I feel bad when I hurt I just can’t stop fighting

Tom worried a lot. I suppose there is a bit of a selfish aspect to it. It’s my thing and it makes me happy though. I don’t talk to my dad too much about it. He’s a lovely, placid person and I know he worries.

“I don’t ask him to watch so he’s supportive from a distance. But my mum is always at the front of the crowd with a beer. She does worry though and so does my husband.”

Now training six days a week, Bryony has made some lifestyle changes to make it as a pro.

After being a vegetarian for 22 years, she had to start eating meat again to build up her strength. She explains: “With MMA, wrestling is a big part of it. My coach said I was too weak and needed to eat meat. I stopped feeling burnt out and it made me stronger.

DOUGHNUTS

“I eat a lot, I eat a lot of cakes and doughnuts, but I eat a lot of protein too. Most of my fights I won at straw weight, 52kg, but my normal weight is 57kg, so I have to diet down.”

Bryony knows she takes a risk each time she steps into the cage, but she’s used to putting her body on the line. She reveals: “I used to do far more dangerous things – skydiving and base jumping, where I broke my leg when I was 26. I’ve got a plate and 11 screws in my leg.

“So that, compared to what I do now, is way more dangerous!

“I love the danger and overcoming fear – jumping off stuff, out of planes, it makes you feel alive!”

But at the end of the day Bryony’s focus is on those who need her.

She says: “At work, I look after people that are ill, frightened and vulnerable – so compassion is the most valuable aspect of my nursing.

“I would never let my fighting career distract me from that.”