Close and Personal With Pro WMMA Fighter Stevie VanAssche

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Stevie VanAssche is a pro WMMA fighter who trains at The Submission Factory in Wenatchee Wash. What first got my attention with Stevie was the video of her last fight at Conquest of the Cage back in May against Kristen Stenzel. Stevie took away the W in just :42 seconds of the first round. This was Stevie's second pro MMA fight. Check out our interview with her below and look for Stevie to step into the cage again onAugust 22nd at the Tulalip Resort Casino in Tulalip, Wash. Would we see another first round TKO in her future?

Tell us how you originally get into MMA?
Well in highschool I played sports but mostly focused on running. I ran track and XC -my favorite event was the mile in track. I had a huge passion for distance running. My freshman year of high school (2004) I met Dean in track and we became good friends. He introduced me to the sport after we started dating in 2010 when I was 20. Being that I had always been athletic and a trained runner I was able to use a lot of my experiences and background in distance training to excel. I never intended or wanted to start competing or fight in the very beginning. It was purely for the workouts but eventually I got to the point after two years of training all the time that I wanted to test my skills in the cage. I took my first fight on about two weeks notice and won in 45 seconds by armbar.

You just recently came off your first pro win at COTC - Conquest of the Cage 16 against Kristin Stenzel on May 30th winning via TKO in just 42 sec, Congrats! Tell us the feeling you got win your hand was raised at the end?
Thank you! It feels great to be back in the winners circle. It's always a surreal out of body experience when I fight. I trained so hard for that one moment it felt really good to win.

Photo Credit Noi Phothivongsa

How did that fight come about? 

Well Kristen fought Elizabeth in November and lost to her. I was fishing for another fight..the promoter of Conquest of the Cage Rick Little told me he had a girl who wanted to fight and it made sense since we both lost to Liz.

I'm not sure I have just one inspiration. I look up to a lot of the other females in the sport.

How did you get your fight name 'The Ninja'?

Jeff my sponsors at Klench Kustom Mouthguards was going to make me a mouthguard with my fight nickname on it and I didn't have one at the time.. One of my other coaches always called us ninjas so that just came up "the ninja" and it stuck.. I suppose it's fitting since most people wouldn't assume or imagine me as a fighter..

www.getklenched.com

You have modeled and been a ring card girl which both focuses on sex appeal. What are your views on sex appeal for Women's MMA? Do you feel it is important?

Not necessarily important but I would think it helps with your marketability being a full package. I'd rather see two attractive girls with great skills fight but that is just my own opinion..

Photo Courtsey of Centaura PhotoMotions

What is the biggest misconception that people have of you?
I suppose people may assume since I've been a model or ring girl that I wouldn't be capable of being a fighter or being any good.

I don't really know.. I fight as they come I don't really go out if my way or have anyone on my radar

You currently train out of Submission Factory MMA in WA, with Coaches Tito Perez and Dean Brim who is also your boyfriend, is it hard separating your relationship and your career?

Yes and No.. Of course it's a very complex relationship and sometimes it can be hard to leave our problems out of the gym but he is always out for my best interest. He knows how to push my buttons for sure but we have respect and boundaries. At the same time we can literally "fight" out our differences in the gym without it being considered domestic violence or something lol

When training do you prefer training with the guys since they are more challenging or do you prefer training with other females since it’s more realistic to other potential opponents?

 I'd say both.. There is pros and cons to training with both men and women. Ideally I'd like to train with girls that weigh the same as me but that is not very realistic especially where I live.

Photo Credit Zhush Portrait

We know you try to eat natural all the time to keep up with healthy eating and even work at Wenatchee Natural Foods in WA, but is there any cheat food that you can't live without?

I'd say my biggest cheat food is pizza.. Whenever I'm in fight camp or having to cut a little weight I crave pizza so bad!

If everyone had to wear a warning label, what would yours say?

"Warning: May cause personal injury or death" lol that'd keep people away I'd say

When I lost my pro debut - it was my first time losing. I felt I didn't give my best performance at all and I was really embarrassed that I allowed myself to get beat up.

I'd want to be able to read minds..

Yeah big shout out to my coaches Dean and Tito they give so much of their time freely and I'm super fortunate to have them sharing their skills and knowledge day in and day out also all my training partners who come through Submission Factory my work Wenatchee Natural Foods for they allow and support me to continue to do what I'm passionate about and a few sponsors thanks for all you do! - Klench Mouthguards, Tussle Fight Gear, MMAMADHOUSE, Babes of MMA, Electric Rays Tanning- also my family/friends and fans for their continued support!! I'm sure there is some peeps I'm forgetting but I love you all! <3

You can follow me on Facebook - www.facebook.com/stevie.vanasscheor "like" my fan page www.facebook.com/sdawnv89 - Instagram @sdawnv89 - twitter @double__bubble

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