The expression ‘hit like a girl’ just took a whole new meaning.
Usually when you see ‘fighting’ and ‘girl’ in the same sentence you probably automatically think of Ronda Rousey. Which is normal, since Rousey has been the poster girl for women fighters all around the world for the past few years.
The former UFC champion is more than a mere cage fighter though; thanks to her outspoken personality and driven persona she has become a role-model for thousands of girls and women, striving to empower them. Rousey’s influence extend way beyond the Octagon.
Never shying away from speaking her mind, Rousey stated multiple times that she would be able to take on male fighters such as former UFC Heavyweight champ Cain Velasquez or boxer Floyd Mayweather, Jr in an MMA fight….
Woman vs man fight debates are rife among fans, and have been so for quite a long time so it is no surprise these comments sparked heated arguments among martial arts fans as each side fought to prove/disprove Rousey’s claims.
Thing is though, we might never actually know if Ronda Rousey can indeed beat male fighters.
What we do know though is that a little girl from Thailand has been doing exactly what Rousey dreamed of…
Enter Phetjee Jaa O. Meekhun.
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Born on December 31, 2001 in Thailand, Phetjee was inspired at age 7 by her uncles (both Muay Thai fighters) and decided to strive to earn money for her poor family by becoming a professional Muay Thai kickboxer. Such motivation is praise-worthy and brave, even more so when it comes from such a young child.
Showcasing natural talent, Phetjee hit a roadblock after a year of training as her training camp refused to train her anymore. Muay Thai kickboxing, Thailand’s national sport, is actually considered holy over there and a lot of people strongly loathe the sight of a girl getting in a ring.
That didn’t stop Phetjee’s ascension though, as her father set up a brand new fighting camp and took her under his tutelage.
At age 10, the little prodigy girl had already 90 fights, with more than 70 of them being against boys!
Phetjee’s natural, amazing talent as well as the way she was knocking out boys left and right propelled her to stardom in Thailand, and her fights were being broadcasted on national television regularly.
Now, laws preventing co-ed fights do exist in Thailand. Thing is, they rarely get enforced in smaller shows. It is another story when it comes to national shows… Phetjee, making huge waves on the big stage by fighting (and beating) boys became a nuisance for some old school minded people, who lobbied for her fights to be declared banned on national television.
That happened in 2013 in the form of the Thai Athletic Commission putting an end to the girl’s bouts against boys.
Phetjee, no longer available to showcase her surreal skills against boys, has since been fighting MUCH bigger and older girls, having the same success she has had so far. Not pessimist in the least about the ban Phetjee actually is still facing every challenge thrown at her.
A good student in school, she doesn’t shy away from any fight and is still courageously striving to help her family.To think about the sheer amount of adversity she has had to face at such a young age, and given how she admirably was able to overcome it, is truly inspiring.
This kid is special.
Scratch that… She is actually a one-in-a-lifetime fighter. No one has ever done what she is doing in terms of fighting. One can only hope this killer of a fighter will have the career she deserves.
