Bare-knuckle boxer Tai Emery made headlines earlier this month when she flashed the crowd after scoring a knockout victory.
The Australian impressed many on her Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship debut by landing a beautiful right uppercut followed by a left hook to floor her opponent, Rung-Arun Khunchai, in the first round at an event in Thailand.
The Thai fighter could not climb to her feet and was counted out, triggering wild celebrations from Emery, who seemed to get a little overexcited.
Emery lifted her top, exposing her chest to the audience, shocking BKFC commentator and UFC veteran, Chris Lytle, who quipped: “Interesting celebration, haven’t seen that one before.”
Footage from her victory and unusual celebration quickly went viral and left fight fans asking, ‘Who is Tai Emery?’
So, talkSPORT caught up with her to find out more...
“I’m just a blue-collar worker,” she explained.
“I grew up in Australia, in a town where you could ride your bike to the town pool, jump into creeks, and kind of live like that. So, I was a bit feral which helps these days.
“I’ve been magazine modelling since I was 19/20 [years old]. I’ve been internationally published. That’s why I really feel that I’m putting on all my old hats right now. Obviously, you’ve got the OnlyFans popping off and I’m using all the modelling skills."
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Not only was the 35-yer-old a successful model before transitioning to bare-knuckle boxing, but she also played American Football in the Legends Football League, which was formerly known as the Lingerie Football League.
“I’m an athlete and I came from American football. It’s seven-a-side, it started as a half-time show at the SuperBowl,” Emery added.
“You used to have, Playboy bunnies and movie stars but now the sport has condensed down to an actual sport rather than a model gimmick. You wouldn’t survive anymore - you need to be an athlete to be in the LFL.”
While Emery insists that her post-fight celebration at BKFC Thailand 3 was not planned, she did consider how much trouble she would get in for doing something risqué post-fight.
“It was a spur of the moment but I’m a bit of a brat and I like to say and do things to get a rise out of people,” she admitted.
“Spur of the moment, yes! Did I need to figure out if I’d be put in Thai jail again? Yes, absolutely.”
After starting off her new career in legendary fashion, the newest BKFC star promises that more knockouts and wild post-fight celebrations are coming soon.
“I think I’d like to fight in Thailand in December. I think that’s a perfect amount of time to get a little bit more experience under my belt because I’m still a footy player in my eyes.
“My celebrations, as long as I’m KO’ing girls in the same technical fashion, I’m going to be doing whatever I want. Whatever I want!”
Soon after her emphatic win, it quickly became clear that Emery had a relationship with adult film star Kendra Lust, who she couldn’t appreciate more for helping out financially during fight camp.
“She has a number of sponsors that she looks after,” Emery told us about Lust.
“For me, I got denied a sponsorship at a few gyms… They said no and it got back to me it was because of my image. Someone kind of suggested contacting Kendra Lust and I thought ‘Oh my gosh, we follow each other, why not?’
"I asked Kendra if she’d sponsor me, and she sponsored me, and it was enough money to get me from the point she sponsored me all the way through to the fight."
The former American football player couldn’t be more thankful to Lust for showing faith in her and allowing her the opportunity to change her life under the BKFC banner.
“I didn’t even have a fight locked in and she wanted to make sure I could get to the fight,” Emery revealed.
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“To me, that just means so much more. I’m sure every fighter has been in that position. It’s all well and good when we are fighting but what about when we are not fighting? Who is going to help us stay at the top?
“I’ve just changed my life and she helped me do that. There’s a number of people who have helped me to get here but Kendra was the last person to give me hope and make me think ‘I can f****** do this s***!”
Ebanie Bridges is a qualified maths teacher, became a body builder and is now a world champion boxer who loves Leeds, sells her socks and wears lingerie to weigh-ins
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