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Lea Bivins made her professional MMA debut on Friday and may not have benefited from an amateur career, but she’s no stranger to the world she’s diving into.
Bivins has devoted his life to martial arts thanks to his father, Anthony Bivins, who has six professional MMA fights and is now the head coach at a family-owned gym near Sacramento, California.
The 20-year-old started training at the age of 5 and has experience in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, wrestling and pankration during her childhood. But now her focus is on mixed martial arts and she will make her professional debut, starting her ONE on Prime Video 3 her card at Axiata’s arena in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Bivins (0-0) opened the card in atomweight (115 lbs) as she faced Noelle Grandjean (3-0).
“It’s my first match, so I can turn the cards off and show everyone my skills and how hard I’ve been working,” Bivins told MMA Junkie Radio. “I don’t have an amateur record. I decided not to go amateur and save my body for the pro. It will be a few years before I am able to participate, and I think this is an advantage for me.”
Bivins was supposed to make his debut earlier this year, but his ONE Championship fight fell through when his opponent withdrew due to underweight. So she wants this first one of hers out of the way.
Afterwards, she didn’t mind working with ONE First Family and sibling champions Angela Lee and Christian Lee in Hawaii.
But she said she prefers the family gym as her main training ground, as opposed to a high-profile team that can get lost in the shuffle.
“I want to be 1-0 or 2-0 this year. Longer term, I want to move up the ranks of the atomweight division,” Bivins said. “There are a lot of girls in my division and I think he is one of the biggest divisions they have.
“Long term, I would love to start training in Hawaii with Angela and Christian Lee. I would love to do some more fight camps with them or go to Hawaii and train with them. I want to be a really great fighter and make a name for myself in the game.”
Watch the full interview with Bivins in the video above.
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