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Bellator’s top prospect in the women’s Featherweight division, Olga Rubin, talks about being a fighter and a parent. After being introduced to the top 10 ranking, she describes her road to glory.

The life of a professional MMA fighter is not easy. Aside from the incredible mental and physical discipline required to train and keep a body healthy, A hard, and not often talked about challenge is finding yourself away from your own family.

Featherweight prospect, Olga Rubin, is not only an MMA fighter, but also a parent who chose to make MMA her career path. Rubin’s resilience to compete and be an involved parent requires a level of grit that just might lead her to MMA greatness.

FanSided met up with Olga Rubin in London after her morning workout for an exclusive interview.

“By 6:00 AM, I was already in Richmond, close to London, working on my strength and conditioning,” Rubin said. “My mother lives in London, while my husband and son stayed back in Israel.”

Rubin immigrated to Israel from Moscow with her family in 1991 and received an old-school Russian education at home.

“It was important to my parents that I will be exposed to as many things as possible, so I grew up practicing many sports and playing instruments, but martial arts were never part of the syllabus,” Rubin said.

While living in Holon, Israel with her family, Rubin often travels to London for training, where she is tutored by former UFC fighter Brad Pickett.

“I reached out to Brad three months before my last fight at Bellator 209 versus Cindy Dandois. After coordinating with my local coaches, Ido Pariente and Moshik Keidar. Thankfully he agreed to take me under his wing. Now, I will spend a week in the UK, every month, training with Pickett at the Titan Fighter gym in North London, so I can improve my entire game.”

With that endorsement, it is important to Rubin to continue training in London.

“Training with Pickett in London is crucial for the development of my career. Here I can find suitable sparring partners. Ultimately, with all the respect to the rise of MMA in Israel, I don’t see other option than relocating myself so I could train at a higher level.”

Practicing aerobics and kickboxing at her local gym was the first time Rubin was exposed to martial arts, but what drew her attention to MMA was a classic encounter and a monumental moment in women’s MMA history.

“The first Ronda Rousey versus Miesha Tate fight in Strikeforce back in 2012 was the fight that converted me. I found it amazing that Tate didn’t tap. You can visually see her elbow getting dislocated and she still didn’t tap. I found that moment fascinating,” said Rubin.

“It is rather poetic for me since Miesha Tate is Cindy’s training partner so she cornered her in my last fight. During the weigh-in, I was anxious to meet her,” Rubin said. “Eventually I approached Miesha while she was breastfeeding her newborn, although the timing was off, she was very nice to me”.

That last fight against Cindy Dandois in Bellator 209 stretched Rubin’s undefeated record to 5-0. For the first time in Israeli MMA history, there is Israeli representation in a top 10 list by MMA website, Sherdog.

Rubin said, “When I started training MMA seriously, it was still considered taboo for women to train three times a day. Looking back to these days, being ranked at the top 10 now is massive for me.”

Rubin started being competitive in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu [BJJ] tournaments initially, but after training with the national team, she discovered what could end her career.

“During a BJJ practice I started feeling a bit off, it became harder and harder for me, so my husband suggested doing a pregnancy test and I got the good news,” said Rubin.

“I thought my career was over, but I ended up training until the fifth month of my pregnancy and even got my blue belt during that time.”

That astonishing accomplishment was not sufficient for Rubin, who continued challenging her body.

“A month after giving birth, I was already back in the gym. Six months after giving life to my son, I competed for the first time in MMA under the Bellator 164 banner,” said Rubin.

When Bellator president, Scott Coker announced that Bellator would be coming to Tel Aviv it motivated Rubin to get back in shape and find a spot on the fight card. “My coach back then, Ido Pariente, didn’t believe I would make it, but I was happy to prove him wrong” adds Rubin.

“My husband didn’t understand my obsession with MMA until I got pregnant. He saw how restless and unhappy I was from not being able to train. Ever since then, he became my number one fan and the biggest supporter I could have.”

After Rubin’s second victory in Bellator, the promotion was convinced and signed her for a four-fight deal and now she is part of their women’s Featherweight roster.

“For now, finding a sponsor is another challenge I need to face,” said Rubin.

Rubin’s last fight against Cindy Dandois is one step closer to the title fight.

“My day to day weight is 152 pounds,” she said. “So I need to drop only seven pounds to make the 145 mark. I am ready to go, we spoke to Head of Bellator’s matchmaking efforts in Europe, Jude Samuel, and he knows I am available to fight tomorrow if needed.”

Despite her confidence, she is still not ready for a title fight.

“I am not there yet, not only am I inexperienced, but I also feel like I didn’t earn a title fight just yet. I need two high profile fights before I challenge for the belt,” Rubin said. “In the best case scenario, I would like to get another high profile fight maybe Janay Harding, and then possibly fight Arlene Blencowe before I take Julia Budd’s belt and become the new featherweight champion.”

“Now I am signed with One Punch Management, Pickett is my head coach and manager. I strive to implement his “Controlled Chaos“ concept, which means fighting recklessly, but responsibly at the same time. The agenda behind it is giving the fans the show of their life.

Rubin is riding high on her momentum confidence. Breaking into the top 10 is just the first step towards MMA greatness. With the right tutoring and commitment, Rubin’s transformation to the next women’s MMA superstar is guaranteed.