Kerry Cathleen Kasik (born 1975) is a former

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

professional

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 competed in two professional fights, once for

Strikeforce Strike Force may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Games * ''Strike Force'' (video game), a 1991 arcade game *'' Commandos: Strike Force'', a 2006 video game *'' Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce'', a 2009 video game *''Marvel Strike Force'', ...

and once for

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

. Kasik rose to fame as the winner of the

Muay Thai Muay Thai ( th, มวยไทย, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, is a combat sport that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. This discipline is known as the "art of eight limbs", as it is characterised ...

-themed

Fight Girls ''Fight Girls'' is an Oxygen original reality television series that spun off from a 2006 special which documented seven female fighters' attempts at winning a championship. The initial special aired on August 7, 2006 and the series premiered J ...

reality show on the

Oxygen Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements as wel ...

television network in 2007. She also appeared alongside many female mixed martial artists on the ''Ultimate Women Challenge'' reality show in 2009 .

Early life

Kerry is the second daughter born to real estate agents. She was enrolled in dance at an early age but through her love of

Bruce Lee Bruce Lee (; born Lee Jun-fan, ; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was a Hong Kong and American martial artist and actor. He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts philosophy drawing from different combat disciplines that ...

, she discovered Tae Kwon Do and was enrolled in classes at age six. Her older sister, Kelly Kasik is a professional ballroom dancer. Kerry also started entering amateur boxing contests when she was eighteen.

MMA career

Kasik made her

mixed martial arts 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, inc ...

debut on May 15, 2009 at Bellator Fighting Championships 7 and defeated Leslie Smith by unanimous decision. She later signed with

and faced Kim Couture at Strikeforce Challengers: Woodley vs. Bears on November 20, 2009. Vera won the fight by TKO in the first round. Vera was scheduled to face

Julianna Pena Juliana (variants Julianna, Giuliana, Iuliana, Yuliana, etc) is a feminine given name which is the feminine version of the Roman name Julianus. Juliana or Giuliana was the name of a number of early saints, notably Saint Julian the Hospitaller, wh ...

at Strikeforce Challengers: Lindland vs. Casey on May 21, 2010 but pulled out of the fight due to an injury. She has not fought since.

Personal life

Kerry married MMA fighter

Brandon Vera Brandon Michael Vera (born October 10, 1977), or also known by his ring name as The Truth, is a Filipino-American (of Italian heritage) retired mixed martial artist where he was the inaugural ONE Heavyweight Champion and the 2005 WEC Heavyweigh ...

on February 5, 2006. In September 2014, Kerry filed for divorce from Brandon.

Mixed martial arts record

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Kansas City, Kansas Kansas City, abbreviated as "KCK", is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas, and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As of ...

, , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Leslie Smith , Decision (unanimous) , Bellator VII , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Early life

MMA career

Personal life

Mixed martial arts record

References

External links

See also