Knight was “Like, ‘Wow.’ I was just, like, ‘No, I’m not.’” But she was also flattered, and “went back and told my partner and it was actually her push to say, ‘You know what, you’re not an MMA fighter, but you should be.’ And just like with rugby, I became instantly hooked on the idea of MMA.
Describing post-playing ventures including commentating and coaching, in the Bronx and other places far from rugby’s grand pavilions, Knight says she always “continued to work out, continued to train, for nothing specific, just train.
Knight points out that she is also “2&0 in amateur Muay Thai”, fights she took on before trying MMA, so her “overall combat record is 8&0”, heading into her first paid fight.
Online, under the stark headline “Watch 50-year-old Phaidra Knight destroy Gen Z Opponents”, footage shows her launching into violent action with every inch and pound of her bantamweight frame, punishment raining down on game but outmatched opponents.
Phaidra Knight is already a pioneer, the only African American woman in the World Rugby Hall of Fame.
