Ana Palacios has been a warrior since the day she was born
February 19, 2023
Miami, FL-Ana “Guerrera” Palacios (7-1-1) seemed to be heading to a defeat last year when she faced Korean champion Bo Hyun Park in July.
But just like she has fought all her life, she fought the perfect opportunity to land an arm bar forcing her opponent to tap.
Palacios is ranked at the top of the atom weight division, and arguably is one of the best in her weight class in the world.
Park was landing ferocious strikes that nearly took Palacios out early in the first round, but it was Palacios composure that allowed her to land an armbar submission at 3:15 in the first round. She opened up about her career on a Live Instagram.
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“The fact that I have been working on my holds I was able to overcome it,” she said. “I felt her arm extended. I didn’t want to let go until the referee stepped in.”
She is getting ready for the 2023 season, but she has been a fighter since she was born.
In fact, her nickname Guerrera, which translates to warrior, was given to her because of the obstacle she faced.
Her mother was scheduled for a C-section; however, doctors were not available for the procedures. Due to the tardiness in her mother’s delivery, there were life threatening complications. Experts told her that she would more than likely having issues mentally.
“I remember my first five years, I had issues speaking but after working at it I was able to overcome it,” she said. “I showed them that I am a Guerrera and I proved the doctors wrong.”
Flash forward to today, Palacios is looking on taking on the top ranked atom weights in the world.
To get better at what she does, she counts on her teammates but there are challenges considering there a few females who compete in the atom weight division.
“The hardest part is that there aren’t many women so for training or sparring then we have to spar with the men,” she said. “It is great that they respect us but when I spar or train with women it is different because we have the same strength.”
Watch the entire interview.
