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The Globetrotting Pro MMA Fighter Who Fell In Love With Malta And Never Left

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Malta has a treasure trove of sporting talent including a professional MMA fighter with close to 40 fights under her belt.

Diana Tavares has travelled the globe kickboxing and fighting both in amateur and professional matches and she’s got the scars and scorecard to prove it…

 

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A post shared by Diana Tavares (@fightclubtavaresdiana) on Nov 27, 2018 at 3:22pm PST

Diana stands at a record of 14-8-1 in the kickboxing discipline with a 3-10-1 in her pro fights.

Although Diana has accrued more losses than wins in her professional career, she’s still a winner in her eyes having accomplished so much in a career that she would never have dreamed of entering as a young girl.

 

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A post shared by Diana Tavares (@fightclubtavaresdiana) on Jan 10, 2018 at 5:17am PST

“I wasn’t always a sports girl, and definitely not a combat sports girl!” she told Lovin Malta.

“I actually did ballet growing up, and several other sports which weren’t for me. It wasn’t until I was an adult when I first approached combat sports. I was going through a moment in my life where I wasn’t feeling satisfied, and I wanted to change something.”

Diana discovered the world of kickboxing and, after three months of training, had her first amateur fight.

She hasn’t stopped since and nearly 40 fights later has settled down in Malta where she’s sharing her knowledge on the mixed martial arts with the local talent.

“I first came to this wonderful island three years ago to participate in a huge fighting event with Maltese fighters. I fought several times here and kept falling in love with the island every time,” she said.

“After some time I couldn’t resist and finally moved and I couldn’t be happier. Waking up in the morning and going for a run before sunrise and seeing the wonder of the Maltese sea is worth every sacrifice!”

 

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A post shared by Diana Tavares (@fightclubtavaresdiana) on Nov 4, 2017 at 6:10pm PDT

In addition to being a total badass in the ring, Diana is also a coach on the outside and even teaches children the ways in MMA – but that’s on hold for now in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“The MMA scene has tremendous potential here,” she said. “There are a lot of good athletes – I can see it becoming a huge boiling pot where a lot of events will be happening in the future,” she ended.

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