Weigh in pics:
Yeah Rebecca! lookin tough as always!!!
ttt for results
I just found another article in this weekend's Kingston This Week
newspaper:
Kingston woman first Canadian to accept ultimate fight challenge
To battle New Mexico fighter at match in Calgary during weekend
Stephen Petrick
Local Sports - Friday, April 21, 2006 @ 08:00
Rebecca Sweeney gets the question all the time: Who would win a fight
between her and her husband and fellow martial arts instructor, Mike?
"Well, me of course," she says without a shred of doubt.
Mike confirms it's true.
In fact, "It happens every day," he says. "I've learned my place."
But, it's nothing to be ashamed of. Not many people can beat Rebecca,
a dedicated mixed martial arts athlete over the past nine years.
After several successful jiu-jitso and kickboxing tournaments, the 37-
year-old Kingstonian will make her debut in the extreme sport of
Ultimate Fighting this weekend.
She's travelling to Calgary for an event titled King of the Cage and will
compete against a fighter from New Mexico as part of the women's bill.
Mike believes it's the first ever women's ultimate fighting event in
Canada and Rebecca's proud to take part.
"I'm hoping this will help woman say, Well if she can do it, why can't I?'
"
It's not as crazy a quote as you might think.
Ultimate Fighting has a reputation as a violent sport in which muscle-
clad men duke it out inside a steel cage until one's opponent can't go
on.
But martial artists describe it as a sport that simply challenges a
highly-trained athlete's fitness level and dedication.
"To the average Joe it seems brutal, but this is what we do and we train
for it," says Rebecca. "It not any more brutal than a sport like boxing."
The sport provides pardon the pun here an ultimate challenge for
Rebecca who's seen her fitness level skyrocket ever since she first
stepped foot into Martial Arts Planet nine years ago.
Her daughter had signed up for a class being taught by Mike.
Soon she became interested in doing some kickboxing classes and in
no time she was a dedicated athlete practically living there.
"It got to a point where Mike said, Okay, you might as well work in the
store,' " she says.
Now they're both instructors in the school and they've been married
for nearly three years.
And Mike isn't worried the slightest about how she'll do in her fighting
debut.
She's as intense and dedicated as any athlete he's ever seen, so she'll
do fine.
"People ask me all the time if I'm nervous about her fighting and I say,
no,' " he says.
"This is just another day at the office for her."
Rebecca is looking scary tough in those weigh-in pics. All the best Rebecca!!
Rebecca won! via decision. It was a stand up war even though that was
not our game plan. Her opponent was very tough. Rebecca has the battle
scars to prove it. :)
ttt
congrats !
Tony
Finally have a little bit of time to post.
What an amazing experience! I am obviously ecstatic about my win but
I am equally happy about how the fight went overall.
Although it did not go exactly as planned, I am glad that we were able
to give the crowd what they wanted - a war! I want to first thank my
opponent, Thricia Poovey for taking the fight. She is a perfect example
that you should never underestimate your opponent. She showed great
heart and displayed excellent sportsmanship. I think I speak for all
those who were there that although I came out on top, she too is a
winner.
Thank you King of the Cage for having me there. We were able to
witness some of the time and effort that was put into preparing for the
event and were really impressed how it all came together.
Also, a big thank you to Vito Brancaccio for being a big part of getting
this fight for me. Also, thank you for coming out to Calgary with us
and being in my corner even though Jeff wasn't fighting. I really
appreciate it!
All my training partners deserve a big thank you for all the time they
invested in helping me prepare: Chris, Ian, Kyle - you guys ROCK!
Thanks to Adam Singer and Karl Tanswell for all their help in the
preparation for the fight. I felt like I was in the best shape of my life
and am very appreciative for all you did to help me.
I owe a huge thank you to my husband/coach Mike Sweeney. Mike has
the incredibly unique ability to separate his role as a husband and his
role as a coach. I know it was difficult for him to see me go through
some hard times with training and even more difficult for him to see
me in the cage fighting but he showed incredible support and pushed
me every step of the way. I could not ask for a better coach (or
husband).
Finally, I want to thank my daughter Cassy for all her support and
understanding. Although she has yet to see the fight, I know it must
have been difficult for her knowing that her mom was in a cage battling
it out with some other girl.
I learned a lot during this fight and am looking forward to training for
another MMA fight in the future (whenever that may be).
Rebecca
CONGRATS WOMAN!!!!!!!
keep on doing what you do
Congrats Rebecca.
TTT
Good luck Rebecca!
Congrats!!
Congratulations Rebecca,
It was a pleasure to meet you and Mike and I will make sure to stop by your club next time I visit relatives in Plevna, ON.
congrats!I was at the fights, and I must say that it was the fight of the night.Fast paced and lots of action.Once again congrats ...
It was a pleasure meeting Mike & Rebecca at Karnage. What a fight the girls put on!! For those who missed it, you should see it on TSN sometime in July.
Thank-you Rebecca, you are welcome back to KOTC anytime.
She is already training for the next one!
:)
Congrats Rebecca on the win!