by R.C. Samo
Editor-in-Chief
Undefeated So Cal fighting sensation, Vanessa Mariscal will step into the cage on short notice to put up her winning streak against opponent, Sarah D’Alelio in the bantamweight weight class, during Invicta Fighting Championship’s inaugural show at Memorial Hall in Kansas City, KS on April 28, 2012.
Fighting out of VMXGYM El Segundo, CA, Mariscal holds a 2-0-0 record, finishing her last opponent, Colleen Schneider for BlackEye Promotions via rear naked choke in 1:40 min. of the third round.
Starting off as a striker, with Muay Thai and Karate, Mariscal fell into Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, which became her primary focus. She picked up wrestling five years ago and although loves to throw hands, she has evolved into a ground fighter.
Due to her size, Mariscal has trouble finding female sparing partners and is mostly relegated to training with men, who often find the bantamweight intimidating in the dojo. Two of her training partners walk around between 160 to 175 lbs, allowing her the luxury of working with a heavier, possibly stronger, competitor.
“When you put your gi on and you walk out with your brown belt, the guys turn it in, you wait until the they get tired and then you turn it up on them,”laughed Mariscal while sipping an iced green tea.
Mariscal has been on her own since she was 16 years old, after her mother passed away. After finishing high school, she moved to Phoenix, AZ to be close to her father, which lasted a year before returning to living on her own and educated at the university of hard knox.
“I’m single, never married, no kids, and I like it that way…it’s kind of a survival thing being on my own,” said Mariscal.
A fitness expert and personal trainer, steroids is a common topic that Mariscal addresses and isn’t shy about the subject, “Who didn’t see (Cyborg) Santos for the first time and think she was on steroids? When I was 12, I was reading my dad’s muscle and fitness magazines. When people don’t want to do the hard work, it pisses me off. I’ve been in the fitness world my whole life and I know what it takes to be at that level.”
Competing on the inaugural card for Invicta has been exciting for Mariscal, who has been having trouble finding fights as three of them were promised to her in the past two weeks only to be taken away from.
Eight weeks into her training camp, she was on deck for a fight that might not have happened as she was planning to be the main event in Canada that fell through, good thing Invicta happened.
“I’m pretty stoked (about Invicta), initially it fell threw a few times, but I got the call and I’m pretty excited about this card and the level of professionalism that Janet (Martin, Invicta promoter) is putting on. They even provided us hair braider, only on an all female card would they provide that,” gleefully said Mariscal about working with the promotion.
The card will host 11 fights in at least three different weight class and will be streamed on Invicta’s website (www.invictafc.com). The main event will have Marloes Coenen versous Romy Ruyssen.
“I’d fight either Marloes Coenen or Romy Ruyssen, whoever wins that fight. I’m that girl who will go after anyone who will help me increase my record. In the past year I’ve had six fights given and taken away from, three of them were in the last week. As a female fighter you don’t have that luxury of waiting,” stated Mariscal.
Follow Vanessa Mariscal on twitter @VanessaMfitness and Invicta on twitter @InvictaFights
