MIAMI – Initially, Katlyn Cerminara (formerly Chookagian) tacked her absence from fighting up to some nagging injuries. But behind the scenes, a more sensitive personal health battle was ongoing.
For the past year, Cerminara (18-5 MMA, 11-5 UFC) has undergone fertility treatments, a mentally and physically taxing process, and had multiple miscarriages.
She opened up about her situation Wednesday at a UFC 299 pre-fight news conference in an effort to have a conversation she doesn’t think is held enough – but could help others watching.
“I went through three or four full rounds of IVF. I had two miscarriages and yeah, it’s been a tough year,” Cerminara told MMA Junkie and other reporters. “But I wanted to take a break from that, not just mentally but physically. Going through infertility is so hard. It’s so hard that I’m taking a fight to take a mental and physical break from fertility treatment. I’m taking a fight because this is way, way easier than dealing with that. It’s a shame because I know so many people that are going through this right now.”
Cerminara, 35, described how she’s experienced firsthand the power of telling others about her struggles. The unexpected knowledge she received helped her realize she was not alone.
“Just my friends alone, my close friends, are dealing with this,” Cerminara said. “You hear about it, but people don’t talk about it because it’s very personal and obviously it’s tough to talk about. It’s really hard, and there are so many people going through that.”
When she steps back in the cage Saturday at Kaseya Center vs. Maycee Barber (13-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC), it’ll have been 17 months since her previous bout. The return to fighting has served purposes of relief, refresh, and reset.
“The amount of mental and physical strain you put on yourself, four to eight hormone ejections a day, back-to-back – not just the mental load, but the physical load,” Cerminara said. “In the summer, I got up to, after I had my second miscarriage, 170 pounds from all the hormones and everything. Taking this fight wasn’t just, ‘OK, here’s a camp. Let’s get in shape.’ It was dealing with a mental load of that, getting over that, and then, it’s like, OK, I’m already big for 125 and now I’m even bigger. I had to kind of reset my body and I needed that little bit of extra time to get back into fight shape. The second time I found out, that night, I went to the doctor’s office. I got the bad news and then that night, my manager happened to be in Manhattan and we went to dinner. I was like, ‘OK, I need a fight.’ I just wanted a little mental break and something positive.”
Regardless of whether she wins or loses Saturday, Cerminara hopes someone going through a similar situation hears what she had to say Wednesday. That within itself makes her decision to share a vulnerable truth worthwhile.
“I’m not complaining, but if you’re people that are going through that, it’s definitely really, really, really tough and they are way stronger than any of us up here doing fighting,” Cerminara said. “… It’s a weird thing. I’ve went back and forth, like, ‘Should I say something or should I just keep it private? I don’t want to ever come across as someone who is using my issues to gain a platform. When people do that, that bothers me so much.
“But I do think that with my friends and me being open about it, there were so many people I’d tell about it and they’re like, ‘Oh, you know what? I’ve been doing that the past year.’ … Everyone is going through it and it sucks but when I hear other stories of people going through it, it kind of makes me feel better. I see different things that other people are doing and I just think it’s helpful. So if I can help anyone or make one person feel like, ‘Oh, OK, cool. Other people are going through this, too,’ then it’s worth it.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 299.
