‘I Wanted To Do Something Else’ – Natalie Salcedo’s Journey From Insurance Employee To Undefeated MMA Fighter
For undefeated American MMA standout Natalie Salcedo, progress has never come from shortcuts.
The atomweight star first made her mark on the global stage at ONE Fight Night 35 last September, where she submitted Macarena Aragon via armbar in the opening round.
That victory kept her perfect record intact, and it offered a clear glimpse into the composure and control that define her approach.
Now, Salcedo returns for her second promotional appearance at ONE Fight Night 39: Rambolek vs. Dayakaev on Prime Video, where she will meet Japanese standout Chihiro Sawada in an atomweight MMA contest.
It goes down live in U.S. primetime from Bangkok’s iconic Lumpinee Stadium on Friday, January 23.
Before she steps back into the ring, here’s a closer look at the upbringing, mindset, and long-term foundation that shaped Salcedo well before she ever competed under the ONE Championship banner.
A Grounded Start Far From The Fight Spotlight
Salcedo grew up in Junction City, Kansas, a military town near Fort Riley where structure and routine defined everyday life.
Raised in a family connected to the U.S. Army, she spent her formative years in an environment that emphasized discipline and consistency rather than competition or self-promotion.
Despite its modest size, Junction City was shaped by the presence of the nearby base. The constant movement of military families created a community that was diverse and outward-looking. Social hierarchies and rigid cliques never dominated her school experience, and athletic identity was never a defining expectation.
Academically, Salcedo was steady and focused. Sports existed on the periphery rather than the center of her youth, allowing her to grow without pressure to specialize or perform at an early age.
Reflecting on that upbringing, Salcedo recalled:
“Growing up, I felt like the Disney Channel … when they are depicting what a high school looks like or movies where every school has these cliques, honestly, for the longest time, I thought that stuff was just made up. [I thought] this is not how schools are.
“People were actually very nice and very accepting, and for sure, people would split up into different groups as per their interest. But it wasn’t like, ‘Oh, these are the popular kids, these are the nerdy kids.’ There was so much overlap, especially for being a tiny town in the middle of Kansas. It was actually super diverse.”
Leaving Home To Experience Something Else
By her early twenties, familiarity had begun to feel limiting. After spending most of her life in Kansas, Salcedo felt an urge to step outside of what she had always known and see more of the world.
Colorado emerged less as a calculated destination and more as a natural next step. Road trips through the mountains, close friends already living in the area, and a job opportunity with an insurance company in Colorado Springs made the decision feel organic rather than forced.
The move marked her first true break from routine – leaving family behind, building independence, and stepping into uncertainty without a long-term plan attached.
Salcedo said:
“I just wanted something different. I wanted to do something else, experience something else in the world.
“I had friends that lived there, I applied for a job, and then I got a job working for Progressive. And I was like, ‘Ok, well, I’m gonna go do this.'”
Finding Martial Arts And Building A Life Inside The Gym
Salcedo didn’t arrive in Colorado Springs with aspirations of becoming a professional fighter.
Martial arts entered her life when she was a 22-year-old without pressure or expectation, beginning as a way to stay active and make positive changes.
She had minimal exposure to Muay Thai and taekwondo as a teenager, but training in “The Centennial State” was casual and fitness-driven at first. Curiosity, rather than ambition, kept her returning to the gym.
After trying a few options in the area, Salcedo eventually settled at Warrior Fitness Center, a facility that offered Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and MMA all under one roof.
BJJ followed soon thereafter, though it wasn’t immediately comfortable. Progress came through persistence rather than natural affinity, slowly reshaping how she viewed challenge and improvement.
Salcedo explained:
“I just wanted to do something fun and fitness-related. I wanted to make some positive health changes. I started doing Muay Thai there just for funsies, just for fitness and for myself.
“But for whatever reason, I didn’t like jiu-jitsu at first. I had to force myself to do jiu-jitsu for a few months. And after that initial hump, I really took a liking to grappling and that’s where I felt really comfortable.”
The gym also became the place where Salcedo would eventually meet her husband, Benjamin Westrich.
At the time, Westrich already owned the facility. Salcedo did not meet him immediately when she first began training there, as she initially attended Muay Thai classes taught by another instructor.
But over time, through training and spending more time around the gym, they became friends before their relationship developed.
The undefeated atomweight star recalled:
“Maybe a few weeks into training there was when I met him. Over time, there’d be different group activities that everybody was going to, so we just started hanging out and became friends, that sort of thing. And then, eventually, that became a relationship.
“Luckily, it worked out, I guess, because I really liked training there and didn’t want to stop.”
Confidence Built Through Control And Process
As her training evolved, Salcedo decided to test her skills in competition.
First, she stepped into the ring for Muay Thai battles and then, once she fell in love with grappling, competed in BJJ tournaments.
However, Salcedo ultimately realized that MMA served the best of both worlds and offered a sense of control that resonated with her temperament. While striking demanded emotional energy, grappling allowed her to stay grounded and composed under pressure.
She said:
“I think in a lot of ways when I started doing MMA, I actually felt more comfortable doing that. With MMA, it was always a little bit less stressful because I know that I can get to my grappling and feel like I have a little bit more control.
That sense of control became central not just to her fighting style, but to how she balanced competition, work, and even academics.
While building her fight career, she received her Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Arizona State University in 2021 and then earned a Master of Science in Sports Psychology from the University of the Southwest last year. Those achievements are a reflection of her long-term approach to performance and preparation.
Discipline, for Salcedo, was never about motivation. It was about consistency.
She said:
“You just do it. You just suck it up and do it. You put your head down and work. You set your priorities, and they’re your non-negotiables, and that is what it is.”
