MMA Fighting - Mobwife: One Fighter’s Stand In The Face Of Unfathomable Heartbreak

Episode Date: February 29, 2024

Ashlee Gambino has always been a fighter at heart, but little did she know that she would be in the biggest fight of her life with a rare and deadly disease, while also dealing with unfathomable loss. MMA Fighting's Mike Heck brings you the story of "Mobwife," and how her life was flipped upside down in a matter of months, losing her three-year-old daughter to acute leukemia cancer, getting diagnosed with the uncureable severe idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension — a rare heart and lung disease — having to lose another daughter before she was born, yet using her heartbreak to inspire others. This mini-documentary shares Gambino's story, along with appearances from Bellator fighter Cat Zingano, social media influencer Liver King, and features some incredible surprises. If you would like to donate to help Ashlee and her family in this time of need, you can do so here on the GoFundMe set up by her husband Travis. Follow Mike Heck: @MikeHeck_JR Subscribe to MMA Fighting Check out our full video catalog Like MMA Fighting on Facebook Follow on Twitter Read More: http://www.mmafighting.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Support for this show comes from the Audible Original, the downloaded two. Ghosts in the Machine. The Earth only has a few days left. Rosco Cudulian and the rest of the Phoenix colony have to re-upload their minds into the quantum computer, but a new threat has arisen that could destroy their stored consciousness forever. Listen to Oscar winner Brendan Fraser reprised his role as Rosco Cudulian in this follow-up to the Audible original Blockbuster. The Downloaded, it's a thought-provoking sci-fi journey where identity, memory, and morality collide. Robert J. Sawyer does it again with this much-anticipated sequel that leaves you asking,

What are you willing to lose to save the ones you love? The Downloaded 2, Ghosts in the Machine. Available now, only from Audible. Support for this show comes from the Audible original The Downloaded 2, Ghosts in the Machine. The Earth only has a few days left. Rosco Cudulian and the rest of the Phoenix colony have to re-upload their minds into the quantum computer, but a new threat has arisen that could destroy their stored consciousness forever. Listen to Oscar winner Brendan Fraser reprised his role as Rosco Cudulian in this follow-up to the Audible original blockbuster,

the downloaded. It's a thought-provoking sci-fi journey where identity, memory, and morality collide. Robert J. Sawyer does it again with this much-anticipated sequel that leaves you asking, what are you willing to lose to save the ones you love? The downloaded two, Ghosts in the Machine, available now, only from Audible. There's an age-old cliche in the combat sports world. You'll live to fight another day. But in the case of Las Vegas mixed martial artist Ashley Gambino,

she needs to fight to live another day. And she'll have to do that until the inevitable moment when that is no longer an option. Less than 18 months ago, Gambino, now only 32 years old, saw her life change forever. Then it happened again and again with a series of life-altering tragedies. In late November of 2022, Gambino and her husband Travis Long lost their three-year-old daughter, Katana, to acute leukemia cancer. And it seemed to happen in a blink of an eye. Shortly after having to bury their child, Gambino was diagnosed with severe idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension, a rare heart and lung disease. Doctors at best gave her five more years to live.

But as devastating as that news was to Gambino, she was also 20 weeks pregnant with a baby girl. Because of how devastating this disease is, she was forced to terminate the pregnancy and almost lost her own life in the process. Even with all the turmoil she's experienced, Gambino isn't ready to throw in the towel. In fact, she's far from doing that. I am doing my best to keep it together because I know that I have put myself in a position to be in the public eye for a reason. I have a goal of inspiring people in a positive way. And I feel like I just can't let that go yet, even with all the trauma that we've experienced in this, crush here and I'm still experiencing.

I'm Mike Heck from MMAfighting.com and this is the emotional story of Ashley Gambino in her ongoing battle of unbelievable heartbreak and devastation, yet somehow finding silver linings through it all. Ashley Gambino began trading mixed martial arts in Ohio in 2012 with help from her husband before eventually relocating to Las Vegas, the fight capital of the world. Gambino started to gain some notoriety several years ago when she would shadow box, train, and even spar visitors for tips in the middle of Fremont Street. As her legend began to grow, she gained attention from the likes of Nick Diaz and even UFC CEO Dana White. Nicknamed Mob Wife, Gambino went on to have one amateur mixed martial arts boat on record.

She even took a short notice pro boxing match. Just as she hoped to return to the boxing ring, the biggest fight of her life. began. It started with finding out that her three-year-old daughter Katana was very, very sick. The ever-energetic child spent Halloween, which was less than a month prior, with so much spirits and excitement that she couldn't even sit in her wagon, marching up to each house with innocence and glee. Weeks later, everything changed rapidly. The little girl had so much energy. She was so sweet and just wanted to show off her costume and have fun. And then she just started throwing up the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

Sunday she hadn't stopped. We brought her to the hospital that night and Monday morning. Her heart stopped three times. And I was, you know, I was there for that. It was very, very hard to be there for. Ashley and her family barely had time to catch their breath or even truly grieved the loss of her daughter before Ashley was diagnosed with the incurable, idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension, which according to the American Lung Association, is caused when the tiny arteries in the lung become thickened and narrowed, which blocks the blood flow through the lungs, raising the blood pressure in the lungs, and causes the heart to work harder to pump blood through those narrowed arteries. Over time, the heart loses the ability

to effectively pump blood throughout the body, and the disease is categorized as a rare, progressive disorder, which means it will only get worse over time. The National Institutes of Health says that the disease is so rare that only about 1% of people globally have pulmonary hypertension. On top of the diagnosis, she had to say goodbye to another child before she even had the chance to hold her. When I was diagnosed almost exactly a month after Katana passed, I was 20 weeks pregnant and I lost my daughter at that point in time and I almost lost my life. My heart stopped when they were taking my daughter from me and my face, they told me was completely blue. They had to sit me up to try and get me to breathe.

It was bad. They didn't think I was going to leave the hospital. It's really a miracle that I survived. If you have read about what Gambino and her family have been going through, or if you're just finding out about it for the first time, your heart just has to break and shock sets in. The story got the attention of the MMA community through a GoFundMe set up by Gambino's husband. One time UFC and Bellator title challenger Katzengano shared Gambino's fundraising page on our social media channels. And since then, the two have formed a bit of a kinship, as both have dealt with unbelievable tragedy.

Yeah, I've been through a lot. I lost my husband to suicide. in 2014 and that broke me, you know, in ways that I really didn't get to show because, you know, I'm in the spotlight and have to be tough and be strong. But like, I just have to say if I hadn't had my son to get through it for and to get out of bed for and to open the windows for and to shower for and to whatever, like, no, it could have been a completely different story. and the fact that she can't even go through her own health complications with the motivation of a child, her child dies. And I know they were very close together as far as the timeline. And then she has to lose another child as far as her pregnancy at the time.

Like it just, you know, it's not one of those things. And it's a fight where a ref isn't going to jump in and save you, you know. Like you just keep having to get hit and hit and hit and get up. And, you know, I'm really motivated by the fact that she's still trying to work hard and she's still spreading her story and spreading her strength, trying to find ways to stay happy, trying to find other ways to get healthy. And, you know, I'm sure there's days she wants to bang her head against the wall. And I just feel frustrated for her. I know she, there's a light at the end of the tunnel in a lot of people's circumstances. And with hers, I know she's not sure of that.

and that must be so devastating some days. Gambino's story has even spread outside of the combat sports bubble. American social media fitness influencer Liver King has now found himself taking the journey with Gambino. Liver King, whose real name is Brian Johnson, told me that he has had people reach out to him for help in the past. And one time, he ended up getting scammed. And while he always wants to help, he learned he needs to tread a little lighter. But when his social media coordinator reached out to share Gambino's story, Johnson was admittedly hesitant because of what happened in the past.

But after a deeper dive, he realized she was undeniable. Maybe the most person I've ever met in Ashley, because I think it was almost every single day, it was, hey, I'm going through, I don't know verbatim, but I'm going through fucking hell. I reached out to Ashley. Then I could feel what she was going through. and I'm like, what kind of piece of shit am I going to be if I've been blessed enough to be able to offer blessings back? And so I can do something and I'm not going to?

You know, how can I sit down at the dinner table with my boys, you know, and talk to them about growth and contribution if I don't even model it? And it was a great opportunity to jump in. I know it was the right thing to do. And as we started doing it, it lit me up, you know, being able to talk with her and, you know, when I had the bad days, because everybody will have the flu, right? And you know when you have like the worst fucking flu ever and you don't have any any energy. Sometimes that happens to me. I give myself just go to the level 10 intensity, whatever I do, level 10 intensity. So I wake up some days, not feeling great.

If Ashley can fucking strive and put one foot in front of the other and keep going forward, going through what she's been through, I sure is fuck better do what my job is. I better do my job. You know, the world brought us together for a reason. We haven't completely figured that out yet, but we're going to. When Gambino was trying to accomplish her dream of being a pro fighter and a world champion, her day-to-day was certainly much different than it is now. From getting ready for a fight to living within one every second of every day,

Gambino still uses the same discipline she learned in the gym, and has translated it to a completely different setting. Although most would find what Gambino is going through to be full of darkness, She's found light through her loved ones, her husband, her 8-year-old daughter, and 2-year-old son, and other avenues of creativity. I have to make adjustments to survive at this point. I'm on a life-sustaining medication, a few of them. So I have to make sure I get all my pills every day. I have three rounds of pills I have to take.

If I don't, I can feel it. I have to mix my medicine that is going through my essential line. I have to mix it every 48 hours. I also have to do my own dressing changes. If you don't mix your medicine, you'll pass away. So it's not a question. I have to do it. It doesn't matter if I'm tired.

You have to do it in a very sterile way. You might as well be doing a surgical procedure because I'm sending this medicine directly to my heart. So I have to be very careful with the way I do things. Same thing with my dressing and whatnot. I have to be very careful the way I handle things. I don't want the cord to get ripped out of my chest. My nurses told me some horror stories about that, so I have to be very gentle around the cord.

I have an eight-year-old and a two-year-old, so it's definitely got its challenges, but I'm still mommy. And I homeschool my daughter, so I still want to hold up to all that and keep doing that. It's not easy because my days can be so tired. I can just get so randomly tired from this condition, and it will just make me have to go to sleep. At night, I have to wear oxygen, but I just recently figured out that even though I'm wearing the oxygen at night, it's still dropping to an unacceptable level. So I have to figure that out too. It's definitely challenging. I have to bring an emergency mix kit and dressing change kit with me everywhere I go to go from being a professional fighter and training to get my energy out.

and not be able to do that anymore to having to be wheeled around in a wheelchair has been such a change and dynamic. But I've got my children. Now we have a little emotional support, doggie. I have a little chihuahua now. He's so cute. His name's Prince Vegeta. And I love to paint. I have started making paintings for people since I left the hospital.

And I just really enjoy doing that a lot. I have always loved art. When I was a child, I wanted to be an artist, but I didn't know I was going to grow up to be a mixed martial artist. I was showing my art in form of martial arts, and now I have to use my art in a different way. But I can't just give up on that art, right? Boating for flight 246 to Toronto is delayed 50 minutes. What? Sounds like Ojo time.

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That's the powerful backing of that. IMAX. Conditions apply. Being a parent myself, the thought of losing my child has to be the most devastating and difficult thoughts that can pop into my head, let alone losing two children in a matter of months. On top of that, the fear that comes with an unpredictable disease that has no cure, not knowing if today will be the last day, but still having to do everything in your power to hope and prepare for the best, surely carries an unimaginable weight. Maybe the saddest thing of all when it comes to everything Gambino has to deal with on a daily basis is the fact that she hasn't at any time to grieve the loss of her daughters or even truly digest the road she is traveling. Emotionally and mentally, she can't get there for completely unselfish reasons. Physically, she can't get there because if she does, it could be catastrophic.

I feel like I was holding it in so much because I knew. that my survival depended on it. And I knew that I had to be here for my husband and my children, mostly, of course, and everybody else is watching me too. And in order to do that, I had to be as stoic as possible because if I just let myself keep falling into these tents where I'm crying and just heaving because I miss my daughter so much in the way that I lost her

and I lost my baby that I was pregnant with, my own diagnosis if I just let myself get to this point so much that it's going to put stress on my heart. And because I have limited that, I have been able to bring my heart back to a pretty decent size. The right side of my heart was twice the size as it should have been when I was diagnosed. Now it's almost normal, which is basically impossible what was told by my doctor. I have always defied the odds. And I don't know if I'll ever be done grieving my daughter, ever, either one of them.

But I can't let it hinder my ability to be mommy or a wife or an influencer that I have put myself in this position in front of the public eye for a reason, not to show that when things get hard, you give up. To show that when things get hard, you go harder. With obstacle after obstacle being navigated with positivity and the ability to believe that nothing can defeat her, Gambino simply won't accept that there isn't a cure for her disease. And that at some point, putting up a spectacular fight will be just enough to contain it.

I've created my own chance. I wasn't even supposed to make it out of the hospital. I was in there for almost a month. They definitely didn't think I was making it out. It's a miracle I'm still here and doing as good as I'm doing. The doctors told me that my condition was found so late and it's such an extreme stage that I'm in a very high risk category. My heart was at extreme high risk, especially when I was released from a hospital when I was diagnosed. It's doing better now, but I'm still at high risk. So it's possible. I could go into random cardiac arrest at any point in time, but I have always defied the odds. I took my pro boxing debut on 12 days notice, and I did way better than anybody expected me to. Okay, and I have always defied the odds. I will continue to do so. They don't have a cure yet. The medicine that I'm on is life-sustaining medicine to just ease symptoms as much as possible until this disease eventually takes me out. but I'm not that easy to take out.

The GoFundMe is set up to assist in dealing with the emotional and physical toll the last year plus has put on Gambino and her family, along with funds to buy Gambino a car so she can earn some extra income as an Uber driver, since that's all she will be able to physically handle. Additionally, Gambino needs to travel out of Nevada to see specialists. She told me there are a few in the country, none of which are near, or around Nevada. She hopes to purchase her expensive medicine that insurance just won't fully cover an apartment in a better neighborhood for the family and to just have a bit of a break, to have the chance to mourn, reflect, and prepare the household for what is likely to come. Of all the things

the fundraising can accomplish, there's one specific thing that would mean the world, and perhaps give a small bit of closure to all of the loss she has had to take on, a custom headstone for her daughter Katana, one that has been part of Gambino's life for many years through an unbelievable vision. It's a crazy story. No one's going to believe me when I say this, okay? When I was pregnant with my first daughter and living in Ohio, I would walk back and forth to work every day. I worked at a Wendy's. And I, when I was walking home one night, I saw what I thought was a little girl standing at this grave marker. I hadn't had any children yet, okay?

And so I took a double take because it was late. I was on the closing crew, and I was like, why is there a little girl out here? And I look back and there's nobody there. At the time, I was really scared that it was my daughter looking at that marker for me. Like, I had passed away. I don't know.

I know a lot of people don't believe in things, but I get these feelings, and I see. But anyways, that's the one I want for her. It's pink. It's a giant heart. And it looks like there's mountains around it, which she loved climbing in the mountains. Little stinker scared the crap out of me. Last time we were in the mountains, just climbing up things on by herself. So that is a big thing that I'd like to do for her is placed that specific grave marker. And the GoFund is going to help us get that. We have a temporary one there now because of the GoFundMe helping us, but I still have a goal of getting that. They're holding it for me. It's been

there for years. I was working at Wendy's before I had my first daughter who's eight years old now, almost nine. So it's not going anywhere. It's mine. They're going to clean it up for me when I can pay for it and we'll put the inscribing and whatever we choose to put on. At the time of this posting, more than $37,000 has been raised for the family, with the goal of $100,000 still to hit. In these trying times in the world, Gambino is amazed, the community surrounding her, has been able to come through the way that they have. Whether it's a $1 or a $5 donation, every last bit has been able to help the family get to where they are right now. As important as the financial part of it is, the graciousness of everybody who has lent to helping her. hand has brought a different kind of energy to Gambino and a hunger to pay it forward in other ways.

It is so meaningful for all this energy to be circling around us, and I am so grateful for it. I don't have words to express how thankful and grateful I am for the love that has been surrounding our family since all this happened, because we have really needed it. it's the most traumatic thing I feel like I can't even write a book like this and I am thanking you all from the bottom of my heart thank you for your continued support and I just want you to be inspired by my story and know that even though things are going to get hard because they will things happen in life. It may be not as traumatic as ours,

but things are going to happen to you. You have to never give up. It is so important to never, ever, ever, ever give up and to keep moving forward, even if you don't have a family that's surrounding you for yourself. You have to move forward and care about yourself in order to care about anything else. Zengano has been able to get to the other side of her personal demons,

and hardship and seeing Gambino's brave and heroic attitude has continued to motivate her. When Gambino says that she'll find the power to create her own destiny, Zingano believes her and also believes that attitude could keep that fight heading into the proverbial championship rounds and beyond. I really believe in manifestation and I think that this energy she's putting into herself and her words and her effort and her actions. Like I really do hope that, you know, she's buying herself the right amount of time

that they do find something they can do about this. Medicine is so innovative. There's original medicines that are out there to explore as well. So, you know, I just really hope that something comes up for her, that she is able to raise her kids and be here as long as long. possible and live out her legacy as somebody that healed from this. You know, that's what I hope for her. Forming an ongoing friendship with Johnson has also helped with giving Gambino reasons to fight for

her family. Just having him in her life as a helping hand for motivation or even just another person who has had ups and downs to talk to may have been enough. However, Liver King has learned so much from his short time of getting to know Gambino that he made the choice to take things to take their a giant step further. I see you looking at her with that look in your eye. I want you to go ahead and look in her direction again. What do you want to say to her right now? I'll back off.

I'm just so proud. You know, I am. I'm so proud of the way that you've handled all of this stuff. You know, there's formal authority and there's moral authority and your moral authority, the way that you've led, the way that you've shown everybody, what you're showing them. I know that you need a break. when we were talking earlier and what are the funds going to go courts you know you need a break

if it's okay i want to share this right now i had the opportunity to sit down with dana white the other day and you know it's familiar with your story and i said you know she hasn't been to a professional ufc fight yet that's true before i could finish my sentence he said anyone she wants to go to earn her husband go and and so i'm just i'm so excited to and he said you you can get that to You don't have to say my name. Like, I'm not going to. I can't do that. I can't pull that off.

But what a great thing it is, you know, that he wants to give this to you. Everybody wants to pitch and everybody wants to play a role. I want to add one more thing to that because, again, I know that you need a break. And I believe this will help, you know, offer a break. And so everything will be taken care of related to that. And it'll be a really special treat. How much are we trying to raise on the go fund me? Our goal right now is $100,000.

And where are we at? worried about, last time I looked around $38,000. Yeah, $37,284 right now. Okay, $37,000. Because I don't know how we'll handle all this with the interview and everything, but right now I just want to tell you that today, my wife and I talked and we kind of had met before and we said, you know what, I need to feel the energy of our heart.

It's like, you've just blown me away. And so we want to make the donation to get us to that goal today. And so we're going to get to that goal today. And so just again, I know what some of your medical bills look like. And I know this doesn't get you where you need to really go. I know this is going to help. But I don't want anybody receiving this message to think, okay, we hit gold. Now we're done.

We've got a lot more to do. And so I want to help us get to that goal today. And then I hope that you can always be running up the mountain to know. win. Like you don't hit the goal and you're done, right? Right. And again, like this was your whole message is never stop no matter what. So never stop no matter what, you know, and you know, raise the goal, raise the aim, raise the objectives. And it's a small part that we can play, but we've been blessed, you know, that we can help other people and you're just a perfect person to help. So. Oh my God. Thank you.

You're welcome. Thank you. Yeah. Thank you. Thanks to Johnson, along with the UFC. Ashley will get to attend her first UFC event alongside her husband Travis. The event she chose, UFC 299, March 9th in Miami, Florida, a loaded fight card headlined by Sean O'Malley versus Marlon Vera for the UFC Banimate Championship. I couldn't be more thrilled for Ashley and Travis, and shout out to Johnson as well as the UFC for making this bucket list dream a reality. I have to be honest.

this is one of the most emotional stories I've ever had the chance to dive into. To say that Ashley Gambino is one of the bravest and most positive people that I've ever spoken to would be an understatement. But I would also add her husband Travis to that same sentence. I cannot imagine what this man has to go through every day, watching his wife suffer, living each day not knowing what is going to happen, but still handling all the responsibilities as a husband and a father

and doing so with incredible grace. And for that, he deserves the tip of the cap and a ton of credit. I wish Ashley, Travis, their two kids, and of course the Chihuahua Prince Fijita, nothing but the best. And if anyone can beat this thing, it is Ashley Gambino. And I want to thank Ashley Gambino for telling her story. I want to thank PR guru Michael Goldberg for bringing this story to my attention. I met Mike when I covered the Jake Paul versus Andre Aga's fight in Orlando.

in December, and for some reason, he felt like I was the guy to tell this story the way it needed to be told. I hope I did it justice. I also want to thank Brian Liverkin Johnson for sharing his story. The motivation and inspiration he has picked up from his short friendship with Ashley is truly something to behold. I saw it with my own eyes. He didn't know what to expect from me. I didn't really know what to expect from him. And I had never spoken with him before.

But he was the one that wanted Ashley's story told. more than anybody else on the planet. And of course, a big thank you to the incredible community we have here at MAAfighting.com, my colleagues, my teammates, especially Sean Elshaddy, for helping me put this all together and for dealing with my 7,000 slack messages and questions. Yet again. I am Mike Keck from MMAfighting.com, and I hope this story inspires you.

If you would like to make a donation to the Gambino family in this time of need, You can find the GoFundMe link in the podcast description, or you can find it at mMAfighting.com.