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University of Hawaii football legend and Kahuku alumnus Natasha Kai is currently trying her hand at mixed martial arts.
A close friend and housemate of former Bellator champion Ilima-Lei Macfarlane, Kai started playing sports with Macfarlane on a whim, training and mentoring her.
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What started as a joke turned into Kai’s new commitment to training.
“At dinner one night, I was joking, ‘Before you’re 40, you want to do an amateur flight, right? “A few months later,[McFarlane]came home with a grin on his face. I was like, oh my god, what happened?”
“She said, you know, these promoters are reaching out to me and Bellator’s promoters are looking for 135 fighters. who will fight And she’s like, “Oh, you are.” And I was like, “Wait, what?” And she said, ‘Yeah. That’s why I signed you up. You’re going to fight in four weeks.
Kai took four weeks to prepare for his amateur fight debut. Despite her short notice, her time was used wisely as she gave Ellen Kim a unanimous decision at SSP 52 in her January 7 bantamweight bout.
Kai, 39, has achieved his goal of fighting before he turns 40. She currently has no plans to turn pro because she still has her own soccer program running in the San Diego area. But I’m sure she’s glad she braved the challenge.
“I take classes here and there. Nothing crazy. You know, I still have a football program and a business for football here,” she said. “I mean, obviously football has been my life for her over 30 years, so when I had time, I would stop by gyms here and there, but nothing crazy.
“I am enjoying life, enjoying this new journey, this new sport.
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