Our guest today is a Native-Hawaiian professional MMA fighter from the island of O’ahu. She is the inaugural and former Bellator Women’s Flyweight World Champion. Currently she is the 2nd ranked women’s flyweight fighter in Bellator and the 5th overall pound-for-pound fighter in the women’s rankings. This wrestling state champion received her Bachelor’s Degree in Cultural Anthropology and her Master’s Degree in Liberal Arts and Sciences with a focus on indigenous issues from San Diego State University. She is also the founder of Nā Wahine Toa, a foundation that focuses on teaching self-defense, self-love, self-preservation and the protection of sacred sites including our bodies, our divine feminine entities and our ʻāina (land). Through fundraising, donations and her win bonuses from fights, Ilima-Lei has been able to award a total of 22 scholarships to young girls around the world including natives of Mexico, Jamaica, Canada, Panama, Hawai’i and Turtle Island. In this episode we talk about going to Punahou, how she got into MMA and became a World Champion, her foundation Nā Wahine Toa, her future goals, and so much more. Enjoy!

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