From helpless to hopeful champion

"IT was really heartbreaking for us as a family. Abby will be a bit modest about it but it actually got quite bad at school. She was picked on a lot because she is a bit on the chubby side. And as a mother, I never wanted to tell my daughter that she was not the correct weight or that she needs to go on a diet. It’s also something I struggled with as a person. I just told her that she needs to stand up for herself and that she can’t just take it.

- JEHRAN NAIDOO

"My son Aiden was actually diagnosed with ADHD and the doctor told us that we need to put him into something to stimulate his mind, so we tried MMA. He liked it and then we got Abby into it as well. We actually got into it as a family, but Abby hated it at first. I can't tell how proud we all are that she's going to Abu Dhabi to represent South Africa. It's truly unbelievable," Belinda Deneys said.

From being introverted to rolling around a ring with sweaty bodies is an extremely far jump to make, but a jump that Abigail made with courage and skill, Belinda added. Abby recalls just how much she hated MMA at first but fell in love with the sport.

"I tried a lot of different sports when I was younger, but it never really lasted. It was just for a couple months then I would quit. I think MMA is the first thing I’ve really committed to and gave all my energy to and it's so strange because I hated this at first.