Brooklyn’s Undefeated Women’s Boxing Champion signs with Invicta FC for MMA Debut

Photo Credit: ESPN.com

Undefeated Women’s Boxing champion and Brooklyn’s own Heather “The Heat” Hardy has signed with all-female mixed martial arts promotion, Invicta FC, for her MMA debut on January 14 in Kansas City, according Ring.tv. Hardy made the news public at the Showtime Boxing Press Conference on Wednesday.

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Hardy (18-0, 4 KOs) has fought all of her professional boxing matches in New York, making this the fight time she has fought outside of her home base.

The reason for the transition? The medical insurance issues that has hit boxing promoters following the passing of the new combat sports law in New York State. The major hold up being there has yet to be determined an insurance policy which boxing promoters are able to use for their fight cards, putting a major halt on all New York boxing cards till 2017.

As a single mother to a 12-year-old girl, Hardy relies on her active boxing schedule to pay the bills. “I need to make money, ” Hardy told Ring.tv. “I have no idea how I’m going through the rest of this year without getting paid in the last quarter. So I need to do this.”

The halt has forced her to re-visit her roots in kickboxing and Muay Thai, where she held amateur titles before entering the boxing world. In recent months, “The Heat” has posted training videos from former UFC Middleweight Champion Chris Weidman’s Long Island based gym, LAW MMA, sparking rumors that MMA was in the near future.

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With MMA now legalized in New York State, Hardy plans to continue with MMA after her debut. Following her January 14 bout, the “First Lady of Boxing” plans to get right back into the ring. The current international Women’s WBC super-bantamweight and featherweight title holder has been told by her promoter, Lou DiBella, that she will get a title shot on the March 4th card at the Barclays Center, which is anticipated to be the unification bout between Keith Thurman and Danny Garcia, according to Ring.tv.