An undisclosed injury kept Julia Budd out of the ring ahead of a scheduled bout last May against the Netherlands’ Marloes Coenen.
Now it appears to the two mixed martial arts fighters will get a chance to square off after all.
The 33-year-old Budd defeated Australia’s Arlene Blencowe during Bellator 162 in Tennessee last month, paving the way for a title match against Coenen, which is expected in the new year.
With the recent win, the Port Moody athlete, who trains at Gibson MMA, which is owned by her husband Lance Gibson, has improved her record to 9-2. Winning her next fight will make her a world champion.
“I feel like I have finally found my groove in the sport,” she told The Tri-City News.
Budd started training in kickboxing when she was 15 years old and living in Sechelt on the Sunshine Coast.
One of her coaches was a student of Gibson’s, who informed her that if she wanted to take her training to the next level she would have to move to Vancouver.
“I transferred into MMA from kickboxing… because there was more opportunity there,” she said. “I ended up coming to Port Moody to train specifically and that is how we [her and Gibson] met.”
Budd faced some tough challenges early in her career.
She went up against current world champion Amanda Nunes in her second professional fight and was knocked out in 14 seconds. In her fourth bout against Ronda Rousey in 2011, Budd lost after being put in a submission hold after 39 seconds.
That was the last time she lost a match and has since put together an impressive 7-0 record, either knocking out her opponents or winning in a unanimous decision.
But Budd is up against some tough competition if she hopes to take the title in 2017.
Coenen is eager to get back in the ring after losing last May to American fighter Alexis Dufresne during Bellator 155, a match that ended in a submission win after 4:33. The 35-year-old is 23-7 since beginning her professional career back in 2000.
“It is always a challenge,” she said. “You get a goal and you accomplish it.”
When she is not training, Budd spends a lot of her time training the next generation of fighters, working with young students who are often stepping into the ring for the first time.
She still enjoys watching the reactions when she tells people she is a mixed martial arts fighter.
“I think there might be stereotypes of what fighters look like or act like and I don’t fit any of them,” she said. “I carry myself like a martial artist.”
The date for the title bout will be announced in the coming weeks.
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