Azernews.Az

By Laman Ismayilova

Azerbaijan`s first female MMA and K1 professional fighter Suad Salimova breaks all stereotypes about women in martial arts.

In her interview with Azernews, the 27-years-old athlete spoke about her journey to the world of fierce battles.

Suad Salimova has been interested in martial arts when she was only 16 years old. Since that time, the young athlete realized that she just could not imagine her life without mixed martial arts. So, she decided to switch from kickboxing to MMA.

Since 2017, she has been professionally involved in kickboxing and MMA fights at the international level. Now the fighter successfully represents Azerbaijan on the world stage. Her journey to the word of martial arts official started in Italy.

"My first fight took place in Rome in December. After that I decided to continue my journey because this sport has everything that I like. I think life is all about battles that you should win keeping your head up. All you need is patience, perseverance and willingness," she said

Speaking about her most memorable MMA fights, Suad Salimova mentioned her kickboxing rival in Moldova two years ago. The most memorable kickboxing fight took place in December, 2018. It was a very fierce fight with Nadejda Kantir. Neither blood nor pain stopped her.

Although the victory went to her opponent, Suad Salimova demonstrated unbelievable strength, which made the fight even more spectacular and memorable.

For Suad Salimova, hard work, strong character and most importantly perseverance are key elements for victory. The athlete has always stayed true to martial arts and never gave up.

"I have never wanted to give up martial arts. It is like show business, where you need not only hard work and victories, but also the right people around you: a coach who can train you, managers and so on. The most difficult thing is to find the right person nearby who will work on you as well as a good luck which every athlete really needs! Despite all the difficulties, I will never even think about giving up everything, because I have already gone through many challenges. I will continue to fight, achieving all my goals", said Salimova.

In her interview, the MMA fighter also spoke about her last victory in Hollad.

"In May, I won a professional kickboxing fight in Holland. I was also supposed to have a fight in England. However, everything is cancled now due to the current situation [coronavirus pandemic]. So, I have to wait for the next night and contiue my trainings at home, until everything everything falls into place", the fighter said.

In conclusion, Suad Salimova addressed the young fighters, who have just started their journey:

"Do whatever you want! No matter what people say. Mixed martial arts not only improves your self-confidence and helps you to stand up for yourself, but also makes you mentally and physically strong. Moreover, mixed martial arts helps you to be in shape as there are many cardio workouts," she said.

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Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova