We sat down with CRNR Pro Team Member Taylor Starling before her fight on August 2nd, 2025. Through our talk, Taylor unpacks what led her to bare knuckle boxing, her mindset before each fight, and how she approaches her career.  

Crosby

All right ladies and gentlemen. Today, I'm here with Taylor Starling. She'll be fighting August 2nd on the BKFC card which will be your ninth fight in the BKFC, so before we get into like your fight, I gotta say this this is like way back for me (and for you), but I remember when I was in high school seeing a meme going around of your post fight interview in your first BKFC fight. 

Taylor Starling

That, yeah. It's insane. That thing haunts me to this day. I get that. That's being sent to me daily. The story behind it is crazy. The woman wanted me to wash my blood off, but I was so amped up after the fight and I wanted to be bloody when she interviewed me. So people were giving her a hard time about me looking that way when I interviewed, but it was completely my choice. I would have looked insane even if I washed the blood off, but yeah. I never thought in a million years that a viral meme would come from that.

 

Crosby

I mean, like, you were unrecognizable. That was crazy.

Taylor

People in the gym will FaceTime friends that don't train or that haven’t seen the meme and they'll show them me, and they'll be like, “Look she's not like ugly…” and I'm like, “Thanks. Thanks so much…”

Crosby

I think you were literally turned into one of those Snapchat filters. Like a sticker or whatever. It was crazy. Did you think that interview would blow up as much as it did?

Taylor

No, and the crazy thing is it didn't. I think it maybe was like a year or two after the fight had been over, and everyone kind of stopped talking about it, and then, just out of nowhere, that meme hit. I don't know who saw this interview and just clipped it, but it came back around and it made its rounds. It's insane, and the lore behind it. There’s now all of these deep dives. There are people who don't believe that I am the girl in that video, and it's so crazy.

Crosby

Yeah, that’s insane. So, obviously this is your ninth fight now in the BKFC. What made you choose the route to go bare-knuckle over like a traditional martial art?

Taylor

The funny thing is, my honest answer is Paige Van Zandt. That's the word because I was fighting MMA at the time and kickboxing. I dabbled in Glory. I was doing MMA, and I couldn't really find my footing in one discipline. So, I would fight MMA, and I was like, “Man, I wish I could just Box with MMA gloves on. I wish there wasn’t the politics of pro boxing,” and I hate Jiu Jitsu. I hate grappling. I'm just not a grappler.

And I would sit and be like, “Man, if I could just fight MMA or like boxing with MMA gloves on,” that would be the way I would want to do it. And then it was announced that Paige Van Zandt  was signing to Bare Knuckle. And I was like, “If this girl can go to Bare Knuckle, I can go to Bare Knuckle.” And I knew some people who knew Paige. So I was like, “Maybe if I get in their ear, I could fight Paige for her debut,” because I knew they would want her matched up against a no name.

Crosby

Hahaha.

Taylor

And it didn't work out that way, but they did give me my opportunity. And they were like, “Hey, on this card that Paige Van Zandt is debuting on, you can have a fight, but you have to say yes right now.” And I was like, “One hundred percent.” So thankfully I found my footing. I found my home. I was really, really close to just being done with fighting in general, because I just couldn't find my spot. But before I walked out, I told my coaches, I was like, “If I lose this fight, I'm never fighting again.”

Crosby

Wow, really? Haha, no pressure.

Taylor

Yeah, exactly, “No pressure.” And they were like, “You're not gonna lose. Stop talking like that.” So I won, and it changed my entire life. And now I have a home in Bare Knuckle. And I have no desire to really go anywhere else.

Crosby

Well, I was going to say,  I think they're starting that dirty boxing. You said you want to box with MMA gloves. I mean, that's literally exactly what you're saying.

Taylor

Yeah, that's something I would do. I mean, I'm like, “Put me on a Jake Paul undercard.” But I would do a Jake Paul undercard, especially with what they're doing for the women. I mean it wouldn't even have to be like a lifelong thing. Just put me on there once or twice, and I would love to do something like that. But yeah, Bare Knuckle is just fun, and I think it gets such a bad rep. Everybody that works there is awesome. It’s a great stage and platform to be on. So I'm super lucky.

Crosby

Yeah. Yeah, 100%. And this is kind of random, but since it is the bare knuckle, have you met Conor McGregor?

Taylor

Yeah, Conor McGregor is a Taylor Starling fan! He has been at two of my fights. He was at my fight last year in Sturgis. That's, I think, the first time he saw me fight in person. And then he was just at my last one. Really cool guy. He is wild. He's a character. He definitely is everything that you would think that Conor McGregor is in person. The way he carries himself is the way that he is in person, but he's super, super nice, and he does nothing but nice things.

Crosby

That's awesome. So you said that you had your background in MMA and kickboxing. What is different mindset wise, preparing and going into a bare knuckle fight compared to going into a Boxing or MMA fight? 

Taylor

I’ll tell you this. The work is still hard, but grappling and wrestling is so exhausting for me. I love, love wrestling. Don't get me wrong. But, Jiu Jitsu is where I draw the line. With Jiu Jitsu, there’s definitely a lot less injuries. But, I feel when I was doing Jiu Jitsu and wrestling or kickboxing, I was always getting hurt or bruised. My back was hurting. My neck was hurting. So that's where it's like, bare knuckle is actually easier. 

Crosby

Ok, yeah, I get that.

Taylor

But, the mindset you have to have be able to go into a bare knuckle fight is just not give a shit. You have to be like, “I'm going to go in here,” and I go into every single fight walking out like it’s my first fight. That's what I'm gonna look like. I keep that in my mind at all times. I know I'm not coming out unscathed, but you just have to accept that and be willing to go in there. Because, I mean, at the end of the day, you're trying to hurt the other person too. You just have to have that mindset, so that's where it's different I feel like. 

But it's crazy because I feel like I've been hit the hardest and the most painfully with gloves on versus without, which I know sounds so insane. In Bare Knuckle, you get cuts and bruises, and you look crazy for a week or two, but in MMA and boxing, you get hit way harder, like way harder punches with gloves on.

Crosby

Really? That’s so weird. But, I mean, when you think about it, who wants to get hit with something the size of a boxing glove. I get how the glove’s surface area could hurt way more. 

Taylor

Yeah, it’s just the science behind it. That extra two inches of surface area makes a huge difference. When you fight bare knuckle, if I hit you with my hardest punch in your forehead, I can only do that so many times before it hurts my hands or I break my hands. So you really can't even hit people with your hardest punch, because you get hurt too. Most people don't realize that with bare knuckle I mean, of course, there's like a lot of cuts and bruises and being bust open, but those go away so fast.

Crosby

Yeah, that makes sense. 

Taylor

I think your hands are definitely what get hurt the most. I mean, you get pretty fucked up, but your hands get swollen, and they hurt from hitting somebody else. Yeah, I've been way more injured in MMA and in boxing than bare knuckle. 

Crosby

Wow, that's actually wild. So what about training? Because, obviously, you're still wearing gloves in training, right? Like how are you conditioning your hands for the fight. How does that work?

Taylor

Haha, yeah, we have these makiwara boards. Some people will punch bricks and punch walls, but I don't really go that route. The makiwara board is the closest I get. The board has padding on it, so you don't rip your knuckles open. So, I'll use those. But for the most part, I use bag gloves for hitting the bag or hitting mitts.

When you spar, obviously you can't spar without gloves on, but I use the bag gloves and things like that to get that feel, because it's different. Like I just said, a boxing glove is two inches over your hand. So when you take that off and away, it feels so different to punch bare knuckle. I wish I could spar without even bag gloves and really get the feel for it, but that’s too crazy, haha.

Crosby

So getting more into your fight. You're going to be fighting Shelby Cannon. She is three and one in bare knuckle, but only one and zero in the BKFC. Do you see anything in her, her style or her game that you're looking to exploit, or are you just going out there looking for a scrap?

Taylor

Mm-hmm…I'm really excited, because I fight better against shorter people. She's way shorter than me. I think at 115lbs people don't realize how big I am. At 115, I'm 5'7". Shelby is, I think at the most, 5'1". I met her in Salt Lake City, and I was like, “Gosh, she's so small.” And I know she was saying something like she has an advantage because she's shorter, but I love fighting shorter people. I'm really good with my range with that.

Crosby

Really? Holy crap. 

Taylor

I mean, I think she's very tough. She definitely trains really hard. Like, this girl's not gonna get tired. I know that, but neither am I. So she's got great cardio. I think that she has some ego, which is great. Like you should always have confidence, but I think that she's got a little too much confidence. She hasn't faced anybody with a lot of experience in bare knuckle. Like everyone she's fought is like 1 and 0, 0 and 0, 0 and 2. Like there's not many people that she's faced that have been in there for years, and I've been in bare knuckle for five years straight. I just think my experience is gonna play a huge factor.

I feel my reach (I have seven inches of reach on her) is a big deal. But she's tough as hell. She's got great cardio. She's very in shape. She's not a slouch by any means. And I'm gonna say too, like, some of the people that are ranked top of the world in the Strawweight Division said no to this fight, and she said yes, so that tells you something.

Crosby

Yeah, 100%. So let's say, in a perfect world, you get to pick exactly how the fight goes. How do you see the fight going?

Taylor

This is how I see the fight going. I'm gonna tell you I have this vision. I think that Shelby is going to come out wild. I don't see her coming off the line calm. I think that she's gonna try to overwhelm me. And that's just how I see it going. I see her coming in with her head down swinging. She throws a lot of overhands with her head down and tries to clench and grab. So I really just have this feeling she's gonna run at me. 

I hope she sees this, because I hope you throw the overhand. I hope you run at me. That's a terrible, terrible, terrible idea. Because if there's one thing we know, I can be in a war. So if you think you're gonna stand there and just bang it out with me, that's probably not your best method and choice. But I feel like that's what's gonna happen.

The pressure is crazy. Like, I know this is her biggest opportunity. This is gonna be the biggest crowd she's ever fought in front of in her entire life. And so I feel like the pressure is really gonna be on her. So I see her swinging wild and coming at me as fast as she can, and I just have to negate that. That's what I see.

Crosby

Yeah, sweet. So, let's say you get the win and you win exactly how you want. What are you looking for after this in the BKFC, or even outside of it? I know you said earlier that you're not looking outside of BKFC right now, but give me a roadmap of where you want your career to be in the next one to three years.

Taylor

Yeah, so a year ago I fought Britton at Sturges for the world title in the Strawweight division, and I came up short. But, I feel like it was this close. If I would have gotten that belt around my waist, nobody would have fought it. Like it was really, really close, and I could have walked away with that belt, and I feel like it was too close for me to let it go. 

I really want to fight Britton again. I feel like this is going to be a stepping stone to that. So that's what I want. I want to touch gold.

Crosby

For sure. 

Taylor

But I also, at the same time, I don't want to stay in the game longer than I need to. I mean, I'm 29, so I'm super, super young. Women can fight until they're 40, but I don't want to fight until I'm 40. I want to achieve my goals and then be done. I'm doing a lot of media and interviews with Bare Knuckle, which is awesome. I love talking to the fighters, and that's something I'm kind of trying to transition to. But, before I'm not done, I’ve got to get my revenge. I gotta fight Britton again.

Crosby

Yeah, 100%. So obviously you're saying you don't want to fight forever. And you probably won't have to, cause you are also outside of the DKFC, like you're a model. Do you ever feel underestimated by people because of the fact that you're doing that outside of fighting?

Taylor

I wouldn't say a model, haha, but I try. Yeah, for sure. I really feel like Shelby Cannon right now is like using that narrative. I have heard her say stuff like, “Bare knuckle wants to protect me because I'm their interview girl” and like things like that. For instance, they just put a poster out of me sexy on a bike, and for one, I'm a woman. I love being a woman. I love being pretty. I'm very vain. I'm not gonna lie and say I don't love dressing up and putting makeup on.

But I also know what sells. At the end of the day, you have to know this game, and unfortunately, just being a good fighter isn't gonna get you very far in this game. You gotta be able to talk. You gotta be able to walk. You gotta be able to, as a woman, play the part and be cute and be able to speak. So I try to just really be a show woman. It's not just about being a good fighter. I wanna be good in all aspects that make the good fighters shine through even more. 

So I definitely do feel underestimated. I've heard it. I've hear people talk about it all the time about how I don't care about fighting, but people don't know how hard I work. I have been training all day, and I rush home and shower, but I'll be damned if I wasn't getting on this camera and didn't put a little bit of mascara on and look put together. Yeah, a lot of people underestimate that, but I don't care. At the end of the day, I know what I do. I work hard, and I kill it.

Crosby

Hahaha. Yeah, I gotta say, even behind the scenes setting up this interview, I know you're not just saying you're working hard for the camera. Because you were telling me how busy you are when we were trying to setup this interview time. So that's awesome.

Taylor

I've only done like three interviews for this whole fight camp and only with people I really care about. So you guys and two other people. And for both of them, I was like, “Listen, I'm on my way home. You give me 15 minutes to at least shower, and I'm good.” And I'll be on there, and I'll make time and all, but that's part of it. This is part of being a show woman and doing the things that come with it.

Crosby

Hahaha. Yeah, 100%. So final message, not just for the fans, but also for your opponent. What is your final message to her?

Taylor

Shelly Cannon, I can't wait to step in that ring. You know, I think there's a little jabbing going on. I know that you're training hard. I watch your shit. I study you. I've watched every video of you, every interview, every social media post. I can't wait to share the ring with you. The fact that you're stepping in there when a lot of other people said no is a big deal. But one thing she said, and I keep bringing it up, she did an interview where she said fighting me didn't make sense because I have two losses. Shelby Cannon, August 2nd, I'm going to make it make sense.

Crosby

Sweet. That's perfect. Well, thank you for making the time today, and good luck on August 2nd! 

Taylor

Thank you so much!