“Not always in my career have I been able to get myself the best training and nutrition and strength and conditioning. I always had to get what I can get, scrape up whatever I can figure out. I’ve always been like ‘I don’t have much, but I can work with it.’ Back then, I couldn’t even get quality food to put in my body. But now, lately, I’ve been able to get help to make me a better athlete. I feel optimal as a fighter. I feel so much better.”
After being a standout on the European MMA scene and a star in promotions like Invicta FC, Kianzad set aside her 9 to 5 to train full-time when she reentered the UFC in 2019. But she still hasn’t left her noble work as a nurse completely behind. She still puts in the time when duty calls, like it did this past year during the pandemic.
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“It’s for me to stay grounded and to remember where I came from. I actually like my job outside of training. Now I don’t have to do it, but I want to do it,” she explains, noting that when the day comes when she can no longer fight, she’ll return to nursing full-time.
Thankfully for us, that’s a long way down the road. In the meantime, we’ll get to witness Kianzad’s continued evolution as a fighter and all the ferocity that comes with it. Case in point: her matchup this Saturday against Sijara Eubanks at UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs Neal.
Another relentless TUF alum, Eubanks sits next to Kianzad in the rankings and is anything but an easy out. Their similar fearlessness about getting into wars could potentially steal the show on the prelim card.
