Yuri Medina Todd Atkins interview on a final boxing fight for her dad

In the Yuri Medina Todd Atkins interview, Medina said she wants to end her fighting career with a boxing match to honor her late father. She is getting back into shape after three years without a fight, while leaving open one possible return to MMA: a rematch with an opponent she faced in Amarillo, Texas.

What did Yuri Medina say about her first MMA fight with Megan Goodwin?

Yuri Medina said her first MMA fight, against Megan Goodwin at a casino in Tulsa, Oklahoma, came after years of martial arts practice but little time in a dedicated fight camp. Goodwin received the decision, though Medina believed she had won, and the experience made her want to fight again.

Learning from her family

Medina grew up around combat sports. Her father boxed and hit a punching bag filled with sand and small gravel in their backyard; her uncles competed in taekwondo, and her brother competed in shoot fighting. She began learning Brazilian jiu-jitsu at nine, but distinguishes that early practice from preparing for a competitive MMA fight.

Her son was born in December 2010, and Medina said she began training specifically for a fight in early 2011. She places her debut around 2011 or 2012, when she was in her late 20s. That meant entering a fight camp after becoming a mother, despite already knowing techniques such as chokes and armbars.

The Goodwin fight in Tulsa

Medina recalled a large crowd for her first walkout. When Goodwin attempted an armbar, Medina said she slammed her and broke her wrist. Medina thought she had done enough to win but said the decision went to Goodwin, who later offered her a rematch. Whatever her frustration with the result, Medina found she loved preparing for fights, including the difficult weight cuts.

What is Yuri Medina planning for her next fight and retirement?

Yuri Medina wants her next fight to be a boxing match and intends it to close her fighting career. She said she has not fought in three years while building her businesses, but now believes she can make room for a full camp and find out what she can do with sustained coaching and sparring.

Medina prefers throwing combinations to grappling and believes her power shows best when she has time for a proper camp rather than a severe weight cut. She pointed to a fight in Missouri against a younger opponent as an example of a performance she was proud of after preparing properly.

Running Body Waves and a med spa in Plainview has made it difficult to step away for training. Medina said she has built a team that could allow her to devote six months to a camp. At 41, she does not want to keep postponing the attempt, particularly after balancing fighting with raising younger children earlier in her career.

Medina was direct about what she wants from that final opportunity:

I want to end my fighting career in a boxing match

Why is Yuri Medina switching to boxing, and would she fight in MMA again?

Yuri Medina said boxing would honor her late father, whose love of the sport shaped her childhood. She also wants to test her striking in a discipline she considers more technically demanding than it appears. Although boxing is her plan, she said she would consider an MMA rematch with the opponent she faced in Amarillo.

Boxing memories with her father

Medina remembers watching boxing with her father and named Oscar De La Hoya and Fernando Vargas among the fighters from those memories. She said her father died after a violent incident and that choosing boxing is, in part, a way to do something for him.

She has sparred with high-level women boxers in Colorado Springs and professional boxers in California. Those sessions showed her how much attention boxing demands of footwork, head movement, angles, timing and conditioning. Medina said she has long followed boxing, but family connections in shoot fighting made MMA the more accessible route when she began competing.

The weight cut before her Amarillo fight

Medina said she accepted the Amarillo MMA fight on short notice and lost nearly 46 pounds in two weeks. She described herself as severely dehydrated and said she does not remember stepping into the fight. In her view, those circumstances make a rematch worth pursuing, even though her priority remains a boxing match.

How is Yuri Medina preparing for a boxing training camp?

Yuri Medina is first working to get into shape for a planned six-month boxing camp. She said she expects to train in California, Las Vegas and Colorado, drawing on connections made through earlier sparring. She has discussed the effort with Chad, whom she identified as a strength and conditioning coach for Terence Crawford.

Sparring with Brooke in Colorado Springs

One session with Brooke, a boxer Medina said competes for USA Boxing, gave her a sharp measure of the challenge. Medina recalled that Brooke landed several punches for each one she landed. She said her emotional reaction afterward was frustration with her own performance, not anger at her sparring partner.

That sparring reinforced her view that an MMA background does not automatically translate to boxing. Medina said she has been working on angles and is more interested at present in stand-up training than in returning to grappling.

Possible opportunities, not a booked fight

Medina said TMT had given her an opportunity and that she had also received offers involving bare-knuckle fighting and promotions connected to UFC Fight Pass. She mentioned possible boxing opponents but did not identify a confirmed matchup, event or date. For now, she is concentrating on conditioning before entering the longer camp.

Her MMA experience includes fights with Megan Goodwin and Macy Chiasson. Medina said she fought Chiasson in the New Orleans area; she did not give a result for that bout.

What did Yuri Medina say about boxing, UFC pay and fight promotion?

Yuri Medina said she still follows boxing, particularly the Vargas brothers, Ryan and women she has met through training. She also argued that UFC fighters are underpaid and that money increasingly influences which talent gets attention. Those views sit alongside her own experience selling tickets and promoting fights.

Following boxers and questioning promotion decisions

Medina said she grew up watching boxing and has continued to follow athletes she met while cross-training. She expressed concern that boxing has become too driven by commercial interests and believes UFC is moving in a similar direction. Those are her assessments, not claims that any particular contest was improperly decided.

When the discussion turned to fighter compensation, Medina called UFC fighters underpaid. She said financial pressure is familiar to athletes on smaller shows as well: ticket sales can affect what a fighter earns from a promotion.

Body Waves and selling tickets

Medina is focusing on TikTok to market Body Waves and said she also uses Instagram and Facebook. Earlier in her fighting career, she did photo shoots to help sell tickets but became frustrated when promotion emphasized her appearance over her ability.

For a final fight, Medina said she wants to show her skills, strength and power rather than chase a championship claim. Fighting has been an important outlet for her, even if she does not expect one more bout to pay her bills.