Larkyn Dasch Has Nothing to Lose and a Lot to Win

Larkyn Dasch is 0-1 in her pro mixed martial arts career but overall she feels her amateur fights gives her an edge over Valerie Loureda. Loureda (1-0) is well aware of Dasch's experience as well and said as much to Sherdog when speaking about Dasch, but Dasch has done her homework as well.

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Dasch's work outside of MMA seems to have gotten more coverage than her skill as a fighter. Despite this, and even with the one pro loss, she feels that she brings more into the cage than Loureda. "I was in shape, ready to fight," Dasch said. "Of course, I was going to take it, especially here [in Madison Square Garden]." She said it was just enough time to get a game plan ready with her coaches.

In her amateur fights, she has been through "wars" so she feels she can be a true test for Loureda. She knows about Loureda's taekwondo background but also knows it's a different sport. "She is a wonderful taekwondo expert, but that's not MMA so I'm definitely capitalizing on that," said Dasch, who believes she'll have a boxing advantage.

The one fight of Loureda's she did see was enough for her and her team to make the game plan for Bellator 222. Even though she loves boxing, Dasch believes the time she has already put in for the other aspects of what makes an MMA fighter well-rounded will be what makes the difference against Loureda. "It's not something you can teach in six months," Dasch said. "It's something you practice and practice. The experience in that, you can't teach it quickly so best wishes to her but that's just something you can't catch up on that quickly."

Edward Carbajal serves as the lead MMA analyst for Frontproof Media and holds a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and a brown belt in Ishin Ryu karate. He has covered combat sports since 2014 and has been a fan of MMA since the first UFC. You can follow him on Twitter @Carbazel or at his website TheBlogBoardJungle.com.