Baszler was trained in mixed martial arts (MMA) by former UFC fighter Josh Barnett and in catch wrestling by Billy Robinson. She had her first professional MMA fight in 2006 and gained recognition in the following years for the use of her hammerlock submission set-up while on her back; a set-up which she has used to submit several opponents, including Roxanne Modafferi. In an audio interview on the Sherdog Radio Network, she dubbed the submission, which she created in training, as the "Shwing." Baszler was signed in 2013 by the UFC to participate on their reality television series "The Ultimate Fighter" – she would go on to have two professional bouts (0-2) in the company. In 2015, she was granted her release by the UFC and started her professional wrestling career that same year, again receiving training from Barnett. Baszler has an overall MMA record of 15 wins and 11 losses, with 13 wins by submission.