Zanel tells Awakening, “I started MMA in the year 2016 when I was 22, because I have a great passion for the sport. I love learning new techniques when it comes to combat sports and the escape it provides from everyday stress and routines. I also believe that your body is the most powerful weapon that you could ever own to protect yourself and MMA is a way of learning how to protect yourself in everyday life. I respect the sport and the women who partake in it, because it is a statement to the world that women can be independent, self-sufficient, strong beings who are very able to thrive in a “man’s world”.”