Had Multiple Miscarriages: Katlyn Cerminara Opens Up About Fertility Struggles

Katlyn Cerminara, formerly known as Katlyn Chookagian, has revealed the personal health battle she's been quietly fighting alongside her absence from the UFC octagon. While initially citing nagging injuries for her time away, Cerminara disclosed that she has been undergoing fertility treatments for the past year, a challenging journey marked by multiple miscarriages.

At a UFC 299 pre-fight news conference, Cerminara shared her story in hopes of sparking a much-needed conversation about infertility, a topic she believes is often overlooked but could provide solace to others facing similar struggles.

"I went through three or four full rounds of IVF. I had two miscarriages, and yeah, it’s been a tough year," Cerminara revealed. "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."

Despite the challenges, Cerminara found strength in opening up about her experiences, realizing that many of her friends were also grappling with infertility in silence.

"Just my friends alone, my close friends, are dealing with this. You hear about it, but people don’t talk about it because it’s very personal and obviously it’s tough to talk about," she expressed. When she steps back in the cage Saturday at Kaseya Center vs. Maycee Barber, it’ll have been 17 months since her previous bout. The return to fighting has served purposes of relief, refresh, and reset.

Her upcoming fight against Maycee Barber holds significant meaning for Cerminara, offering her a reprieve from the mental and physical strain of fertility treatments and an opportunity to reset her focus.

"The amount of mental and physical strain you put on yourself, four to eight hormone injections a day, back-to-back – not just the mental load, but the physical load," Cerminara explained. "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."

ALSO READ | UFC 299 India Time, Fight Card and Preview

Regardless of the fight's outcome, Cerminara hopes that sharing her story will offer solace and support to others navigating similar challenges.

"I’m not complaining, but for people that are going through that, it’s, really, really tough, and they are way stronger than any of us up here doing fighting," she emphasized. "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."

LEAVE A COMMENT

Please login to leave a comment

0 Comments