To understand Tai Emery’s outlook on life, you should first know the journey she’s taken to this point in her career.
She used to work as an electrician, believe it or not, and then a thermographer before she turned to modeling and then fighting. Oh, and there was also that stint she had as a lingerie football player. Perhaps unsurprisingly, things haven’t always broken her way.
“The years of sacrifice and the years of going without, yeah, it pays off,” Emery told MMA Junkie. “I truly think the fight gods and the universe, they f*cking love the stubborn and the brave. … That sort of energy is infectious towards people, and it’s gonna come back tenfold. I’ve done everything with good intentions along the way. I do everything with good intention and pure heart. Do I get f*cked over? Yeah, so does everybody else. But it’s funny how it always comes back around.”
Isn’t it?
Emery returns to action this Saturday at BKFC Thailand 3 where she’ll meet Po Denman in her second bare-knuckle boxing match. It’s her first time fighting since she broke the internet with one flash of her breasts three months ago.
Back on Sept. 3, Emery scored a vicious knockout in her debut at BKFC Thailand 3. That alone was worthy of attention, but she took things to the next level when she hopped on the second ring rope and flashed her breasts to the crowd in celebration of her victory. The moment quickly went viral, and nothing’s been the same for Emery ever since.
For starters, she has a legal team advising her now – the same one, she said, that helped launched the careers of fellow Australians Hugh Jackman and Kylie Minogue. Emery, who turns 36 in January, feels like she’s “in the right hands” and “has the right guidance” to help capitalize on other aspects where she can grow her brand.
“I feel like I’m in the right place,” Emery said. “I’ve got the right people around me, and the blueprint for myself will only get more efficient and efficient.”
That includes continuing to run her OnlyFans account, which only has grown in popularity since her viral moment. Emery doesn’t shy away from showing skin to her paid subscribers, and she’s well aware of how that may be viewed.
Two things, though: That doesn’t bother her, and she doesn’t plan on it always being that way.
“I, myself, have an OnlyFans, and I can tell you it will take a while until it can move away from just that,” Emery said. “Everything I do as a martial artist, that’s such a masculine thing. To be proud and be able to ball out and be bad enough to go, ‘Hey, this is me in all its glory,’ and people want to own something. They want to own this extra little piece. They want to see more. They always want to see more. It doesn’t matter what you give to people. … It’s human nature to be inquisitive. Like, is the cat in the box, or is the cat not in box? It’s just what we are. People are curious.”
She continued, “Mine will eventually steer from just being the Carmen Electra or the Pamela Anderson in the fight world. I do know that eventually it will go from there. But right now this is an avenue (for female fighters) to make a lot of money and change their lives. Fighting isn’t just enough.”
Emery, who has four fights left on her BKFC contract, plans on picking up where she left off in her debut – with a win and another celebration Saturday in Thailand. As for what she has planned? She said nothing.
It’ll depend on when she finishes the fight, how she finishes the fight, how bloody she is, and who knows what else.
“Spur of the moment, a hundred percent, especially now, because there’s such pressure on people being like, ‘Are you gonna be crazy again?’ And I’m like, ‘Well, yeah. I am crazy. So what’s good?'” Emery said. “I don’t know what I’m gonna do. I’ve heard that I’ve stirred some feathers in people’s little hearts. That’s great. I love that stuff. I like being the naughty kid. …
“I’m excited to own time for myself and just liberate myself in any way I want.”
