FORMER Port Macquarie boxer and mixed martial artist Arlene ‘Angerfist’ Blencowe will fight for the WIBA and WBF welterweight world titles next month.
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She takes on South African opponent Sandra Almeida at Norths Leagues Club on July 30 where she hopes to be crowned world champion.
A win will see her move closer towards her ultimate goal: becoming the first fighter to be a dual world champion. All that would be then is to win a world title in MMA.
Blencowe hopes to do so by 2018, which will get the attention of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Proficient as both a boxer and a mixed martial artist, she is signed to Bellator MMA, currently the only Australian fighter in the organisation.
Now based in Penrith full time, the featherweight fighter draws inspiration from her two favourite people in the world. Her kids.
“They are still my inspiration,” she said of her 15-year-old daughter Kaylah and 8-year-old son Keane.
“Life’s getting easier and more settled now. When I started fighting Keane was still in nappies.”
She found that switching between both sports wasn’t as hard as she thought.
“Going from a boxing fight camp to an MMA camp does take a couple of weeks to adjust,” she said.
“My strength is still my striking, so boxing helps with that. At the same time, the boxing side helps my footwork and movement in the cage, so they compliment each other.”
Blencowe prides herself on being a smart fighter, which is why she worked so hard on her wrestling, a vital component of MMA.
“I won a silver medal for wrestling at nationals early in 2015,” she said.
“I also have a goal of representing Australia at the 2018 Commonwealth Games so it shows how much I’ve worked on that aspect.”
She will fight in the cage again in September. For all Bellator fights she trains in Albuquerque, New Mexico alongside some of the biggest names in the world of professional combat sport.
These names include Jon Jones, BJ Penn, Alistair Overeem and her idol Holly Holm.
“When I won the WIBA light welterweight title it had just been vacated by Holm,” the 33-year-old said.
“I only really got star struck with Holly. I’ve idolised her for a long time, before I even did MMA.
“I remember training alongside them for the first time. They just blend in with everyone else who was training. I felt like I blended in, too. Everyone treated everybody the same. We were all as important as each other.”
Currently number seven in the world in her division for MMA and eighth in the world for boxing, she had nothing but praise for her coach Mark Grech, who is also the mentor of Camden Haven Commonwealth Games boxer Shelley Watts.
“I don’t really focus on my opponents. I don’t do much research however my coach does,” she said.
“He has been amazing for me. His insight both in and out of the ring has been great. He comes up with our sessions, focusing on what my opponents will be open to.
“The only thing I can focus on is my preparation and control, and if I get that right then I’m unbeatable.”