This Pasco MMA mom is looking to make it big on national TV

It's now or never for Sarah Howell.

The Pasco mother of two, who is a successful Mixed Martial Arts fighter, is heading to Las Vegas later this month to try out for the "The Ultimate Fighter 28."

"I've always kind of wanted to do this," Howell said. "This is a really big deal. It's always scared me, but intrigued me at the same time. The first time they took women, my daughter (Paisley) was really young, so I didn't go. This is the first time the opportunity has realistically presented itself."

Howell, 32, said someone shared a link with her about the tryouts.

TUF is looking for featherweight women (145 pounds), ages 21-34 with at least three professional fights and a winning record to attend the open casting call. Tryouts are May 22 at the Palace Station Hotel. TUF 28 will begin filming in July.

Howell is coming off a third-round knockout over Colorado’s Ashley Deen on Jan. 19 in Boise. The win boosted her record to 2-1 as a professional, helping her meet all the criteria.

The tryout has posed a new problem for Howell — gaining weight.

"I'm a bantam weight (135 pounds), but I am going up a weight class," Howell said. "My energy in my workout is greater. The difference is being extremely strict in your diet, cutting water weight and eating clean food, to eating as much as I want, but still healthy food."

Howell has "plumped up" to 147, so she will have to take off a couple of pounds, but there is a method to her madness.

"I think they are going to want me to be a true 145-pounder," Howell said. "I am eating a lot and fighting a lot. I am trying to be leaner, faster and stronger.

"I am not sitting around eating Twinkies."

Howell has been putting in the time at the gym, making sure she is in tip-top shape before she hits Vegas.

"From what I have heard, it is one to two minutes," she said of the first test. "They want to see how you move, how you flow. I have been really refreshing on movements. I have been training — not hard — I don't want to get hurt and mess up my chances to go. Just getting my movement and my flow back."

The tryouts will be a one-day deal. Either you will make, or you won't.

"We will start out with grappling, and if you make it through there, then you move on to hitting mitts," Howell said. "If they like that, then you go on to the interview. If you get through that, they will keep you there for a week to go through tests. You will get a physical, be drug tested, and get a full blood work up. They make sure it all comes back clean before they put you on the show."

Fighters who are chosen for the show report back in July for filming.

While Howell's goal is to make the show, she still has a couple of reservations about the whole thing — daughter Paisley, 7, and son Preston, 3.

"That is my biggest hesitation," Howell said. "I will have to be away from my kids for six weeks. For me, that is scary. You have no contact, no visitation. I am more scared to do that than fight anyone they could put in front of me."

Howell's husband, Jerad, will be able to hold down the fort, but her sister, Bailee Weeks, has agreed to come from Tennessee for the six-week stint to help out.

"My kids and my husband will get to keep their routines," Howell said. "Bailee is all for me jumping on the bandwagon. Everyone has been so supportive. My grandparents are like, 'this is a chance of a lifetime,' even though they don't really support me fighting."

And while the kids aren't quite sure of things, Paisley is gung-ho for her mom to try out.

"She said, 'If it's going to let you be in the UFC, then you do it mommy,' " Howell said. "She's looking for fame."

There is a fundraiser set up to help Howell. Fans can buy 'Savage' Sarah Howell T-shirts, with proceeds helping with the expense of her trip later this month.

This story was originally published May 8, 2018 at 4:11 PM with the headline "This Pasco MMA mom is looking to make it big on national TV."