Danielle West (4-3) is a 145lbs MMA Fighter, who if you didn't know this fact in advance, you may be surprised. She is a renaissance woman truly as she travels, writes, makes soap, and oh yeah... she kicks people in the face now and then.
On one hand, the weight division she fights in is struggling because of the recent PED scandel by the seemingly unstoppable Cris "Cyborg" Santos. But, on the other hand Marloes Coenen is keeping the 145lbs weight class in the spotlight with her victory in the first ever Invicta FC main event last month. West, just like many other female fighters would like to earn a spot on an upcomimg Invicta show. She has a name many in the FMMA community know and the American born and bred, United Kingdom transplant, hopes to make it more well known in the future.
I got a chance to get to know Danielle "The Curse" West better in an interview. I think you should too.
LN: How did you get your start in MMA? Tell me about yourself...
West: got started about 9 years ago when I used to help out and take notes cage side at fights for the journalist and photographer. They had mentioned the event's ring card girl was meant to fight at the next event but couldn't get an opponent. I thought it a shame that she had worked so hard and couldn't showcase it plus I had been a bit of a scrapper in my youth but at 25 I was starting to get overweight so would have to shed 10 kg in 5 weeks so I put myself forward. Back then while the UK MMA scene was still very much in its infancy it wasn't at all unusual for someone to take a fight on short notice or be from a single discipline background so my agreeing to fight her with only a year of judo and 4 weeks of jiu jitsu drills wasn't completely unusual though looking back it wasn't a great idea. Turns out the ring girl had boxed and was experienced in both competing as well as boxing so she pretty much mopped the floor with me. I was hooked though and couldn't wait to return to training and compete again.
As for myself I was born in the US just outside Boston and moved to London UK in 2000. I have a 17 year old daughter and am actually moving to Singapore in October and have a novel I wrote due out in the autumn as well so lots of exciting stuff happening right now. I also make soap as a hobby and always give a bar to my opponents to thank them for taking 6 weeks out of their life to prepare to match me.
LN: Who is your hero or Role Model?
West: Nien Cheng who is the author of Life and Death in Shanghai, she was an extremely courageous person. Abe Loncoln!! He was a boxer (so in theoretical dead president matches he would win most fights though I reckon Teddy Roosevelt would give him a seriously hard time) and also stuck by his convictions.
LN:What has been your biggest obstacle so far?
West: It is always finding fights! Years ago it was finding women at my weight though am now thrilled to say that MMA in the UK has so many women emerging on the scene though sadly there is a gap in terms of experience so I still have to look abroad to fight (most UK shows don't have the budget to fly women over from other countries). Right now I am trying to get on Invicta, One FC in Singapore, Deep Jewels or Pancrase in Japan or even Pro Elite FC in Hawaii but it is still a struggle.
LN: What has been your proudest moment?
West: Wow, that is tricky. I was very proud of myself in my rematch against Maria Hougaard Djursa (nee Nielsen) because the gameplan was a complete departure from my normal style and it worked. I had started to really improve my striking under the tutelage of Olof Ingemarsson and was a very different fighter. I was also proud of how I did against Rin Nakaiup until the judges called it a draw and then I was just kinda baffled.
LN: What is your ultimate goal?
West: My ultimate goal seems to change over time; when I first started it had always been to fight in Japan and then once I managed to do that I had wanted to break the top ten of the unified rankings though after seeing a few fighters on the top ten that I am not so certain should be (Yana Kunitskaya has ducked me twice both times citing injury then going on to have fights within a week of our original match dates to girls with record of 0-1) so I think I have gotten over being benchmarked by others' standards and have stopped paying attention to the rankings and started to look at my performance and how my coaches think I performed. So I guess my goal now is to have two more matches before the end of this year and perform well.
LN: Are the opportunities for European fighters any different than those of North American fighters?
West: I'm not sure as I haven't asked the US fighters about the scene there. In Europe as a woman you have to hope a show has a home town girl at your weight since the chances of the promotion flying over two women is extremely slim. And once you find a show that will have you there is the chance that the decision may be biased but I think that you have to go into every fight looking to finish. I think it helps that I have been around for a while and am active in my contact of other promotions and also with the women in my weight class to see if opponents are needed. Even now though I am looking more at the US & south east Asia for matches as there aren't as many opportunities in Europe that I can find.
LN:What is your routine the day of a fight?
West: It varies depending on who is with me and the promotion b ut usually I get up have breakfast, chill, then I like to do drills , nap, go for the medical, if I am on late in the card and my nerves are bad I like walking around in supermarkets as that always seems to put me in a relaxed almost distracted state. Then I drill and warm up and walk out.
LN: What is the best part about being a MMA fighter?
West: For me it has definitely been meeting so many inspiring and great people. Fighters, team mates and coaches alike. I feel like a bit of a Freemason or gold card member in a way that I can go anywhere in the world and find an MMA gym and feel at home. Plus I have been able to travel all over the world to fight which has been tremendously exciting for someone who never even imagined they'd travel outside of the US.
LN: It seems the 145lbs weight class has faded in Strikeforce, Where do you see your weight class going?
West:Notice I didn't mention fighting on strikeforce in my goals, hahah? I am baffled as to why they keep shrinking the womens division weight classes! I used to fight at 155 and many years ago I can remember seeing several women fighting at over 165! It seems they want to fit women into 125 or 135 and I know they say it's because the talent is so shallow but that is utter rubbish! There are more women training than ever before and if the shows encouraged these women by having them compete on more shows they would see that the talent is there. It is especially infuriating because the last thing I thought I would have to worry about in an athletic space is my bloody weight! Everyone is different in terms of their build and for a fighter to have to obsess about their to the point that seems to borderline eating disorders is outrageous! If you are talented at 155 then you should be able to showcase those talents at 155! No one ever tells Roy Nelson or Brock Lesnar or Junior Dos Santos that their too big or that their talent pool is too shallow. It is ridiculous. I cannot and will get below 145 and if that means the end of my career in the sport so be it, I will not risk my health to conform to someone else's bizarre idea of athletic aesthetic perfection. That was the exact reason I used the song I did on the highlight reel I put out last week. Ugh, sorry rant over.
LN:Is there anything you would like to add or anyone you would like to thank?
West: Where to begin! New Wave Academy and Nick Osipzak, Olof Ingemarsson, Masters Academy and Matt Chapman, Pro Game Management, my amazing sponsors Cherry Active, Scramble, Customised Sport and Bridge Dental Labs, my daughter and amazing boyfriend and of course my incredible fans for their support. And you for doing the interview. Thank you!
Thanks Danielle for taking the time to answer my questions! Best of luck to you in the future!
Check out West's highlight reel.
As always join us on our FB page Real Women and Men watch MMA.
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