Sharnae Lignieres feels like she is going to be sick as soon as she makes the walk to the ring.
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"Every time before I walk up to the ring, I hype myself up so much out the back. I'm like to my coach 'alright, let's dance'," the 22-year-old Muay Thai fighter said.
"I pretend to be so calm, but every time I feel like I'm going to vomit, my stomach does this thing. Right up until we touch gloves I'm like 'I'm going to be sick, I'm going to be sick'.
"I always have to remind myself 'no, you want to be in here'."
And once Lignieres and Brisbane's Amanda Russell touch gloves inside the ring for the main event of the Pandemonium fight night at O'Connor's Croatian Club on Saturday night?
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"You've got to go, it's kind of do or die, you either hit or be hit," Lignieres said.
"I've seen her fight once before. I know she comes from a pretty good gym, she has had pretty close to the same amount of fights as I have had, so we're going to see a good, fair fight."
Lignieres is changing the landscape for females in combat sports as she prepares to headline the show, with promoter Benjamin Reid determined to to promote females in the sport.
She headlined a Pandemonium card in February last year before the coronavirus pandemic hit and forced gyms to shut. Now she is relishing the chance to step into the ring again.
"It's actually very exciting, I'm really glad Ben gives me the opportunity. It's really nice to be in a main event and it's a girls fight," Lignieres said.
"There's boys on the card that have more experience than I have and Ben still lets me go. That for me is a privilege, so I'm ecstatic.
"We're super excited that I get to headline Ben's show. We're just head down, bum up, training hard and always ready.
"I'm very excited. It would be an excellent way to start the year with a win, so fingers crossed. At the moment, it's just one show at a time. We'll take it as it comes. Always stay ready. Definitely excited to get going."
PANDEMONIUM FIGHT NIGHT
Saturday: Pandemonium Fight Night at the Australian Croatian Club O'Connor, 6.30pm. Due to COVID-19 restrictions this will be a seated and corporate table event only.
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