Tiffany van Soest (17-2-1, 5 KO's) made history at GLORY: COLLISION when she became the premier kickboxing league's first-ever female champion.
The California native, now resident in Bali, Indonesia, emerged as the winner of the Women's Super-Bantamweight Grand Prix after winning the finale four-woman tournament this past weekend.
The competition began early in 2016 with eight entrants and was whittled down to a final four over the course of several events. Van Soest beat the previously undefeated Amel Dehby (now 29-1) in the tournament final to clinch the belt.
“I have no words. This is incredible. This is everything I've worked for my entire life,” she says of becoming the inaugural women's champion.
“[Receiving the belt ] was a very emotional moment. I visualized this over and over, I heard the announcer announce me as champion every morning on my run, every night before I want to sleep.
Van Soest says that her keys to victory in the tournament were reminding herself to “stay sharp, stay calm” and to “try and keep it fun” instead of letting the importance of the moment overwhelm her.
Her journey in the martial arts started at eight years old when she first took up karate. Over the coming years she won national and international championships in that discipline before moving on in search of something harder.
Muay Thai followed and she became a champion in that discipline too, earning several notable titles before moving into the faster-paced world of GLORY kickboxing at the start of 2016.
Her new title crowns a lifetime of effort and focus and for her symbolizes something she has always held true.
“Follow your heart,” she affirms. “Follow your heart and you can live your dreams. I just hope that this proves to everyone out there that with hard work and dedication, you can do anything you set your mind to.”
