1. What is absolutely your favorite part of Mixed a martial Arts..?
Briana Kellin: My absolute favorite part of martial arts would have to be the grind that goes along with it. I love the mentality you have to have to compete and I love to work hard. There’s a lot of fighters out there that are so egotistical and it drives them away from being a martial artist. They just fight. I get that way sometimes too. In my training lately, I have been focusing a lot more on technique and learning more aspects of each broken up part of the sport and how they work together. Muay thai to take downs, take downs to submissions, the difference between boxing distance and kickboxing. How they are different and what I can do to become more well rounded as I train. Out of all martial arts though the physical side, I absolutely love to wrestle.
2. How has it been training through a global pandemic?
Briana Kellin: Training through the pandemic has honestly locked me up and put me into a fight camp. Or at least it feels that way, I train 1-2 times a day and I have my own workouts I throw in there monday-friday, saturday and sunday’s I usually take off training and do hot yoga or active recovery to rest and rejuvenate my body. I take my training really seriously and sometimes I feel it’s not so good to be that way because you get away from the fun of the sport. But i’m learning to shut my ego off and try new things and allow myself to let go and flow. If I think everything’s a competition, it gives me a mental block and doesn’t open me up to more. But I love training at champions MMA, in Lakeland, FL. The energy is something indescribable. Everyone is there to work hard, learn and they all are just happy to be apart of martial arts. I love my team.
3. Your favorite MMA fight of all time?
Briana Kellin: My favorite MMA fight of all time would have to be either Holly Holm knocking out Rousey or Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Conor McGregor. When Rousey was rising up and she had this undefeated record it was insane to me how she would go in there unstoppable and determined every single time. And then when Holly Holm went in there and was able to knock her out it allowed me to see a perspective of Rousey that I never saw. I really thought that she was trying to be stubborn and box Holly Holm which wasn’t a good choice. But she also couldn’t get in for a throw because she was rushing it and forcing it. It just gave me more insight to mma and how you have to be more tactical in executing your style in a fight. Very exciting fight. Now I love Conor McGregor, he’s one of my favorite fighters in the world but the fight against Khabib hit home. I’m a wrestler, I’ve wrestled for 7 years now and it showed that wrestling dominates the entire fight. Say you’re the best kickboxer in the world, I take you down, you have not nothing. It helped me to understand that and it made me more motivated to wrestle. My dad proved me wrong! All these wrestlers fall in love with boxing when converting over to MMA and forget what they’re best at, letting the fight slip out of their hands. When I fight, I’m gonna have to remind myself of this. I love to throw hands but to win, I gotta take them down, that’s what I am best at, it’s my roots.
4. Two things that people don’t know about you..?
Briana Kellin: Two things people don’t know about me, I am very into holistic medicine and self healing. Diet and exercise are the two most important things to being healthy. Mentally, physically and spiritually. You eat bad, you feel like shit. Your body starts to have problems. You don’t work out or have any type of physical activity, it leads to depression and anxiety. And I have dealt with all different aspects of this. it wasn’t until I got to college and started doing the right things with my eating. In high school if I wasn’t cutting weight, I ate like garbage. And my weight would blow up and down it was awful. When I got to college I was able to maintain my weight and make it more of a lifestyle. Train, eat good, do good. When you’re feeding your body, you’re feeding your mind too. So think about what you put into your body. A cheeseburger every now and then is great. On the weekends I eat what I want and during the week I try to stay pretty clean, it’s a lot better this way. Another thing about me would have to be that some people don’t know is that meditate a lot. I sungaze, love to be barefoot, I do a lot of hot yoga which helps me focus on my breathing and flowing through movement. It helps align the chakras in the body. I’m all about that natural stuff, it makes me happy and allows me to connect with my higher self.
5. When can the Fight Bananas Community see you locked inside a cage..?
Briana Kellin: Hopefully soon!! we are looking for a MMA fight for me at 120 catch weight or 125. I’m excited I think I should’ve started my amateur career a little while ago but I’ve been in college wrestling and I can’t do both at the same time so this works out.
