T.J. Cunanan: Interview

On Sept 24th at the The Orleans Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas,

Tuff-N-Uff will be holding the final round of two women’s tournaments in the 125lb and 135lb divisions at their Future Stars event. Both tournaments started off on July 2nd with eight women in each division. Now down to two in each division, fighting out of Arizona will be 24 year old Tsui-Jen Cunanan.

T.J. as she is also known as, stands 5'5 and walks around at 130lbs. T.J. did say that she could  make 115lbs.

She trains at Phoenix Combat Academy/ Jay Pages Jiu Jitsu, where she has been trainning at over a year and a half. Tsui-Jen has maintained a grueling pace since first signing on for this tournament. Working with coaches Jay Pages and Sunshine Fettkether, Tsui-Jen keeps to a regimen that stresses strength, conditioning, toughness, and all around skill. She is a student of various martial arts, including Muay Thai and wrestling she is best known for her Jiu Jitsu and grappling.

Her record is 3-2, Tsui-Jen began her MMA career with a first round victory at RITC 135 against Sarah Roberts.

T.J. is the replacment fighter for Emily Peters-Kagan, who defeated her at the semi-finals, in a very close decision.

When I asked T.J. to sum up her thoughts on the fight, she said, "I can see how the fight could have gone either way." She did however point out that she could have done better.

T.J, though she has not often scouted her opponents in the past, has said, “How can I not scout Ashley." They have both fought on the same cards twice. Tsui-Jen Cunanan, the naturally smaller fighter, has said she’ll look to stand up with her but is ready to use her grappling skill if needed. With aspirations of being the best, she knows how important winning this tournament is.