Joanna, flanked by Lo on her right and Khairy, is all smiles after being crowned champion.
Joanna (left) slugging it out with Felicia in the Women’s Pride challenge.
KUCHING: For journalist Joanna Yap, walking into the caged arena for the grand finals of the Malaysian Invasion Mixed Martial Arts (Mimma) Season 3 at Stadium Putra in Kuala Lumpur last Saturday was part of a much longer journey.
It was the culmination of what she had been working hard for the past couple of years.
“I was carrying within me the love and support of my coaches, my teammates, training partners, family and friends in my heart,” she told The Borneo Post prior to facing Sabah’s Felicia Yunus in the amateur tournament’s first-ever Women’s Pride bout.
The crowd went wild in seeing both girls exhibit their diverse martial art skills – Joanna with her Brazilian jiujitsu and muaythai manoeuvres while Felicia added her boxing and taekwondo moves – throughout the five rounds carried live on RTM TV1.
In the end, the 36-year-old Sarawakian emerged triumphant, receiving a unanimous decision from the judges.
“I’m just too happy to be bringing the first-ever belt and title to Sarawak. I owe it all to my family, coaches and team-mates. This is for them,” she said.
This year, Mimma founder Tune Talk introduced two new divisions under its banner, namely the Women’s Pride and Foreign Pride.
According to Tune Talk chief executive Jason Lo, Mimma has always been about seeking out and developing local MMA talents, putting their skills and countless hours of training to the test.
“We strive to make Malaysia the MMA hub in Asia. With Mimma having entered its third season, I believe that we have successfully stamped our presence regionally.
“I think that when it comes to amateur MMA, we are leading the market,” he said.
Mimma is an initiative set up by Lo and his long-time friend Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin in 2013.
Currently, it is touted as the world’s largest amateur MMA championship.
The fight format has seen several Mimma champions going on to sign with ONE Championship, with one having been featured on ‘UFC‘s TUF: China’ series.