Sinead Kavanagh defeats Aoife Murphy

On Saturday April 26th at Cage Contender: 18 "Wain vs. Ambriz"  at The Kings Hall Complex in Belfast, United Kingdom.

Sinead Kavanagh(1-1-0) defeated Aoife Murphy(0-1-0) by unanimous decision in their 155-pound amateur MMA match.

Sinead is a 5'6 fighter from Inchicore, Ireland she trains at Sbg nass rd where she is coached by John Kavanagh my coach.

 I asked Sinead how she got started in MMA and this was her answer, " I have been training about 6 months and got into MMA because I saw how big it was getting and I was fed up with Boxing after 10 years it was time to move on!! the excitement I get from MMA got me totally addicted to it."

Cindi Bottelberghe defeats Lorene Arbuckle

Saturday April, 26th at 3 River Throwdown at the La Crescent Community Arena in La Crescent, Minnesota.

Cindi Bottelberghe(1-0-0) defeated Lorene Arbuckle (0-2-0) by TKO at 1:09 of the first round in their 125-pound amateur MMA match.

Cindi is a 27 year old 5'5 fighter from Onalaska, Wisconsin and now living and fighting out of La Crosse, Wisconsin, where she is trained by Ian Maland at Iron Works Training Center and Driss Anam of Driss Anam's Academy in La Crescent, Minnesota
 
I asked Cindi how and when she got started in MMA and this was her answer, " I played soccer growing up and also have two brothers that are very close in age to me, so having them beat on me was a good start for MMA. I played goalie in soccer and also leaned how to take a beating from that. I started training in San Diego in 2010 at the Arena with Cris Cyborg as my Chute Boxe coach. I moved back to the Midwest to Dubuque, Iowa in 2012, began training with Pat Hayes at The Gym. I began learning Jui Jitsu in Dubuque as well. I then moved to La Crosse Wisconsin and began MMA and Jui Jitsu training at Iron Works Training Center.

Andrea Lee defeats Hannah Grabble

On Saturday April, 26th at Gladius Fights: XI "Syracuse vs. Nashville" in Cortland, New York at the J.M McDonald Sports Complex.

Andrea Lee (7-3-0) defeated Hannah Grabble (2-1-0) by submission (armbar) in the first round of their 125-pound amateur MMA match.

Andrea is a 25 year old 5'6 fighter originally from Atlanta, Texas and now living and training out of Bossier City, Louisiana where she trains at Karate Mafia with Donny Aaron.

She is a 4 sport amateur world champion (MMA, Muay Thai, Boxing & BJJ) holding a (23-5) combined record between Boxing, Muay Thai and MMA. She is also a highly decorated Relson Gracie bluebelt who competes in the expert division. She recently won a tournament in the men's division submitting all the men In her division. 

I asked Amanda how she got started in MMA and this was her answer, "I was a waitress at Buffalo Wild Wings around 2009 when I became fascinated with MMA through the UFC fights they showed there regularly. After much searching I found a home at Karate a Mafia (a Relson Gracie affiliate school) and met my coach Donny Aaron who would later become my husband."

She has also recently signed a pro contract with the XFC and will make her pro debut later this year after her amateur obligations are fulfilled. 

Her next fights are. June 20 in Bossier City for Legacy FC against 7-2 fighter Heather Denny. Then in July she will defend her V3 title against Jamie Milinowski in Memphis.

Pam Sorenson defeats Amanda Wyatt

On Saturday April, 26th at King of the Cage: "Clockwork" at Lake of the Torches Resort & Casino in Lac Du Flambeau, Wisconsin.

Pam Sorenson (4-0-1) defeated Amanda Wyatt (5-4-0) by submission (armbar) in the first round of their 145-pound amateur MMA match.

Pam is a 28 year old 5'5 fighter from Blaine, Minnesota who trains at The Cellar in Minneapolis, Minnesota where she is coached by Chris Cichon, Marcello Nunes, and Brandon Buchholz.

I asked Pam how she got started in MMA and this was her answer, "Up until I had tried out the kickboxing classes 2 years ago, I had never done any combat sports of any kind. I played soccer and volleyball and was a very competitive cross country skier. Before I gained all my weight, I also loved to run and have run a few marathons.I started Kickboxing just under 2 years ago when I realized I was over weight and unhealthy (I was about 200 pounds at the time). And about a year and a half ago my gym brought in a BJJ black belt from Brazil, so I thought I'd try BJJ out and it turned out I really liked it. I started competing in grappling tournaments shortly after, and about a year ago I decided I wanted to compete in MMA."

Amy O'Mara defeats Anya Hines: Fight Video

 

On Saturday April, 26th at Rage in the Cage: 4 in Stoke-On-Trent, Staffordshire, England at the Queens Theatre.

Amy O'Mara (1-0-0) defeated Anya Hines (1-3-1) by (TKO) due to ground and pound, in the first round of their 115-pound amateur MMA match.

Amy is a 25 year old 5'5 fighter who lives and trains in Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. She trains at 12 Gauge MMA where she is coached by Matt Thorpe and Simon Home.

I asked Amy when and why she got started in MMA and this was her answer, " I have been at 12 Gauge MMA for 14 months and have done kickboxing before that I just sort of fell into MMA. I was looking for a kickboxing gym when I found 12 Gauge and liked the sound of submission wrestling and then tried every other class and never looked back."

To see the fight video, click read more. 

Shannon Sinn defeats Courtney Himes

 

On Saturday April, 26th at Sparta Combat League: "Army vs. Navy: V" in Loveland, Colorado at the Budweiser Event Center.

Shannon Sinn (1-0-0) defeated Courtney Himes (0-2-0) by submission (armbar) at :51 seconds of the first round of their 125-pound professional MMA match.

 Shannon is a 35 year old  5'7 fighter from Brighton, Colorado where she trains at Grinders submission Fighting and Strictly Boxing. She is trained and managed by Albert Rosales.

Shannon ended her amateur career with an (5-1-0) record.

I asked Shannon how she got started in MMA and this was her answer, "I have been training for 4 1/2 yrs. I had no prior experience in combat sports. I competed in track & field through high school and college. I ended up going to a MMA school just looking for a good cardio workout. Initially I had no intentions of fighting but the competitive part of me took over"

Jacki Vandivier defeats Claire Guthrie

 

On Saturday April, 26th at GE Fights17 "Sinister" in Sullivan, Indiana at the Sullivan Downtown Gym.

Jacki Vandivier (3-0-0) defeated Claire Guthrie (1-1-0) by unanimous decision in their 145-pound amateur Championship MMA match.

Jacki also holds the GE 170-pound and the GE 155-pound amateur Women's titles. 

Jacki is a 30 year old 5'0 fighter who lives and trains in Clinton, Indiana at Kryptonite MMA, where she is coached by Bryant West, Justin Vandivier and Keith Smetana.

I asked Jacki how she got started in MMA and this was her answer, "I started MMA June 2012. I started it just for weight loss as I used to be 330lbs. I got stuck at 190lbs so my brother Jordan Urbain convinced me to train with him. And it was the best exercise I've ever done."

Amanda Haller defeats Lauren Styler

 

On Saturday April, 26th at Sparta Combat League: "Fight For The Troops" in Loveland, Colorado at the Budweiser Event Center.

Amanda Haller (1-2-0) defeated Lauren Styler (1-2-0) by split decision in their 135-pound amateur MMA match.

Amanda is a 5'7 fighter originally from Fruita, Colorado now training out of Grand Junction, Colorado at Crest Combat Conditioning where she is coached by Marco and Alex Ambriz.

 Aside from MMA, Amanda has also competed in Muay Thai and a few grappling tournaments.

Here is what Amanda had to say "I miss out on a lot of other things training MMA, family events, I don't party or go out I am at the gym as much as possible. It takes a lot of dedication and passion for the sport and I definitely love it so its worth it."

Mariah Prussia defeats Shannon Gunville

On Saturday April, 26 at Dakota Fighting Championships 18: "Spring Brawl" at Scheels Arena in Fargo, North Dakota

Mariah Prussia (3-0-0) defeated Shannon "Wild Child" Gunville (2-1-0) by TKO in the second round of their 135-pound professional MMA match.

 Mariah is a 5'7 fighter from Hendrum, Minnesota who now live and trains out of Fargo, North Dakota where she runs a gym called Xtreme Measures.

Mariah has only trained in MMA for a little under a year.