Women Who Changed The Game Through Literal Blood, Sweat and Blackened Bruises
The sphere of fighting sports is changing everyday, new rules are implemented for the safety of fighters and people join the combat lifestyle regularly. The women leading the sport act as ambassadors of change and improvement globally. RDX Sports showcases some of the women that display female power, prowess and skill in fight and fitness sports.
Laila Ali
Laila Ali is known as one of the most successful female boxers of all time. She started training at the age of 19 with a natural aptitude, unsurprisingly, for the sport. Her father The Great Mohammad Ali was skeptical about her becoming a professional boxer but after seeing her perform supported her wholly.
Ali finally retired from boxing with 24 clean wins and multiple world titles under her belt at the age of 30 in 2007. She left the sport undefeated and continues to promote better health and fitness globally.
Claressa Shields
Shields is one of the most decorated fighters ever, at just the age of 26, and is proclaimed to be the ‘Greatest Woman (Boxer) of All Time’, she has a strong case too, with double Olympic gold medals, belts in three divisions and becoming boxing’s first-ever two weight undisputed champion.
Shields’ journey to becoming the greatest fighter of all time has her wanting to prove herself outside of boxing and in the octagon as of June 2021. Her legacy is already set in stone but she is now learning Brazilian Jiu Jitsu since her joining the PFL. Shields insists gender equality in boxing is under-covered by the media, hence she often acts as an ambassador for gender equality in boxing.
Gina Carano
The original “face of women’s MMA”, brought the sport’s female representation to the forefront of the world stage. Gina Carano not only had the ability to fight phenomenally but also was a brilliant spokesperson for the females alongside her, in both Strikeforce and EliteXC (2006-2009).
The multi talented Carano then transitioned into film and television; she often is cast into powerful, “no-nonsense” characters. Carano’s platform allows her to be a superhero and warrior for all future generations who use her journey as a guideline for their own paths.
Ronda Rousey
Superstars like Ronda ‘Rowdy’ Rousey, have completely altered the competition for women’s rankings regardless of weight class or division. She took the mantle of the Queen of MMA from Carano when she joined the UFC back in 2012. Ronda’s fame surpasses fight fans and followers alike, her notoriety for being one of the most outspoken and ruthless female fighters remains despite her retirement from the UFC in 2016.
Ronda is the first ever female fighter in the UFC, further holding 6 title defenses and being the first ever woman inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. Though her climb to success and the journey therein is far from over, she joined WWE following her retirement and continues to represent female mixed martial artists internationally.
Amanda Nunes
Amanda, “The Lioness”, Nunes, the Brazilian, dual Champion of Bantam and Featherweight divisions in the UFC may be the prodigal successor of Ronda Rousey. Her rise to fame came through a long career in mixed martial arts in Strikeforce, Invicta FC and the UFC. Her long career has many accomplishments and accolades with victories over many opponents across multiple weight classes.
The Lioness is in a category of her own, with her double belt, being the third person ever to achieve the acclaimed status of “Double Champion”. Amanda Nunes made history when she became the first double champ to return to her original division and successfully defended her original belt.
Stefi Cohen
Young Stefi Cohen is a powerlifter, entrepreneur and now boxer. In lifting competitions her grand total is now 25 all-time world records, which is absolutely incredible considering she’s only 28 years old. She is the co-owner of Hybrid Performance Method, an online training regime that helps athletes focus across bodybuilding, weightlifting and powerlifting disciplines. She recently joined professional boxing as well and the Venezuelan bodybuilder has also begun to show her power getting a knockout in her debut fight.
In a domain dominated by men, she stands out as a beacon of inspiration to women who want to lift. She is the best in the world in her weight category, and pound-for-pound, her achievements rank her amongst the best ever of all time.
Tatiana Kashirina
Kashirina won the world championship for weightlifting five times . Tatiana is a 2012 Olympic silver medalist as well as a five-time World champion(2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2018) and seven-time European champion. She has been able to complete a 341 pound snatch, which broke her own previous record from the 2012 Olympics in London. Her highest weight for the clean and jerk was approximately 425 pounds.
Such record breaking and record making performances provide a platform to those that are looking for a future in this highly disciplined and difficult sport. Such performances break the stereotypes of weightlifting and strength based sports giving everyone a chance to represent and build a stronger community.
This Women’s Day RDX Sports is proud to exhibit the amazing talents mentioned both above and all over the fight world. Our deepest respect and acknowledgement goes out to the fighters that pave the way for the sport and the rights of women globally.
We at RDX Sports are celebrating the women that raised us, trained us and fought for our rights. The female contributions for a more inclusive world are immense, especially in combat sports, their wisdom and talent has guided every single one of us to move, improve and evolve with the times.
