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Lea Bivins may be making her pro MMA debut on Friday, and without the benefit of an amateur career, but the world she is jumping from is far from strange.
Bivins has spent her life being exposed to combat sports thanks to her father, Anthony Bivins, who has six pro MMA fights and is now a head coach at a gym near Sacramento.
The 20-year-old started training at the age of 5 and has childhood experience in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, wrestling and boxing. But for now, her focus is on MMA, and she will make her debut on the main Video 3 card at the Accita Arena in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Bivins (0-0) will take on Noel Grandje (3-0) to open the card at atomweight (115 pounds).
“It’s my first fight, so I’m going out on the card and showing everybody my skills and how hard I’ve worked,” Bivins told MMA Junkie Radio. “I don’t have an amateur record. I decided not to go amateur and save my body for the pros, so that way the injury rate would be lower. I started in the game at a young age, so I have many years to be involved in the pro game, which I think is to my advantage.
Bivins was supposed to make it earlier this year, but she fell when her opponent missed weight in one championship bout. So she wants to get this one out of the way first, then maybe put another one in before the end of the calendar year.
After that, she won’t mind getting more work in Hawaii with ONE’s first family, brother and sister champions Angela Lee and Christian Lee.
But she said that unlike the big-name groups where it is possible to get lost in the shuffle, she prefers her family gym as her main training place.
“I want to go 1-0 or 2-0 this year. Long term, I want to start climbing the ranks of the atomweight division,” Bivins said. “There are a lot of girls in my class – I think it’s one of the biggest classes they have. So I want to start climbing the stairs.
“Long term, I’d like to start training with Angela and Christian Lee in Hawaii, as well as having a few more fight camps with them or going over there and training with them. That’s always good. I want to be a great fighter and make a big name for myself in the game.
Watch the full interview with Bivins in the video above.
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