HOUSTON – Did you know that one of the world's most skilled professional mixed martial arts fighters calls Houston home?
Her name is Bi Nguyen and she’s a true fighter both on the cage and in life.
She was born in Vietnam, and during Asian and Pacific Islander American Heritage Month we want to showcase her talent and her resilience.
“In 2012 I got out of an abusive relationship. If you know anything about abuse, you know that you get very isolated, so all the sudden I was by myself. I didn’t know who I was, I felt like a shadow lurking about, so to speak. So, I went a took a self-defense class and it happened to be a Muay Thai class. I’ve never felt as empowering as I did that day. And I guess I showed some promise or some talent because the coach, he asked, ‘would you ever train to fight,”’ said Nguyen, who had her first fight four months after that and immediately fell in love with the sport.
“I try my best to help women empower themselves. I do a lot of public speaking, I do a lot of volunteering here at the women’s shelter. And honestly, the work I do to advocate for women feeds my soul,” said Nguyen, who wants to change people’s misconceptions about MMA.
“What I would like people to know about MMA is that its just a lot of discipline, it’s a sport like any other. It is a lot more contact but I’m a woman, I like to dress up, I like to look good, I like to carry myself a certain way. MMA is just what I do as a sport,” said Nguyen who explained her purpose to fight.
“In the beginning it was for me, because I didn’t have a voice, I felt a little powerless. Midway through my career, I kind of had a second act, a different purpose. Now I’m a lot older and now that I’ve seen the impact that I can make in the world, and the women around me, now I fight for other women, for other women who might had felt what I felt,” she said.
To see Nguyen’s complete interview, watch the video above.
And to see some of Nguyen’s talent on the cage, watch the video below.