The Intense Muay Thai fighter was this month crowned the World Muaythai Council’s Queensland professional bantamweight champion, following a split-decision victory over Nakia Wright at Elite Fight Series on the Gold Coast.

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For Bradley, the title fight presented a massive opportunity – and she took it with both hands.

“I’m grateful that I won because it will help a lot to further my career,” she said.

“I’ve got to get another four wins under my belt in a row so that I can keep fighting for titles.”

Bradley will attend a traditional Muay Thai training camp in Thailand this August for the second year in a row.

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She said the month-long stay at well-known Muay Thai gym Kiatphontip would be a welcome change from the “super difficult” task of balancing life, work and training on a weekly basis.

“Hopefully, I’ll fight some Thai girls while I’m there and just get into the training lifestyle – literally, all you do is train, eat, sleep, repeat,” she said.

“It takes all the stress out of it. You’re just into the training and that’s your focus.

“Someone even cooks for you so you don’t have to do anything else but train.”

While Bradley acknowledges it was tough to stay on top of her training with work and other commitments, she said she had been working to alter her way of thinking.

“I’ve just had to change my mindset and decide that it’s not difficult – even though, to be honest, it is really hard,” she said.

“But if I always tell myself that it’s really hard, it’s always going to be hard.

“Ever since the beginning of the year, I’ve had to tell myself it’s easy. I’ve been telling myself for years that it is hard and that’s only made it worse.

“I’ve had to change my mindset – it doesn’t matter what outside stimulus there is, you just have to make training work and put in 100 per cent no matter what.”

In between her work as an emergency nurse and her rigorous training regimen, Bradley also imparts her in-ring knowledge on to others as an instructor at Intense Muay Thai. Two of her students, Emma Gayton and Rian Boney, will glove up this weekend when Elite Fight Series hits the Pullman Cairns International on Saturday night.

“Emma’s having her first fight and Rian’s having her second,” said Bradley.

“They’re both looking like killers, so it’s going to be sick.”

A CHANGE IN GAME PLAN

Cairns fighter Kiri Bradley had to overcome a new challenge to claim the World Muaythai Council’s professional state bantamweight title, defeating her first southpaw opponent.

“I’m usually more of an aggressive fighter,” she said.

“I walk forward and apply pressure, but I knew I had to change my style up.

“I knew she was waiting for me to charge, but I had to wait and be a bit more on the back foot just to begin with because it was my first time.

“I was just a bit tentative because I couldn’t get comfortable straight away and just bang on; I had to be a lot smarter and more thoughtful.

She said having a southpaw trainer at in Ayde Walker was handy for her preparations.