Tiffany Teo out to prove a point in ONE Championship debut

SINGAPORE—– When Singapore mixed martial arts (MMA) exponent Tiffany Teo takes to the ring for her ONE Championship debut fight next month, she will be looking to take down not only her Egyptian opponent Walaa Abbas, but also what she feels is the common misconception that women do not make for good fighters.

In a sport that is largely male-dominated, she knows it is uncommon for women to take up MMA, especially in a professional capacity.

It is why Teo is hoping that her participation in the high-profile ONE: Defending Honour event on Nov 11 — which coincidentally falls on her 27th birthday — will inspire more women to pursue MMA, though she admits that her friends and family still have mixed feelings about her participating in the sport.

“I believe there are women out there who want to try out MMA and become a fighter,” Teo, who has two elder siblings, told TODAY.

“But because they don’t see many women doing it, they’re uncertain about taking up the sport because of the perception that it’s mostly meant for men and that it’s dangerous.

“Even for me, my friends and family are supportive of my MMA career, but only to a certain extent. They want me to do what I enjoy, but they are worried that I might get seriously hurt. And deep down in my parents’ hearts, I know they want me to stop so they have conflicted feelings.

“But by participating, and hopefully winning, my fight at the ONE Championship event, I can show everyone why I’m doing this and in the process encourage more women to step forward and take up this sport.”

Since turning professional at the start of the year, Teo, who trains with the Juggernaut Fight Club (JFC), boasts an unbeaten record of three wins.

It represents remarkable progress, given that her first brush with martial arts was just eight years ago, when she took up taekwondo to keep fit. Finding that she enjoyed, and possessed the talent in, martial arts, she then moved on to learning Muay Thai and boxing two years ago, before finally picking up Brazilian Ju-Jitsu just last year.

And Teo, whose in-ring nickname is “Soul Crusher”, believes her varied martial arts background will give her an advantage when she takes on Abbas (two wins, three losses).

“I think one of my biggest strengths is my versatility, because I’m comfortable with both striking and grappling,” explained Teo, who works part-time as a speech therapist for special needs kids. “So I believe I can hold my own, no matter the situation, be it whether I’m fighting on my feet or on the ground.

“I know my opponent is a striking-based fighter, and I’m confident of going toe to toe with her in that aspect. But if there’s an opportunity for a takedown, I’ll go for it as well.”

Training six times a week for about four hours each day, Teo’s dedication to the sport has given her coach, Arvind Lalwani, belief that a ONE Championship title shot is not far off.

“I have worked with her for quite some time, and she has grown quickly to such a point where we felt she was ready to go professional,” said Lalwani. “She did well in her first three pro fights and then ONE FC came to me after being impressed with her, and they gave us a good contract to take part in their event.

“She’s ready to go and can definitely do well in her upcoming fight. We’re still at a stage where we will take each fight at a time, but we hope to use this as a stepping stone to an eventual title shot in the near future.”