Waterson wondered whether her fighting career was over. She didn't know of any women who had returned to fighting after giving birth. "There's this huge stigma of girls that get pregnant while they're fighting," she says. "It's like, 'Oh, they weren't serious enough about their fighting career that they get pregnant.' I think I was afraid of that judgment." More ESPN The Magazine This story appears in ESPN The Magazine's World Fame 100 issue. Check out our full list of the world's 100 most famous athletes. No. 1: Cristiano Ronaldo: In the spotlight, out of reach

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Rising star: The One and Only Naomi Osaka Subscribe to The Mag But when Araya Sage Gomez arrived onMarch 18, 2011, she gave Waterson the one thing she didn't even know had been missing: a reason to fight. Gomez had decided, against Waterson's wishes, that he needed to give up his pro boxing career in favor of the more steady paycheck that comes with being a financial planner. He thought Waterson had a better shot at really making it. Waterson says that sacrifice, combined with her instinctual need to provide for her child, gave her motivation unlike any she'd experienced. "After having Araya, I feel like if I wanted to continue to pursue fighting, it had to be financially beneficial for my family," Waterson says. "I just couldn't do it as a hobby." She was still breastfeeding when she re-entered the cage for her first fight