From Women headlining as main-event to all-female fight shows, it has never been a better time to be a woman in combat sports.
It has been more than 10 years since I first started fighting and boy, the times have changed. It was a challenge finding an appropriate training partner let alone getting matched for a fight. Taking fights at a moment's notice and giving away weight and experience just to get some ring time was the norm.
Fast forward to today, more women than ever are engaging and competing in combat sports. After attending XFC's first all-female fight show and feeling the vibrations of the crowd's deafening roar for each contestant, I had the privilege to experience progress first-hand.
Do I wish I were still fighting? No, I'm more than satisfied with the achievements and accolades I had gained as a professional boxer despite the struggles. In saying that, I do like to think that I had contributed to paving the way and inspiring the next generation of female fighters.
Those who know me and have met me would have Professional Fighter as the last occupation to cross their minds. I'm very much a normal person who had to constantly break the mould of what people stereotypically thought a female fighter looked and acted like. In fact, you may put me as the complete opposite. I was regularly met with surprise and disbelief that I was a professional boxer. Comments such as, "you don't look like a fighter" and "you're too pretty and nice to be punched in the face," were always met with, "well I am and I do". Today we prove we are no longer typically from the rough side of town, a bunch of misfits or more masculine in nature. It now challenges the question, what is a female fighter? The answer to that is: We are from all walks of life.
Part of the female take-over is its more open acceptance into the mainstream. Women can now view other women training, fighting and excelling on social media. They don't need to be immersed in combat sports anymore to be inspired by them. I admit, there are still some prejudices, many coming from that "old-school" thinking. But as we welcome the new, build on the past and cheer each other on, we will continue to see women rise in combat sports.
This is just the beginning...
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