AEW Star Thunder Rosa Looks Back On Her MMA Career

Back in 2019, current AEW star Thunder Rosa traded in her life as a social worker to become a pro wrestler, and in the five years since making her debut, she has already made a name in promotions like Lucha Underground, AEW, and Women of Wrestling. However, Rosa wanted something more, which led to her brief journey into the world of mixed martial arts, making her debut for the Combate Americas promotion in November of that year.

She may have only had one professional fight in her life, a unanimous decision loss to Nadine Mandiau. During a recent interview with Keven Undergaro on his wife Maria Menounos' YouTube channel, Rosa explained that no one initially wanted to train her because the team she approached, Brazilian Top Team, thought she was crazy. However, she was given a chance and hasn't forgotten the feeling of being locked inside an MMA cage.

"I remember all my family ... my son was in the front row," Rosa said. "The only thing I could think is, 'Don't get knocked out, and don't get too bloody because your son is there and you'll get embarrassed.' That's the only thing I can think of. They close the door and they put the lock in there, and I remember one of my friends says, 'When that happens, you're going to feel the closest to god that you ever felt.' I swear to god it was true. There was no way to run away, you cannot run away ... you're just there, your opponent, and god."

Rosa admitted that she only trained to survive the fight rather than win, which she claims was a big mistake. Despite this, Rosa felt happy with the fact that the fight went to a decision.

Please credit the original source when using quotes from this article, and give a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.