Brianna VanBuren is no stranger to winning. The Gilroy mixed martial artist has countless titles and belts, but her most recent proves she’s the real deal.
VanBuren won her first professional title by total knockout over Katie Klimansky-Casimir at the Rouge Fights 26—Fight Night 3 event April 12 in Redding.
“I was as focused as ever,” VanBuren said. “I was as focused as I can be. I kept a tunnel vision throughout the whole time just thinking about one thing and that was the gold.”
VanBuren (3-1-0) is now No. 13 in the world in women’s MMA strawweight world rankings, according to FightMatrix.com. But she’s not satisfied.
It’s been a long road to get here, having trained with her uncle and coach Anthony Figueroa since her youth and she has no intention of stopping now. In addition to fighting in the pro circuit, VanBuren is constantly training in addition to teaching youth MMA classes at Figueroa’s gym—Antdawg’s MMA in Gilroy.
The family atmosphere, VanBuren said, is a key factor to her success. The support, Figueroa said, increases 10-fold because of their bond. While they may have their moments—like any family—VanBuren said there’s no one she’d rather have in her corner.
“Having my family around and as far as him being my coach and my uncle, it’s awesome,” she said. “The support is there no matter what and the belief in me makes it that much better. He understands what I’m going through. …Him being there and seeing everything, it means there’s much more of an understanding between him and myself.”
The ultimate goal for VanBuren will be to fight under the bright lights of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. The 20-year-old is just a year shy of being able to compete in the UFC’s Ultimate Fighter show, but Figueroa said the organization does have its eyes on her.
“We’re very close,” Figueroa said. “I think we’ll get the call by the end of the year or the beginning of next year. Sure that’s our goal (the UFC), but we train to get better everyday.”
For right now, VanBuren and her fight team have their eyes set on success at the World Jiu-Jitsu Championships which are held May 28th-June 1 in Long Beach. VanBuren took home the top prize in No Gi competition and is looking to repeat. She’s also hoping to win in the Gi division as well.
“(I) just have to keep the right mindset that I have—waking up every day and training to be a champion,” she said. “Training like champion, eating like a champion and having the mindset of a champion to get to where I need to be and that’s the UFC.”
Erin Redmond can be reached at (408) 842-1694. Follow her on Twitter @DispatchERed.
