Georgia Heaven

I first got into combat sports in college, where I started doing San Da (Chinese kickboxing). It was only a 30-minute session on a Tuesday lunchtime, but I loved having something different to break up my A-level studies. When I moved to Loughborough University to study Sport and Exercise Science, I joined the kickboxing club—and that’s where things really took off. For £74 a year, you could train twice a day, Monday to Friday, at 6:30am and 6:30pm. I thrived on the challenge and threw myself into training. I began competing in inter-university competitions and the National University Championships, and during my time there I became Chair of the Kickboxing Club (2018–2019) and won the national lightweight title in 2019. After graduating, I struggled to find a kickboxing gym and instead joined a small Muay Thai club in Epsom. I’d only been training a few months when COVID hit, forcing a long break from martial arts. During that time, I went back to running, but as soon as restrictions eased, I returned to training—until the gym lost access to its premises. That’s when I found 21st Century Combat in Merstham—and everything changed. On my very first day, I was asked how much I weighed and whether I could take a last-minute fight the following week. Despite having very little Muay Thai experience (I didn’t even know what clinch was or fully understand the rules), I said yes. It was a C-class bout, and I was nervous—especially about fighting without shin pads. I lost the fight, but I loved every second of it. It made me realise what I could achieve if I had the right preparation and a full fight camp behind me. Fast forward four years, and I’ve had 13 fights with 21st Century Combat, progressing from C-class to Pro-Am, where I had to quickly learn how to throw and defend elbows—definitely a shock to the system—and now into the professional ranks, where I’ve had three fights so far. Alongside this, I went to Brunel University to complete my Master’s degree in Physiotherapy. Balancing the demands of training with academic work and clinical placements was extremely challenging, but it pushed me to become more disciplined, resilient, and efficient with my time. I’m still relatively new at the professional level and don’t yet have the same experience as some of the incredible women in my division. But in just four years, I’ve gone from training for fun to becoming a UK-ranked Muay Thai fighter. It shows what consistency and determination can do. This will be my first fight back in over a year after rehabbing a stubborn injury. I didn’t want to step back into the ring unless I could give 100% and trust my body to get me through a full fight camp and perform on the night. It wouldn’t have been fair to myself or my opponent to return too early and risk pulling out. That said, a break from fighting hasn’t meant a break from training—quite the opposite. This past year has been a chance to reflect, rebuild, and evolve as a fighter. This is Georgia 2.0—and I’m excited to show what we’ve been working on.