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The fighter and her fight

By on February 09, 2017

Best known to the Muay Thai world for her victory over World Champion Lucy Payne back in 2012 for the ISKA European title, BONNY VAN OORTMERSSEN is now living in Goa and continuing her dreams of martial arts as she prepares for the K1 World Title

She left the United Kingdom for India on a soul-searching adventure and her journey brought her accidentally to Goa. It didn’t take more than a few seconds for her to realise that this was where she wanted to live for the rest of her life.

Mixed martial arts star Bonny van Oortmerssen has been living in Goa for a few years now. “Goa has a magical quality that I have found nowhere else in the world. I love the mixture of east and west, the way we live so close to nature and are so in touch with our surroundings. I love the synchronicity of my life since I have been here. I think the only way to describe it, is that I feel that my destiny lies here. So much has happened to keep me here and right now I am living out all my dreams,” said van Oortmerssen.

She also headlined the second edition of Combat Cage Fight, Goa’s first and only mixed martial art (MMA) promotion, in 2015.

Born in South Africa, the ISKA European K-1 champion has been an athlete all her life. She was a basketball player before she found martial arts. “After moving to London and spending some time searching for a place to continue my basketball career, without any joy, I joined a local gym and started a cardio kickbox class run by Winston Fraser of Sniper’s Gym,” she said.

Read the full article in 'Viva Goa' magazine copy.
Viva Goa magazine is now on stands. Available at all major book stalls and supermarkets in Goa.