Janay Harding (born September 28, 1994) is a New Zealand 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, incorpo ...

who competes in the

Featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, this ...

division of the

Bellator MMA Bellator MMA (formerly Bellator Fighting Championships) is an American mixed martial arts promotion (entertainment), promotion founded in 2008 and based in Santa Monica, California, owned and operated as a subsidiary of television and media cong ...

. Since January 1, 2021

Sherdog Sherdog is an American website devoted to the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA). It also has many forums and discussion pages on the many topics of MMA like records, promotions, etc. The site is a member of the CraveOnline network and provides MM ...

has her ranked as the #7 Female Featherweight in the world.

Background

Harding was born in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

but moved to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

at the age of ten when her father, Geoffrey Charlton, passed away. Starting martial arts at a young age, Harding earned a black belt in karate at the age of 14.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Harding started her professional MMA career in 2014, compiled a 3-2 record, though the two losses on her professional record came against current UFC fighter

Jessica-Rose Clark Jessica-Rose Clark (born 28 November 1987) is an Australian mixed martial artist who competes in the women’s Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Clark was born in Cairns, Australia, as the eldest of ...

and previous Bellator title challenger

Arlene Blencowe Arlene Blencowe (born 11 April 1983) is a mixed martial artist and boxer, currently competing in the Women's Featherweight division of Bellator MMA, where she is the first Australian female fighter in the promotion's history. As of June 28, ...

, while also losing to Megan Anderson in an amateur bout. Harding made her international debut in May 2017, travelling to Hong Kong where she secured a second round stoppage over Ramona Pascual.

Bellator MMA

Signing with

in December 2017, Harding made her promotional debut against Amber Leibrock at Bellator 199 on May 12, 2018. She lost the bout via unanimous decision. Harding faced

Sinead Kavanagh Sinead Kavanagh is an Irish female mixed martial artist who competes in the Featherweight division of the Bellator MMA. Fight Matrix had her ranked #10 Women's Featherweight from April 2021 till July 2021, and March 2022. She is currently ranke ...

at Bellator 207 on October 12, 2018. She won the bout after it was stopped due to a cut. Harding faced

Marina Mokhnatkina Marina Yuryevna Mokhnatkina (russian: Марина Юрьевна Мохнаткина; née Kormiltseva, born 12 May 1988) is a sambo competitor and mixed martial artist. Mokhnatkina is a six-time world champion and two-time European champion in ...

on March 29, 2019 at Bellator 219. She won the bout via unanimous decision. Harding faced

Amanda Bell Amanda Bell (born August 3, 1988) in Oakland, California is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Featherweight division. She previously competed in the Bellator MMA and Invicta FC. Mixed martial arts career Early career A well ro ...

at Bellator 233 on November 8, 2019. She lost the fight via third-round knockout. Harding faced

Jessy Miele Jessica Miele is an American female mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist who competes in the Featherweight (MMA), Featherweight. She has formerly competed for Bellator MMA. Fight Matrix within the top #10 Women's Featherweight from January 201 ...

at Bellator 251 on November 5, 2020. She won the bout via unanimous decision. Harding faced

Leah McCourt Leah McCourt (born 21 June 1992) is a Northern Irish professional mixed martial artist who competes in the Featherweight division of Bellator MMA. She is a former IMMAF World and European Amateur champion and International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu F ...

on May 21, 2021 at

Bellator 259 Bellator 259: Cyborg vs. Smith 2 was a mixed martial arts event that was produced by Bellator MMA at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. Background The event featured a Bellator Women's Featherweight Championship bout between the ...

. At the weigh-ins, McCourt weighed in at 149.4 pounds, three and a half pounds over the featherweight non-title fight limit. The bout proceeded at catchweight and McCourt was fined a percentage of her purse, which went to Harding. After looking dominant in the second round with her striking, Harding was caught with an upkick while trying to pass McCourt's guard and fell into a triangle choke, losing the bout via submission. Harding faced

Dayana Silva Dayana Silva (born August 17, 1990) is a Brazilian female mixed martial artist who competes in the Featherweight division of Bellator MMA. As of September 27, 2022, she is #6 in the Bellator Women's Featherweight Rankings. Background Discovere ...

on April 23, 2022 at Bellator 279. She lost the bout via unanimous decision. Harding is scheduled to rematch

on February 25, 2023 at Bellator 291.

Boxing

Harding faced

Tayla Harris Tayla Harris (born 16 April 1997) is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Melbourne Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW) and professional boxer. She previously played football for and . Early life and amateur career Harris was ...

for the vacant Australian female super-welterweight title at The Melbourne Pavilion on November 22, 2019. She lost the bout via TKO in the 4th round.

Mixed martial arts record

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Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island o ...

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Uncasville, Connecticut Uncasville is an area in the town of Montville, Connecticut, United States. It is a village in southeastern Montville, at the mouth of the Oxoboxo River where it flows into the Thames River. The name is now applied more generally to all of the ea ...

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, TKO (punches) , Bellator 233 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:44 ,

Thackerville, Oklahoma Thackerville is a town in Love County, Oklahoma. It is located in South Central Oklahoma. The population was 445 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Ardmore, Oklahoma Micropolitan Statistical Area. Geography Thackerville is located at (33. ...

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, Decision (unanimous) , Bellator 219 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Temecula, California Temecula (; es, Temécula, ; Luiseño: ''Temeekunga'') is a city in southwestern Riverside County, California, United States. The city had a population of 110,003 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and was Municipal corporation, i ...

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San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popul ...

, , - , Win , align=center, 3–2 , Ramona Pascual , TKO (elbows and punches) , Fight Factory Gym: E-1 World Championship , , align=Center, 2 , align=center, 1:43 ,

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

, , - , Loss , align=center, 2–2 ,

, KO (punches) , Legend MMA 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:08 ,

Gold Coast, Queensland The Gold Coast is a coastal city in the state of Queensland, Australia, approximately south-southeast of the centre of the state capital Brisbane. With a population over 600,000, the Gold Coast is the sixth-largest city in Australia, the nati ...

Australia , , - , Loss , align=center, 2–1 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , Eternal MMA 19 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Jess Doueihi , TKO (punches) , Brace 36 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:26 , Sydney, New South Wales, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Helen Malone , TKO (punches) , Eternal MMA 5 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:59 ,

, Australia , , -

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Harding, Janay 1994 births Living people New Zealand female mixed martial artists Featherweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing karate Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing Mixed martial artists from the Gold Coast Bellator female fighters New Zealand female karateka New Zealand women boxers Sportspeople from Christchurch