COLUMBIA, S.C. — A Midlands mother of two is paving the way for young female MMA fighters.
In 2018, LaNeisha 'She Hulk' Vinson became the first amateur from the US to win the International Mixed Martial Arts and World MMA Association Unified Championship.
"My opponent and me, and that’s all I see is us, and it’s either you going to go or I'm going to go.” Vinson said in an interview with WLTX in 2018.
In 2019, Vinson traveled to Singapore to compete in the 2019 World Championships. After winning her first match, she lost in the final match to Australia, winning a Silver Medal in the process.
"It makes me feel great just to know that I can go to another country and compete and still be near the top." Vinson said
In 2020, Vinson will compete in the World Championships in Kuwait and she says she’ll be ready to bring home the gold.
"I'll definitely be ready for next year," Vinson says. "It's somewhere that I always wanted to visit, and I’m just prepared to give it my all when I go.”
And in a sport where they are only a few female fighters in the state, Vinson hopes her success will inspire young fighters.
"For the young kids, I just want them to be the best they can be, hopefully they can be better than me, I really hope they never settle." Vinson said.