Gina Mazany has been around the fight game for a long time, and is a veteran of the up-and-downs that come with competing at the highest level in the sport’s biggest promotion, the UFC.
Like most of us, 2020 was a year full of challenges; with the COVID-19 pandemic, people losing their jobs around the world, and much more.
Mazany considered leaving the sport entirely and giving up fighting after falling to Julia Avila at UFC Vegas 2. But after making the move to join James Krause’s team at Glory MMA in Kansas City with her fiancee, UFC flyweight Tim Elliott, she has found a new home after making the weight cut from bantamweight to flyweight.
“I’m more used to the process now as opposed to before the Rachel Ostovich fight,” Mazany told LowKickMMA. “I feel like 125 is my home. My body’s just changed a lot and I feel healthier and stronger.”
Mazany will fight Priscila Cachoeira at UFC 262 on May 15th in Houston, in her first fight since her sensational finish against Ostovich at UFC Vegas 15. Mazany raised the eyebrows of fight fans around the sport when she ended Ostovich with a devastating body kick to the liver, a technique that she coined the ‘Ninja Toe’.
Her upcoming fight in Houston will also be the UFC’s second full-capacity event since the start of the COVID-19 lockdowns early last year, and she’s very excited to feed off the energy of the fans as she takes on Cachoeira.
“I think more than anything, I’m excited to just perform and have people react,” Mazany said. “I feel like I’m at the point where big things are happening and I’m just excited to entertain.”
Front kicks do the damage @GinaDangerAK needed to finish Rachael Ostovich at #UFCVegas15
pic.twitter.com/1bpW752gKo
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) November 29, 2020
UFC 262 will also be her second fight under the Glory MMA team banner, a move in which she attributes a lot of her recent success and development. She specifically pointed out the impact that coach Krause has had on her newfound love for the sport, along with the benefit of having her fiancee Eliott in her corner for her fights.
Mazany’s story is one of redemption, which we often see specifically in combat sports. All eyes will be on Houston on May 15th as lightweights Michael Chandler and Charles Oliveira compete for the lightweight title, but Mazany hopes to steal the show on the event’s prelims with another lights-out performance as she continues her rise in the flyweight division.
Do you think Gina Mazany could potentially be the dark horse in the UFC’s women’s flyweight division?