Nikki "Knuckles" Knudsen defeats Windy Gore

 

On Wednesday January, 16 2013 at Alaska Fighting Championship 96 at Sullivan Arena in Anchorage, Alaska.

#30 ranked 135-pound fighter Nikki "Knuckles" Knudsen (2-1-0) defeated Windy Gore (1-1-0) by submission (rear-naked choke) in the first round of their open weight professional MMA match.

The match was contracted at 135. Wendy Joyce came in at 143-pounds, while Nikki Knudsen made weight.

Nikki is a 5'5 twenty-four year old fighter from Anchorage, Alaska. She trains six days a week at Gracie Barra Alaska where she is coached by Luke Rambur, Ali Isaako and Richard Stout (MMA) Her Jiu Jitsu coaches are Jarvis Edwards and Bob Grunder, who also owns the facility. 

It has been three and a half years since Nikki last entered a cage largely due to injuries. In her last fight she was defeated for the first time in her career by Willow Bailey (2-1) Nikki won her professional debut back in April of 2009 against Kloiah Wayland by first round TKO.

I asked Nikki what got her started in MMA and this was her answer, "I was drunk at the fights a little over three years ago and Bob Lester from KWHL radio station's morning show is the announcer, and asked if any chicks would like to get in there and challenge Kloiah Wayland who was I believe 1-0 at the time and I was so down! Always loved watching UFC and it just seemed fun. They thought i was just some blonde drunk chick that wasn't serious about it. I went in to the Bob and Marc show the next morning, told them point me where to train and i will fight in two months. They did. And I trained twice a day everyday. Specifically with my all time favorite coach, Rus Enz, who taught me boxing every morning (we are great friends now but he is sorta retired with coaching) and then I went in the cage and won via TKO first round. Fell in love with the art of the sport, the people, the feeling I got from it. I was addicted. Fought two months later and didn't develop a super great ground game yet and I actually got choked out by WIllow Bailey, who is a beast boxer up here in Alaska. She also was much larger than me and I have no regrets I learned more in that fight then the first, and I used it for this one. Staying focused and breathing are the two most important things, and nerves tend to try and mess with that. The crowd is what makes me most nervous, the fight doesn't scare me-I train my ass off with a bunch of dudes that are bigger than me and push me harder than any girl in there will."