Olga Rubin returned to cage six months after giving birth… now she’s promised her boy a ‘shiny new belt’ to play with after her fight with Julia Budd at Bellator 224
GIVING birth to a beautiful baby boy failed to halt Olga Rubin’s path to greatness… and now she has promised to bring him home a “shiny belt” to play with.
The undefeated Israel-based fighter, 29, travels to America for the first time tomorrow to fight her heroine Julia Budd (12-2) at Bellator 224 for the featherweight women’s championship.
The huge challenge facing the Moscow-born “Big Bad” (6-0) at Oklahoma’s WinStar World Casino is a daunting one.
But Rubin, who immigrated to Holon from Russia in 1991, refuses to let anything get in her way as she strives for glory – even when it comes to getting pregnant.
She thought her MMA career was over when she discovered she was expecting but decided to continue training until the fifth month of her pregnancy and even achieved her blue belt during that time.
However, even more impressively, she hit the gym within a month of the birth and climbed back into the cage to fight just half a year.
Motherhood changes most people… but what sort of an affect does it have on the mind-set of a professional fighter?
Speaking exclusively to Sun Sport, Rubin said: “I love this question. It can be bitter sweet because for some reason people tell you that being a mum, which is completely selfless, and being a fighter, which is quite selfish, are totally opposite each other.
“But motherhood has impacted so much on my career. Even when I feel like giving up I’m now like ‘No, you cannot give up, I need this for my son.’
“He is my biggest motivation and my everything. I couldn’t be in this position without him.
“He will be watching live on TV and he loves watching momma playing Boom Boom and he is also doing it at the same time, which is very adorable.
“I’m still not ready to bring him to the show itself but he will definitely be watching.
“And I promised him a big and shiny belt to play with. So I just have to have it now, I cannot go back without that.”
FACTFILE: OLGA RUBIN
Born: 18/08/1989
Age: 29
Birthplace: Moscow, Russia
Resides: Holon, Israel
Height: 5’8″
Weight: 145lbs
MMA Fight record: 6-0
The star continued: “When you really want something there is nothing that can stand in your way. Not even loose skin and a pregnancy belly.
“My husband Igal was thinking for my first fight back to just let me put my feet back in the water and see how I felt about it.
“But after seeing me perform in front of 9,000 he knew it was my destiny and he said whatever it takes to get what you want we’ll do it.
“He has been my biggest fan and most amazing person in the world.”
Rubin, who often trains in London and where she is tutored by former UFC bantamweight fighter Brad Pickett, began her path to the cage in unlikely fashion as she randomly searched through YouTube.
But after coming across footage of Ronda Rousey’s victory over Miesha Tate at UFC 168 in December 2013, the former shop worker, bartender and waitress knew instantly what she was born to do.
She explained: “It was both the performance of Rousey that was so dominant – I had never seen any cage fighting before and that was my first interaction.
“The thing that most impacted on me was by Tate as you can obviously see that her arm was dislocated and she didn’t want to tap.
“That made me think about what is it about the sport that she wanted it that much despite the pain, she had to have it. So it was Miesha Tate rather than Rousey that had an effect on me.
“I watched it by accident after finding it on YouTube – it wasn’t even live. I just came across it out of the blue.
“My husband just thought it was going to be another hobby for me as I kept changing professions.
“My family, who come from a classical music background, were extremely unhappy, but the moment they saw me inside the cage they knew I belonged there.”
In November last year Rubin got to live out a dream at Bellator 209 when defeating Cindy Dandois in front of a raucous home crowd in Tel Aviv.
And she is happy to be leading a MMA wave in her homeland – although she insists she is not feeling any extra pressure now she is under the national spotlight.
“It’s amazed me and it’s still quite new in Israel,” explained Rubin.
“It arrived there when Bellator came to Tel Aviv. People started doing more MMA as they became more interested and we’ve done so much in such a short period of time that hopefully more kids and adults will start doing MMA.
“People tend to put pressure on me but I don’t really feel it. I try to not think about it as ultimately I’m doing this for myself first and not the country.
“Pressure from your nation is not something you want to feel prior to your fight, I just want to perform well for myself, my family and friends so I try not to think about it that way.”
LATEST MMA NEWS
And ahead of her showdown with Budd, Rubin has no time for any pre-fight shenanigans or trash talk.
She added: “The message will be sent that night. I respect her so much and I’ve watched her fight for many years… I idolised her before starting my own pro career.
“So for me, I’ve worked my ass off for my idol to become my rival and there’s nothing really to say except I’m a hungry wolf climbing up the mountain and I want that belt.
“And I’ll overcome anything in my way.”
