how to watch.
"Just like anyone else I go into my fights determined to win, but there's some extra motivation with this fight being for a title. This is a big opportunity, and I'm going to go in there and give my best. I'm going to put on a show."
On TV: Now Available on Roku & Apple TV 4
STREAMING: Available only on FloCombat. Yearly FloPRO access gets you premium content and events from ALL FloSports sites, including FloWrestling and FloGrappling.
And once the proverbial ball begins to roll, everything begins to materialize at a rapid pace.
Five months ago, Hannah Scoggins--then Hannah Rokala-- was about to enter the second bout of her career against Brianna Smith at USFFC 29. There was a growing buzz surrounding the 18-year-old strawweight heading into the tilt as her debut performance signaled a very bright future.
Fast forward to the here and now, and much has changed in Scoggins' world.
Her first round finish of Smith back in November hit viral status, as a body kick induced a response which led to Scoggins scoring a TKO finish via upchuck. As the video of Scoggins' work made the rounds, the North Carolina native was hammered with media requests, which she balanced with bright-eyed grace.
If that shift was the epitome of hectic in her world, marrying longtime boyfriend and fellow fighter in UFC flyweight Justin Scoggins was the harmony in the chaos. Therefore, in Scoggins' world things are certainly getting bigger, but keeping things moving is simply how she handles business.
"I'm doing the same thing I've always done," Scoggins told FloCombat. "I'm putting the work to improve my skills with each and every fight. The one big change we've made is with the cage work we've done in this camp. It was something we always worked on, but now we have Coach Brian Harper who was a longtime training partner of Dan Henderson at Team Quest.
"This girl I'm fighting likes to work up against the cage and keep the pressure there. With the work we've done in camp I'm confident I can handle whatever happens there on fight night."
Photo Credit: USFFC
While it was difficult for the Greenville-based fighter to find opponents under her original last name of Rokala, taking on the Scoggins name will most likely only make that process all the more difficult. Nevertheless, Scoggins has never been happier, and she believes that synergy will only serve to elevate her performances under the bright lights.
"That didn't really help," she laughed. "For real though, it's been awesome to be honest. We were already like family and the only thing that changed was my last name. People tell me all the time, 'It's going to be even harder to find a fight now,' and they are probably right. I will say Andy [Hall] from Warfare was able to find a new opponent for me rather quickly though. The other girl I was supposed to fight pulled out, twice actually, and I'm happy to still be fighting on the card."
The last time FloCombat spoke with Scoggins, she was an ambitious amateur on the rise, but now, just a handful of days out from her title fight against Laneisha Vinson at Warfare MMA 15, she's an undefeated fighter on the verge of breaking through into a much larger conversation.
And that's exactly how she wants things to be.
"Things happen very quickly for me in regard to developing skills," Scoggins said. "When I put my mind to learning something I progress at a rapid rate. My coaches keep telling me it's going to get better and better and we are considering going pro sooner because it's going to keep getting harder and harder to find amateur fights.
"I know things are only going to get crazier and I'm trying to prepare for that. I've put in a lot of hard work and it's been a lot of fun. I'm going to keep improving and continue to give my best every time I step into the cage."
Feb 6, 2016; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Justin Scoggins (blue gloves) reacts after winning against Ray Borg (not pictured) during UFC Fight Night at MGM Grand Garden Arena. Mandatory Credit: Joshua Dahl-USA TODAY Sports
Life as a fighter is full of struggles that are difficult for those on the outside to understand, and having a partner who is well versed in the circus of MMA is of value beyond measure. Her husband has traveled a similar path from highly touted prospect to a staple on the big stage, which will ultimately provide Scoggins with a proper guide moving forward.
"Justin helps me with a lot of things," Scoggins said. "He's the more relaxed one so we balance one another out very well. Even when we were dating we would go to the gym and train together. We improved together. Now we have a nice house and it's great to go home and relax after training because it keeps things from getting hectic.
"I was supposed to have a fight 10 days after we got married, but they were having a hard time finding me an opponent and I just scrapped that idea."
With her upcoming fight against Vinson this weekend in Myrtle Beach, Scoggins has a huge opportunity there for the taking. Not only will the upcoming bout be her first attempt to earn championship gold, but Scoggins also realizes there will be more eyes on her fight than ever before.
And while she's appreciative of this reality, she's even happier to actually be competing at the event. Although Scoggins was one of the first fighters to sign on for the event, it was nothing short of chaos to lock down an opponent who actually wanted to fight her.
"I knew I was going to fight on this card because I signed the contract awhile back," Scoggins said. "The girl I was supposed to fight ended up hurting her toe a few weeks into camp and pulled out of the fight. Andy started looking for a replacement right away, and had a few options, but then the original girl came back saying she could fight again.
"So we were back on with the original fight, but then the girl apparently switched gyms and coaches and her new coach wouldn't let her fight me. It's kind of crazy but what can you do? We were like two weeks out when this happened, but then LaNeisha Vinson stepped up and took the fight and that's awesome.
"Alicia is also highly ranked in South Carolina and that's great because they made it a title fight."
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/FloCombat/status/795076346720489472" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
Scoggins may be very young in the game and in the early stages of what could be a bright career, but she's already gained savvy on the promotional side of things. She knows the importance of the approach taken both inside and outside of the cage, and her ability to adapt to those things puts her well beyond her years.
Scoggins understands fights have to be memorable for things to progress, yet, that can only happen when fight fans can actually watch her compete.
"All of my fights have been on FloCombat and I love it," Scoggins said. "Invicta is on Fight Pass, but other than that, following along on these other shows has been tough if you want to watch them. With FloCombat it's very easy. I have a huge family and if they want to watch me fight they go to the site and it's simple. I've had teammates fight on other shows and it's a nightmare trying to find out how to watch.
"Just like anyone else I go into my fights determined to win, but there's some extra motivation with this fight being for a title. This is a big opportunity, and I'm going to go in there and give my best. I'm going to put on a show."
How to Watch Warfare MMA 15
On TV: Now Available on Roku & Apple TV 4
STREAMING: Available only on FloCombat. Yearly FloPRO access gets you premium content and events from ALL FloSports sites, including FloWrestling and FloGrappling.