Crystal Pittman’s victory at BKFC 47 was much more than just another tic in the win column.
As her first fight under the SHIFT MMA banner in Tampa, FL, it signaled a new beginning in her fighting career.
At the sold-out event in July, the new-and-improved Pittman returned to action for the first time in nearly a year, battering Toni Tallman with non-stop big shots before their fight was stopped in the second round. The impressive TKO win snapped a two-fight skid for Pittman and upped her record to 2-3 in the Squared Circle.
“That win was really, really important to me. I think there was a lot of pressure on myself, so I was just trying to focus on the present, and be present,” Pittman says.
Prior to Pittman’s win at BKFC 47, she fought four times in a 12-month span in 2021/2022, but only won one of those bouts. Pittman was hungry to compete, but even hungrier to improve every day with her new team in Tampa.
Pittman says it’s hard not to get better when training alongside teammates like BKFC World Middleweight Champion David Mundell, Jared Warren and Brandon Allen, to name just a few SHIFT MMA fighters that Coach Jahaad Wingfield has helped become household names in the combat sports world.
“We took almost a year off, and it was very necessary. I know a lot of fighters don’t like taking that much time off, but I was new to the team, so we had time to get to know each other and build trust as a family,” she says.
“I know that my coaches have my back. Listening to them, I know they’re always going to put me in the right position, so I focus on what they tell me to focus on, and they handle everything else.”
Pittman believes joining Team SHIFT has radically altered the trajectory of her fighting career. Now with two full training camps under her belt at SHIFT, Pittman takes aim at her second straight victory against the debuting Jordan Raulston at BKFC 53 on Friday in Orlando, FL, LIVE on The BKFC App.
“I believe this fight is going to end very quickly, but we’re going to do it with style,” she says. “We’re coming for the knockout, and we’re definitely going to showcase everything we’ve been working so hard on.
“I’m stoked.”
