Katanning warrior in first professional win
After two years of relentless training, Katanning mixed martial arts fighter Kristy Obst won her first professional fight in Singapore last month.
Obst who claimed to be “pretty useless” at hockey and netball, said she never thought she would compete professionally in MMA.
Nevertheless, she won her debut fight by round-two knockout against Spanish fighter Claudia Diaz.
“I’ve been training in MMA since October 2017,” she said.
“Originally I started doing Muay Thai and I just love the challenge of it.
“But then my MMA coach saw something in me — he made me think I could actually go somewhere with this and I’ve been all-in ever since.”
The 29-year-old, who lives in Perth and grew up in Katanning, was the only Australian woman competing in Rich Franklin’s One Warrior series in Singapore last month.
Her passion and technique impressed the judges enough that they presented her with a “Warrior Bonus”, an extra point given to only three other fighters on the night.
Obst said her love for MMA had given her a new level of confidence and purpose in life.
She wanted to promote the sport in Australia through her career and see the emergence of more female MMA fighters.
“I think the biggest misconception of MMA or any kind of martial arts is the brutality of it,” she said.
“Everyone thought of it as a bloodthirsty and brawling sport.
“But when you know a bit about it, there is actually a lot of respect and you have to be clever and skilful to figure out your opponent.
“Every time you step into that ring, it’s a fight against yourself and also your opponent.
“There is a lot going on, mentally and physically when you train for a fight. I learn a lot from this sport.”
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