Australian competition Known for her aggressive fighting style, Rawlings began her mixed martial arts journey in
Launceston, Tasmania in 2010 before relocating to
Brisbane, Australia to further her opportunities and experience in early 2011. Rawlings made her professional MMA debut on 15 October 2011 at
BRACE 12 in
Hobart, Tasmania. Rawlings fought at
bantamweight in her debut against Rhiannon Thompson. In what was declared "fight of the night" by the promotion, Rawlings lost her debut fight by way of a highlight reel head kick knockout. Bouncing back and publicly rallying within the Australian MMA circuit for more fight opportunities at her suited weight class, Rawlings secured consecutive submission victories over Sarah Morrison (at
BRACE 14) and Daniela Marjanovic (at
Australian Fighting Championship 3). Two more victories over Rachel Sheridan and Christina Tatnell propelled Rawlings to a four-fight winning streak in 2012. This streak, coupled with a noticeable lack of legitimate Australian opponents for Rawlings, caught North America's
Invicta Fighting Championships' attention in late 2012.
Invicta Fighting Championships In November 2012, Rawlings signed a three-fight contract with
Invicta Fighting Championships to compete in their
strawweight division. She was originally scheduled to fight
Joanne Calderwood on the undercard of
Invicta FC 4: Esparza vs. Gadelha on 5 January 2013, but an injury to
Cláudia Gadelha resulted in Rawlings being pushed up to an
Invicta FC Strawweight Championship fight in the main event against
Carla Esparza. Rawlings lost the fight via unanimous decision. Her first fight outside of Australia, combined with her personality, gave her a lot of coverage in the Australian media. This led Invicta FC president Shannon Knapp to say that she had never seen anything like it, and at the
2012 Women’s Mixed Martial Arts Awards she was voted
2012 Favourite Female Fighter with 265 votes by WMMA fans, 70 more than
Ronda Rousey. Rawlings' next fight within
Invicta Fighting Championships was against Jasminka Cive at
Invicta FC 5: Penne vs. Waterson on 5 April 2013. She won the fight via submission in the first round. Rawlings faced
Mizuki Inoue at
Invicta FC 6: Coenen vs. Cyborg on 13 July 2013. Rawlings lost the fight via unanimous decision.
Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighter Rawlings' Invicta FC contract was assigned to the
UFC on 11 December 2013 after the UFC created a women's strawweight division. The promotion also announced a women's edition of
The Ultimate Fighter, which would crown the first UFC women's strawweight champion. Rawlings was the seventh pick to go to coach
Gilbert Melendez. She was initially scheduled to face
Justine Kish in the preliminary round, however Kish hurt her knee during practice and was replaced by the previously eliminated
Tecia Torres. Rawlings went on to lose the fight in a two-round unanimous decision.
After TUF Rawlings' first fight after The Ultimate Fighter was against
Heather Jo Clark at
The Ultimate Fighter: A Champion Will Be Crowned Finale on 12 December 2014. She lost the fight by unanimous decision. Rawlings was expected to face
Seo Hee Ham on 10 May 2015 at
UFC Fight Night 65. However, Ham pulled out of the bout on 10 April and was replaced by
Lisa Ellis. Rawlings won the fight via submission in the first round. Rawling's next fight was expected to be against
Joanne Calderwood at
UFC Fight Night 72 on 18 July 2015. However, on 11 July. Rawlings pulled out of the fight due to injury and was replaced by promotional newcomer
Cortney Casey-Sanchez. Rawlings next faced
Paige VanZant on 27 August 2016 at
UFC on Fox 21. She lost the fight via KO in the second round after being dropped by a flying head kick and a flurry of follow up punches. Rawlings next faced
Tecia Torres in a rematch at
UFC Fight Night: Bermudez vs. The Korean Zombie on 4 February 2017. At the weigh-ins, Rawlings came in at 117.5 lbs, over the women's strawweight non-title limit of 116 lbs. As a result, Rawlings was fined 20% of her purse, which went to
Tecia Torres and the bout proceeded at a catchweight. Rawlings lost the fight by unanimous decision.
Move up to flyweight Rawlings was again expected to face
Joanne Calderwood in flyweight bout at
UFC Fight Night: Werdum vs. Tybura on 19 November 2017. However, Calderwood was pulled out from the card due to undisclosed reason and she was replaced by
Jessica-Rose Clark. At the weigh-ins, Clark weighed in at 128 pounds, 2 pounds over the flyweight upper limit of 126 pounds. The bout proceeded at a catchweight and Clark forfeited 20% of her purse. Rawlings lost the fight via split decision. Rawlings faced
Ashlee Evans-Smith on 7 April 2018 at
UFC 223. She lost the fight by unanimous decision. After losing four fights in a row, Rawlings was subsequently released from the promotion.
Bellator After going 3–0 in bare knuckle boxing, news surfaced that Rawlings had signed a contract with
Bellator. She made her promotional debut against Ilara Joanne at
Bellator 231 on 25 October 2019. She lost the fight by submission in the second round. Rawlings faced
Elina Kallionidou on 22 February 2020 at
Bellator 240. She won the bout via unanimous decision. On 10 July 2021, it was announced that she was no longer under contract with Bellator. ==Bare-knuckle boxing==