Mia Yim will participate in her second Mae Young Classic tournament this year. She defeated current Riott Squad member, Sarah Logan, in the first round of the tournament last year. Yim was then defeated by her current roommate, Shayna Baszler, in the second round.
The former Shine and Impact Knockouts champion is looking to improve upon her performance from last year. She recently took part in an interview with TV Insider to discuss the upcoming tournament.
Mia Yim on Mae Young Classic II
“I feel like the game has been upped,” Yim said. “There was a lot of good women last year, but now this year they are bringing in girls like Meiko Satomura.”
“There are a lot of good girls in this year’s competition. I’m actually happy for that people may think they know what to expect, considering what I did last year. I learned so much new stuff… I don’t want to be specific with it. I’m hoping people underestimate me and have an expectation of me from last year, so I can surprise them that much more.”
Mia Yim has been rooming with the 4 Horsewomen of MMA in Orlando as of late.
“Thank God I had Shayna [Baszler] and Jess (Duke) helping me around,” she said. “Taking me to the gym, making sure I was on top of my PT and being around me when I felt like I was alone. Having them here, making me laugh… Both of them made sure all my business was handled. Even helping me take care of my dog. It really made us a family.”
Yim also specifically mentioned wanting to face Io Shirai in the tournament this year.
“I’d love to go to the finals of the Mae Young Classic facing Io Shirai,” she revealed. “We wrestled each other in California, and it was awesome. When I started wrestling I looked up to the Shirai sisters. I finally got to meet Mio earlier this year… I wrestled Io two, three years ago. I feel like both of us have improved our game greatly. So wrestling her again this time around would be good.”
