Melinda Fábián (born June 25, 1987) is a Hungarian

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

. She was the first Hungarian to compete in the

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. The larg ...

. She is also the inaugural women's bantamweight world champion in

Karate Combat Karate Combat (KC) is a brand which promotes the first professional full-contact karate league, hosting worldwide events since April 2018. The private company is headquartered in Dubai and was founded by Robert Bryan. Karate Combat is owned by t ...

Background

Born in 1987, Melinda Fábián first started fighting martial arts at the age of 12, starting to

shotokan karate is a style of karate, developed from various martial arts by Gichin Funakoshi (1868–1957) and his son Gigo (Yoshitaka) Funakoshi (1906–1945). Gichin Funakoshi was born in Okinawa and is widely credited with popularizing "karate do" thr ...

Vértesszőlős Vértesszőlős is a village in Komárom-Esztergom county, Hungary. It is most known for the archaeological site where a Middle Pleistocene human fossil, known as " Samu", was found. History Prehistory Vértesszőlős sits at the foot of the ...

where she reached the brown belt. She then made her way to

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, where, besides karate, she became acquainted with

Muay Thai Muay Thai or Muaythai (, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, the Art of Eight Limbs or the Science of Eight Limbs, is a Thai martial art and full-contact combat sport that uses stand-up striking, sweeps, and various clinch fighting, cl ...

. She returned home in 2006 and started her favorite martial art, which she liked as a

kenpo karate American Kenpo Karate (), also known as American Kenpo or Ed Parker's Kenpo Karate, is an American martial art founded and codified by Ed Parker. It is synthesized mainly from Japanese and Okinawan martial arts such as karate and judo, with in ...

the Kurayfat campsite. A year later, she had already won a silver medal at the World Championships in Home Affairs as a blue belt. And in 2013, at the World Championships, also home to the podium, she was the winner of the full contact and knockdown rules, with a black belt at her waist. Melinda loves Kenpo karate so much that she runs her own club, Sakura Doyo. After finding great success at the campsite, Melinda set out on

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

, which was less well known in Hungary at the time. In this style, ground combat plays the same role as standing, so

wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

and Brazilian jiu-jitsu are at the forefront, as evidenced in Melinda's victories.

Personal life

Fábián had a date and relationship with her Head Coach Ferenc "Rendes" Peszlen.

Mixed martial career

Early career

The blonde lady first entered the cage at HFC 09 in 2015 as the only Hungarian female warrior in a quad tournament in front of a domestic audience. In the opening match, he had a straight-up victory in the first round, but she got exactly the same technique from her more experienced American opponent in the final. Nevertheless, according to Melinda, her lack of routine was the only drawback with the other fighters. In the next 3 games, she ended with one draw, one win (Ezekiel choke) and one with a split scoring defeat. The defeat was followed by a two-match winning streak (brace, ankle strain), both knocking in the first round. (Interestingly, although Melinda is basically the strength of the stand-up fight, she has achieved all her victories by forcing and has never been knocked out.) Unfortunately, after two quick wins, a defeat slipped, but that did not stop her from winning. The Hungarian girl was to get the big chance of her life from

and finally show herself outside the old continent.

The Ultimate Fighter

She has been invited to

The Ultimate Fighter ''The Ultimate Fighter'' is an American reality television series and mixed martial arts (MMA) competition produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Pilgrim Media Group currently airing on ESPN+. It previously aired for fourteen s ...

UFC reality show, which has not become a former champion, and often gets a UFC contract at the end of the show. And the stake in the 26th TUF season was nothing but the winner becoming the champion of the newly introduced women's weight (57 kg) division. Melinda – who even sold her car to buy a plane ticket overseas – joined

Eddie Alvarez Edward Alvarez (born January 11, 1984) is an American professional Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and Bare-knuckle boxing, bare-knuckle boxer who most recently competed in the Welterweight division of Bare Knuckle Fighting Championsh ...

in the selection. (Eddie Alvarez is a former lightweight champion of

Bellator Bellator, warrior in Latin, may refer to: * Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States * Bishop Bellator of Sufetula (5th century) Taxonomy * ''Bellator'' (fish), a fish genus in the family Triglidae (sea robins) ** ...

and the UFC.) Unfortunately, Melinda had an injury during the show, which put her mark on her training and preparation for the game. In the show, every warrior has a homemade video in which Melinda introduces Budapest, her apartment and talks about her team the Budapest Top Team. Her opponent,

Rachael Ostovich Rachael Ostovich (born February 25, 1991) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Flyweight division. A professional since 2014, she has competed in the UFC and Invicta Fighting Championships. After being released from the UFC, ...

, is a Hawaiian-born girl with a warrior background, with a balance of 3–3 (Melinda's 4–3–1). At the start of the match, the Hungarian girl worked well in stand-up combat but was unable to defend Rachael's grounding and gave up her back with an unfortunate move and the American took the opportunity and pulled in the back throttle after some submission attempts and some ground-and-pound and victory.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Fábián faced

DeAnna Bennett DeAnna Danielle Bennett (born November 18, 1984) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Flyweight division. A professional since 2012, she has previously competed for Bellator MMA, Invicta Fighting Championships, and Ultimate ...

on December 1, 2017 at The Ultimate Fighter: A New World Champion#The Ultimate Fighter 26 Finale. The fight ended as a majority draw and Bennett was subsequently released from the promotion. Her second fight came on June 23, 2018, at UFC Fight Night: Cerrone vs. Edwards against

Ji Yeon Kim Kim Ji-yeon (; born October 18, 1989), often anglicized Ji Yeon Kim, is a South Korean mixed martial artist (MMA). She was the Jewels and Gladiator women's bantamweight champion. She competed in the Women's Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fi ...

. She lost the fight via split decision. On August 11, 2018, it was reported that Fábián was released by UFC.

Post UFC career

Fábián faced Karla Benitez on October 22, 2019, at The Cage Fighting Komarno 7. She won the fight via knockout.

Karate Combat

On November 23, 2020, Melinda Fábián made her debut in the

organization, where she defeated Brazilian fighter Ana Luiza Ferreira Da Silva by unanimous decision in a three-round bout. On April 1, 2023, she won her second

fight, once again by unanimous decision, this time against Brazilian fighter Erica Santos. On December 15, 2023, at a gala event held in Las Vegas, Melinda Fábián won by technical knockout against Venezuelan fighter Omaira Molina, becoming the organization's first women's bantamweight world champion.

Mixed martial arts record

, Win , align=center, 5–4–2 , Karla Benitez , KO (head kick) , Cage Fighting Komarno 7 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:59 ,

Győr Győr ( , ; ; names of European cities in different languages: E-H#G, names in other languages) is the main city of northwest Hungary, the capital of Győr-Moson-Sopron County and Western Transdanubia, Western Transdanubia region, and – halfwa ...

, Hungary , , - , Loss , align=center, 4–4–2 , Kim Ji-yeon , Decision (split) , UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Edwards , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Kallang Kallang ( ) is a Planning Areas of Singapore, planning area and New towns of Singapore, residential zone located in the Central Region, Singapore, Central Region of Singapore. Development of the town is centered around the Kallang River, the l ...

, Singapore , , - , Draw , align=center, 4–3–2 ,

, Draw (Majority) , The Ultimate Fighter: A New World Champion Finale , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 4–3–1 , Judith Ruis , Submission (guillotine choke) , Aggrelin 16: MIA Cage Fight , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:30 ,

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, Germany , , - , Win , align=center, 4–2–1 , Monic Bilicsi , Submission (straight ankle lock) , Aggrelin 15 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:14 ,

Nurnberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...

, Germany , , - , Win , align=center, 3–2–1 , Tímea Nyistor , Submission (armbar) , Cage Fighting Komárno 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:38 ,

Komárno Komárno (, , ), colloquially also called ''Révkomárom'', ''Öregkomárom'', ''Észak-Komárom'' in Hungarian language, Hungarian, is a town in Slovakia at the confluence of the Danube and the Váh rivers. Historically it was formed by the "old ...

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

Lucie Pudilová Lucie Pudilová (born June 13, 1994) is a Czech female mixed martial artist who competed in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). She was the Gladiator Championship Fighting Bantamweight female champion in Czech R ...

, Decision (split) , GCF 34: Back in The Fight 5 , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Příbram Příbram (; or ''Przibram'') is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 33,000 inhabitants. It is known for its mining history, and more recently, its new venture into economic restructuring. The town is the t ...

, Czech Republic , , - , Win , align=center, 2–1–1 , Paulina Borkowska , Submission (rear naked choke) , PLMMA 62: AFC 6 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:32 , Wyszków, Poland , , - , Draw , align=center, 1–1–1 , Eava Siikonen , Draw (majority) , Carelia Fight 11 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Imatra Imatra is a city in Finland, located in the southeastern interior of the country. Imatra is located in the region of South Karelia, on Saima, Lake Saimaa and the River Vuoksi. The population of Imatra is approximately , while the Imatra sub-regi ...

, Finland , , - , Loss , align=center, 1–1 ,

Katlyn Chookagian Katlyn Cerminara (; born December 28, 1988) is an American professional mixed martial artist. She formerly competed in the Bantamweight division and currently competes in the women's Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC ...

, Submission (armbar) , PMMAL Hungarian FC 9 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:33 ,

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

, Hungary , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Barbora Poláková , Submission (armbar) , PMMAL Hungarian FC 9 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:34 ,

, Hungary , , - , Loss , align=center , 0–1 ,

, Submission (rear naked choke) , rowspan=2, The Ultimate Fighter: A New World Champion , (air date) , align=Center , 1 , align=center , 4:22 , rowspan=2,

, United States ,

Karate Combat record

, - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Omaira Molina , TKO , Karate Combat 43 , 2023-12-15 , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:00 , , Won the Karate Combat Women's Bantamweight Championship. , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Erica Santos , Decision (unanimous) , Karate Combat 38 , 2023-04-01 , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:00 , , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Ana Luiza Ferreira Da Silva , Decision (unanimous) , Neo Tokyo - Episode 9 , 2020-11-23 , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:00 , ,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fabian, Melinda Hungarian female mixed martial artists 1987 births Living people Hungarian female karateka Hungarian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Female Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners Sportspeople from Tatabánya Mixed martial artists utilizing American Kenpo Mixed martial artists utilizing Shotokan Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Ultimate Fighting Championship female fighters 21st-century Hungarian sportswomen