Northland fighter Renata Poa wants more young people in MMA

Renata Poa wants others to gain the benefits that come with training in mixed martial arts. PHOTO/MONIQUE LIVELY

Renata Poa wants to see more people benefit from the training regimes that come with mixed martial arts.

The Northland fighter is preparing for her next fight, a kickboxing bout with Waikato's Ashley Campbell in Auckland on February 24, and it's the training she goes through that Poa thinks could benefit anyone who is keen to work hard.

Poa said there were many benefits.

"The benefit for me is discipline. What you learn in your training transitions over to your everyday life," she said.

"You are more patient with people, more accepting of challenges and it proves to yourself that you can do more than you thought you could.

"You have to be amongst the environment to see the positives. People think it's violent and it looks violent on UFC but the lead-up work that goes in is fantastic. It's all the training, discipline and nutrition.

"The amount of times I've cried in training is too much to count but it proves that I can overcome any challenge that comes if you push through that. The training is nothing compared to what life can throw at you."

Poa is New Zealand's first female heavyweight MMA fighter and has a professional record of 1-0 after debuting in Poland against Brazilian Ellen Carla Monteiro Rosa.

She said the work that went into preparing for a fight was incredibly tough but it was worth the effort.

"Training for MMA is hard. It's the toughest thing I've done and I've played a lot of sports – rugby, netball, cricket, volleyball, athletics, everything," she said.

"MMA is on another level, it really pushes your boundaries. If that's something you want to do, not necessarily the punching and kicking but just the training side of it and you want to challenge yourself with it. I highly recommend it.

"You don't have to jump into the cage or anything. The benefits I've seen in kids that have come in and done the training, not fought or anything are huge. There's a self-confidence about them.

Poa believes the code can teach the youth a lot of important lessons in respect and confidence.

With the popularity of UFC, mixed martial arts can be seen in a violent light but Poa said it gave youth something to work towards.

"There's a lot of youth out there who are lost and there's a lot of depression and suicide around in our youth," she said.

"The youth I've trained with are on another level. They've got a quiet self-confidence and a big respect for their elders. And that's what MMA does and what I love seeing.

"Lion's Den provides that for free for our youth, mums and adults. That's why I'll never leave them as my home gym."