Johannesburg’s Danella Eliasov talks making history, building Women’s MMA in South Africa, Friday’s opponent Irene Cabello and more
Original story from: WMMARANKINGS.COM
Danella Eliasov is set to take on Irene Cabello this Friday at EFC Worldwide 56 from the Carnival City in Johannesburg, South Africa. After a loss back in October of this year in the 125 pound flyweight division, Eliasov will now be making her 115 pound strawweight debut, she says on her last fight “I learned a lot from that fight. I am definitely too small to be fighting at flyweight so I have moved to strawweight. I have also worked a lot on my standup game which includes boxing and Muay Thai as well as lots of wrestling”.
Johannesburg, South Africa will have the honour of fighting in her home town this Friday. She takes on Spain’s Irene Cabello, on her opponent she says “She is a very experienced opponent with 9 previous pro fights. From what I have seen she has good stand up and most of her wins have been via submission, so a good ground game too. This will be a tough and challenging fight”. Eliasov believes her skill-set will make the difference in the fight “She is very well-rounded with no obvious gaps in her game. I have evolved into a much more well-rounded fighter too so I am hoping that my skill set will help me get the win”.
The South African beauty reveals what attracted her to this very tough sport “I started boxing for fun and discovered Jiu Jitsu in about 2009. I fell in love with the sport. I had my first amateur fight in 2010″. She believes her team have given her all the tools to succeed and now sees them as family “I am training out of team CIT in Pretoria. It’s a very tough camp, we all take our training seriously but know how to have fun too. My coach and team mates have become like family“.
She would one day like to fight for top MMA promotion the UFC, however as of right now she explains “I am focused on developing women’s MMA in South Africa“. Eliasov is still very new to the MMA game with Friday’s fight being just her third MMA pro bout, she admits she doesn’t feel she is on UFC strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzjedczyk’s level as of right now, but is fully hopeful after a few more fights she will be “she is a real legend of the sport. I am in awe of her standup. Her takedown defence is amazing. I don’t think I am at that level yet. Maybe one day“.
Eliasov is very passionate about helping women’s MMA to grow in her hometown of South Africa, and has already made history herself “I was the first woman in South Africa to compete in MMA as an amateur and later the first female pro. I am hoping that I have started something great in terms of women’s MMA in South Africa and that women will now have more opportunities to compete in the sport. I am hoping to keep fighting as long as I can physically“.
She had a special shoutout she would like to give to people most important to her “Thank you to my coaches Morne Visser and Atilla Barna and to my teammates at CIT. A big thank you to Millpark Hyperbaric Oxygen Unit and to Dr Rob Collins (sports physician), Evan Speechly, Yolande de Jager (physios) and everyone at Rosebank Sports and Orthopaedics Centre for keeping me fit and healthy. Most importantly thank you to my husband ,Asaf, who has supported me through this difficult but rewarding journey“.
Danella Eliasov makes her strawweight debut this Friday against Irene Cabello at EFC Worldwide 56. For details on how you can watch it, you can visit the organisations website by clicking HERE.
Are you excited for Eliasov’s strawweight debut? How do you think she will do against Cabello? Let us know in the comments below.
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