Deborah Ann Purcell is a retired American female

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

. She was formerly an assistant coach to the

Southern California Condors The Southern California Condors are an International Fight League team based in Orange County, California. Coached by MMA legend Marco Ruas, the Condors were one of four new teams established at the beginning of the 2007 season. The Condors have an ...

of the

International Fight League The International Fight League was an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion billed as the world's first MMA league. It was founded on January 7, 2006, and closed on July 31, 2008.

Early life

Purcell was involved in cheerleading, dance and competitive gymnastics throughout her early teens. She later quit gymnastics and took up Martial Arts. At the age of 17, she was introduced to Tae Kwon Do and this later introduced her to kickboxing, boxing and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. She is actively involved in supporting women's

MMA Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

, having set up Fightergirls.com and the WMAA (Women's Martial Arts Association), along with being a world-class competitor herself. Purcell also started Fightergirls, her own extremely successful women's fitness and MMA apparel line, in which she designs every piece personally. Purcell signed a three-fight deal with

Elite XC Elite Xtreme Combat, also known as EliteXC, was a United States-based mixed martial arts (MMA) organization owned and operated by ProElite. It was founded as a partnership between Showtime Networks and ProElite and officially announced on Decembe ...

. Her first fight was against

Rosi Sexton Rosemary Ann Sexton (born 16 July 1977) is a British athlete, sports therapist, osteopath, and politician. She had a career in mixed martial arts (MMA), from which she retired in 2014. In 2020, Sexton ran in the Green Party leadership electi ...

ShoXC ''ShoXC'' is a mixed martial arts series produced by the mixed martial arts organization EliteXC, Showtime and Proelite.com. The series was announced on July 11, 2007. The purpose of the show is to highlight up and coming MMA fighters. On Octo ...

: Suganuma vs. Hamman II on August 15, 2008. Purcell lost the fight by Split Decision.

Personal life

Debi married Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fighter Ronald Assumpcao on July 11, 2009 in

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

. She also gained a stepson named Gustavo.

Accomplishments

* First woman to headline the world's first female MMA card

HOOKnSHOOT HOOKnSHOOT was a mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion based in Evansville, Indiana, United States. It was one of the earliest MMA promotions in the United States, and one of the first organisations in the United States to allow Women's MMA. Hist ...

* First woman to ever compete and win in King of the Cage * "Ultimate Wrestling" world Title Belt Holder * Hook-N-Shoot Revolution Winner, 2002 * Headliner on the first ever all-women No Holds Barred (NHB) card in United States history * "Ultimate Wrestling" Minnesota Winner and champion belt holder * Black Belt in Ruas Vale Tudo (only female in the world) * Black Belt in Taekwondo * Only female coach in

IFL IFL may refer to: ;American football *Intense Football League, (2004–2008) in the United States, merged into the Indoor Football League *Indoor Football League, (2008–present) in the United States *Intercontinental Football League, a European l ...

history * Current CEO of www.fightergirls.com the world's first female mixed martial arts website and store founded in May 2001 * One of the first pioneers for Women's MMA *Built the first and original women's MMA website Fightergirls.com *Original founder of all women's MMA clothing and gear

Mixed martial arts record

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, Decision (Split) , ShoXC: Hamman vs. Suganuma 2 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:00 ,

Friant, California Friant (formerly, Converse Ferry, Jones Ferry, Hamptonville, and Pollasky) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fresno County, California, United States. The population was 549 at the 2010 census, down from 778 at the 2000 census. Friant is locat ...

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Hitomi Akano is a retired Japanese female mixed martial artist. She announced her formal retirement from MMA on August 1, 2013. Akano used a song she penned herself called "Between the Sky" as her entrance music. She is a former Smackgirl Middleweight Champ ...

, Decision (Unanimous) , Smackgirl - Advent of Goddess , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 4-0 , Nicole Albrect , Decision (Unanimous) , KOTC 17 - Nuclear Explosion , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

San Jacinto, California San Jacinto ( ; ; Spanish for " St. Hyacinth") is a city in Riverside County, California. It is located at the north end of the San Jacinto Valley, with Hemet to its south and Beaumont, California, to its north. The mountains associated with the ...

, , - , Win , align=center, 3-0 , Amy Pitan , TKO (Punches) , UW - Ultimate Wrestling , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:41 ,

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

, , - , Win , align=center, 2-0 , Christine Van Fleet , Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) , HOOKnSHOOT - Revolution , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:42 ,

Evansville, Indiana Evansville is a city in, and the county seat of, Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States. The population was 118,414 at the 2020 census, making it the state's third-most populous city after Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, the largest city in ...

, , - , Win , align=center, 1-0 , Amber Mosely , TKO (Punches) , UW - Street Fight Minnesota , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:16 ,

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississip ...

Outside MMA

Purcell appeared on the fourth season of

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism of Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network based in New York City and owned by Paramount Global. It was created by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Commun ...

Celebrity Fit Club ''Celebrity Fit Club'' is a reality television series that follows eight overweight celebrities as they try to lose weight for charity. Split into two competing teams of four, each week teams are given different physical challenges, and weighed t ...

as a guest trainer. She also appeared on an episode of

The Montel Williams Show ''The Montel Williams Show'' (also known as ''Montel'') is an American syndicated tabloid talk show, hosted by Montel Williams, which ran from 1991 to 2008. On January 30, 2008, the end of production of new episodes of ''The Montel Williams Sh ...

in September 2007. Purcell has a HVAC license and owns and runs an air-conditioning business. She also owns a clothing design store called Purpur Hollywood Aprons, which specializes in vintage aprons.

References

External links

Fightergirls.com

Official Site

View Debi Purcell Video Highlights at Subfighter.com

Debi Purcell Awakening Profile
*
Ironlife Interview, May 2004

TheFightGame.tv Interview, 2004 (video)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Purcell, Debi American female mixed martial artists American female taekwondo practitioners American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Female Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Mixed martial artists from California Mixed martial artists utilizing taekwondo Mixed martial artists utilizing vale tudo Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Sportspeople from Huntington Beach, California People from Laguna Niguel, California 21st-century American women