"Mama Beast": Unstoppable at any age

Ever since I became a fan of Women's Mixed Martial Arts (WMMA), many fighters have caught my attention, but very few have left me in total awe. At almost 48 years of age, Susie "Mama Beast" Wyatt is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu specialist who regularly competes against women who are more than 20 years younger than her. That's why I included her in another recent blog post.

And as her record can attest, she has no problem beating younger fighters. As of late May, when I interviewed Susie, her record stood at 5 wins and 1 loss and she was ranked #14 as a 135-pound amateur WMMA fighter.

It is very rare for a woman of Susie's age to accomplish what she has. In my research of WMMA I have learned of a few female fighters who are in their late 30s, but I can't recall a single woman who is even close to Susie's age.

In interviewing her, I realized that her success is a result of her dedication, positive attitude, healthy ambition and family support.

Susie has been a lifelong fitness enthusiast and professional. In fact, she has been a group fitness instructor since she was 16. "I have [also] spent time as a club manager and a personal trainer over the years. I teach physical education at Washington University and run the group fitness program and teach at St. Louis Workout here in St. Louis [Missouri]," she said. Among her favorite classes to teach are cardio kickboxing, beginners' kickboxing and spin.

Susie also has her own business as a massage therapist, where she works with many athletes and chronic pain sufferers.

This is all in addition to being a mom and a grandma.

Susie discovered MMA when she was looking to do something for herself. "I had been looking for something to do where I wasn't the teacher or the boss....something just for me. As a single parent and a trainer and therapist everything I was doing in my life was for other people. I wanted to do something for me," she said.

So she started taking kickboxing classes at Finney's MMA, which was conveniently located inside a gym where she was working. "I did the kickboxing classes for a while, but then wanted to do more. I tried sparring but there weren't really any women at that time or anyone my size to spar with so I got a little frustrated. I wasn't getting from it what I wanted," Susie explained.

Then she noticed the guys across the hall in the BJJ room and thought "I can do that!"  She started out with a very small women's class with current 125-pound Invicta champ Barb Honchak as her instructor. "I went there on Friday nights for a few months before I got the courage to join the guys. After my first BJJ class I knew it was the sport for me," Susie said.

And her results have been amazing. "At almost 48 years old I am in the best shape of my life. I believe my training in BJJ has made me stronger and given me better cardio and endurance than any other sport or exercise routine I have followed," Susie said.

BJJ also turned Mama Beast into a total grappling badass. Not long after discovering her love for the art, she began competing in tournaments, such as the WPFA World Tournament in Greece.  "[I'm] always medaling so far and more often than not winning first place. I love competition and love the challenge of preparing for competition," Susie said.

 

Susie  knew she wanted to compete in MMA as soon as she started training. She had spoken to Jessey Finney, the Strikeforce vet who runs Finney's MMA,  several times to see if he would let her do it.

It wasn't after winning numerous BJJ tournaments, that Jessey finally gave her a chance to unleash her inner Beast and become an MMA fighter. "It just took me a while to convince my coach that a woman of my age could actually compete," she said.

She also had the full support of family and friends. "Friends and family were not overly surprised at my decision to fight MMA," Mama Beast said, adding that her kids are her biggest supporters. "I think they sort of assumed that would be the outcome of my training."

Not only are her kids supporting her decision to fight, they are following her steps. "My oldest daughter has started competing at submission wrestling and high school wrestling. My youngest daughter started wrestling in middle school this last year and also is planning on training in BJJ, [which has] sort of become a family sport," Susie said. Even her fiancé, with whom she recently got engaged (lucky guy! -ed.), and his son are "total fans." "[They] so supportive of my crazy fight goals. I am truly blessed."

Susie repays all that support by training like the Mama Beast she is. "Whether I am training for a fight or training for BJJ tournaments or working on furthering my knowledge of BJJ and achieve my next belt ranking, I always train as much as my schedule will allow," she said.

Susie, who is a single mother of four, strives to create a balance.  "My priorities are family, money and then fighting," she said. "Some weeks I don't get to train at all, even while preparing for a fight. My life just gets in the way. Other weeks I train 30 hours or more between the classes that I teach and my combat sports training. I have to be flexible and forgiving of myself. I want to train much more than I do but I have responsibilities to my family. I love them so much and they grow up way too fast!"

Balance is also important when it comes to health. Although Susie said she does not feel she has any less stamina or strength than her much younger competitors, she does find that it takes her longer to recuperate from the small injuries that active people usually get in pursuit of their sport of choice. But, as she likes to say, "I prefer the aches and pains and small nagging injuries from my quest for activity and health than the disease of unhealthy minds and bodies that comes from inactivity."

"I have found that really listening to my body and taking time off to heal occasionally has kept me in the game," Susie said, advising others in her age group to "be a little more forgiving of your body as the cells mature and don't replicate the way they once did in our youth."

Mama Beast also had some advice for women interested in going into MMA. "My advice to women wanting to go into MMA is mostly to ask themselves why they want to do it," she said. "The reality of the sport is not as exciting as it may seem. Mostly its hours and hours of hard, grueling training. I happen to love that sort of thing."

She also emphasized that where you train and what team you train with is "of utmost importance." Besides Jessey Finney, Susie also trains with BJJ black belt Ezra Lenon (L3 BJJ) who is world ranked. "My coaches and my team are supportive of me and I would not have had a chance to do anything I have gotten to do in the sport without them. Find a good fit when looking for a gym," Susie advised.

Lastly, Susie said to "remember that there are not that many female fighters and we need to be good ambassadors of our sport. Show class in everything you do. Give respect and you will get respect."

Not long after I interviewed Mama Beast, on June 15 she fought in the 125-pound division for Shamrock FC in St. Louis Missouri against Brittany "Too Smooth" Dugas, who was undefeated at 6-0 and 26 years old. That's 22 years younger than Susie!

Unfortunately, Susie lost this fight by decision. On the bright side, Susie is the only fighter Dugas has not been able to finish, meaning she was not able to make Susie tap out.

I am eager to see Susie continue getting in the cage and showing everyone that age is just a number. As she has proven, it's the heart that counts.