We don’t often get the chance to catch up with the women of MMA but today we are lucky to speak with Mellony Geugjes who, as a rule is a 115lb fighter. She does sometimes fight at 110 or 120lbs and says this is so she has more fights and gains experience in the ring and cage.
Mellony is from Holland and tells us how she first came to get into MMA.
“My mother always did Judo and was pretty good at it so Judo was the first sport I did and I really liked it. But when I got older I wanted to do other things, so I did a lot of different sports like tennis, gymnastics and soccer until somebody brought me to Mike’s Gym and it was there that I was sold with kickboxing and the fighting. After quite a while I missed the ground work and discovered MMA so I started to train in that too. I really enjoyed it and then I saw that my division of 115 lbs on Invicta FC was very good and especially that they started the 115lb division in the UFC and I knew I wanted to be a champion in my division”.
Mellony is always busy as she works and trains every day.
“My week is always busy as I am a Personal Trainer and I also help my aunt in her business when I can. She gives me the space and time to train and I do so every day, even at the weekend but that is only in the morning. If I have a fight coming up, I still train the same but one week before my fight we do some pad work and some footwork just to sharpen things up”.
Women’s MMA is definitely becoming more recognised around the world, especially with the UFC now sporting a Women’s division. But as a woman working in a male dominated sport, it must be hard to prove yourself.
“I think as a woman I always have to prove myself in the fighting world. Some people love to see women fights but some don’t like it at all. But MMA for women is now starting to become a big thing with some of the fights being better than some of the male fights. People also see that we give everything in a fight and that we are not scared to take a punch”.
With a multitude of fighters to choose from, Mellony tells us who she looks up to in the MMA world.
“I’m a big fan of Badr Hari. His style is amazing, he doesn’t care who his opponent is, and he just wants to smash them with a KO. I also like watching Jon Jones when he is fighting”.
Having fought in K1 and being a professional boxer, I wondered if Mellony had any plans to dedicate her life to a particular sport or if she has any personal preference.
“I just love to fight and I don’t really care if it’s boxing, kickboxing or MMA. MMA is now a big thing for women and especially in my division as it is now coming up in the UFC and has been thriving in Invicta FC for a long time. I will give everything to make it because I really want to make a living out of it”.
If you google Mellony you may find her Sherdog record but it is actually wrong. The first fight Mellony had was an amateur one, not a professional one and she talks us through the fight from her viewpoint.
“Yes it was my first fight and I hadn’t had a fight for a long time. I really wanted to fight so I said yes to this MMA fight. My opponent had more MMA fights but I just took the fight. I was the better one standing and she was better on the ground”.
Quite controversially, the Referee stopped the fight claiming Mellony had tapped when she had not. Not a good way for a fight to end and it must have been extremely frustrating.
“It’s sucks but at that moment you can’t do anything about it, you just have to keep your head up and move on to the next one”.
Mellony is signed with Mogul Management and they along with M4Y Management have managed to secure her a contract with Invicta where she will make her pro debut.
“When I saw for the first time that I had been signed to Invicta I was so happy, I had just woke up and packed my bag to train. It was a big motivation to train and to start a new journey. I still don’t have any news about when I will fight and who I will fight. I hope it is soon because I’m ready for it”.
Looking to the future, Mellony talks to us about opponents and what her long term goals are.
“I will fight whoever I am matched with. I don’t have anyone in particular in mind. Long term I will be Invicta Champion in my weight class and then put on exciting fights on the UFC. Ultimately, I want to make this sport the way I make my living”.
To finish off, Mellony has some advice for anyone just starting out in MMA.
“Just train and don’t think it’s easy and that you know everything in a few weeks. That’s not it, it will take a long time but it will be worth it and when you enjoy it, you will love the groundwork”.
Thank you to Mellony for her time and we look forward to watching as she progresses through the ranks on her quest to become Champion. Mellony would like to thank the following people.
“I want to thank my trainer Mike Passenier who is always there for me from the beginning in every fight. To my other coaches, Oscar Roque for my boxing skills and Remco Pardoel for my BJJ lessons. Of course, I also want to thank my management team, Mogul Management and M4YManagemet, my sponsor Booster for the fight gear and my family for always supporting me”.
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