MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) fighting was introduced to the United States in the early 1900’s. MMA fighting is a full contact combat sport that is combined with different fighting styles. It is usually referred to as a male dominant sport. However, there has been a growing awareness of women in MMA.

Victoria Lopez, a senior at Freedom High school, is an MMA fighter for Bill Heimberger’s Jhoon Rhee Institute of Martial Arts. At first sight it might not even cross your mind that she would be an MMA fighter. But don’t let looks fool you. Her dad signed her up for this sport before she was eight years old and she has grown a passion for it ever since.

“It was before my eighth birthday; he came home one day and said he signed me up for mixed martial arts. I will forever be grateful for that,” Lopez said.

Lopez is proud of what she does and admitted that she doesn’t mind people not expecting her to be a MMA fighter.

“When I wear tank tops people ask me how am I so muscular. I find it funny how they don’t expect it and I feel proud to say this is what I do,” Lopez said.

Not only has this sport taught her self-defense and more about herself, but it has given her more confidence. When she was little, she used to feel intimidated and would often apologize for hitting someone. Today, after years of training and improvement, her confidence has grown.

“In a whole bunch of ways my confidence grew. I learned I was good at it, but I could improve,” Lopez said.

In addition, she learned to speak up and discovered her passion for teaching.

“When you get to a certain level you get to teach and assist little kids and that’s when I learned I love teaching as well,” Lopez said.

In any sport there is always a chance of getting injured and Lopez has experienced many injuries in the years of her being an MMA fighter.

“In 8^th grade when I went to sprawl I had an accident on my ankle. I was on crutches for a few weeks and had to go to physical therapy for a few months. It was awful,” Lopez said.

Fortunately, Lopez isn’t discouraged from being injured. She’s learned how to tolerate certain pains and figure out how to improve.

“If you’re sparring, it’ll hurt to get kicked in the stomach but you’ll get used to the pain and learn your weaknesses so you know what to do,” Lopez said.

Most families would be terrified at seeing their child fight, but Lopez’s family is the complete opposite. They are actually very supportive and proud of her taking part in this sport.

“My family thinks it’s exciting to see me fight, they love to support me and my brother thinks it’s really cool,” Lopez said.

After graduation Lopez wants to stay close to home and was accepted into UT, but if she gets accepted into USF she plans to go attend there instead. Even though Lopez enjoys being an MMA fighter she isn’t planning on making it into a career.

“I thought about making MMA into a career, but it wouldn’t be as stable. I want to major in music education.”