Tina Pettigrew Found Ultimate Fulfillment With Professional Fighting
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Tina Pettigrew Found Ultimate Fulfillment With Professional Fighting

Tina Pettigrew Found Ultimate Fulfillment With Professional Fighting

The first time she got hit in the face, Tina Pettigrew knew she’d made the right decision to pursue professional mixed martial arts.

“That’s the moment you know if you’re supposed to fight or not. When you get hit in the face, how do you react,” she explained of the adrenaline response during her first sparring. “There are two types of people: you either run away or want to stay and fight back.”

And she’s been fighting ever since. How the now 36-year-old graduate of Eau Gallie High with a deep athletic background went from earning her masters in bioethics at New York University and working at the United Nations to moving across the country to train and coach mixed martial arts full time is a tale of discovering what’s truly fulfilling.

It’s how Pettigrew transformed into “The Predator.”

Born Athlete

Pettigrew comes from strong athletic genes. 

  • Her mother, international-selling portrait artist and art teacher Debi Pettigrew of Melbourne, was a dancer and in multiple acrobatic sports.
  • Her maternal grandfather, Bob Bollinger, was inducted into four halls of fame in three different sports, most notably the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame.
  • Her older brother, Zachary Pettigrew, was active in MMA when he suggested Tina give it a try.
  • An aunt and uncle were Cirque du Soleil performers for 25 years and worked as stunt doubles.

Pettigrew started gymnastics in Brevard at age 6. She switched gyms at age 10, but a lack of a strong support system halted her promising career.

“That was my entire life and my obsession until I had to quit,” she said.

She then tried soccer, but wasn’t as comfortable in the team environment. She spent her four years of high school on the diving and crew teams, while also playing three instruments in band and orchestra. Music is where she found kinship.

“When I leaned into music, that really helped me find something fun to focus on and find friends,” Pettigrew said.

She graduated University of Florida with a degree in health science and public health, with a minor in business. Her initial desire to become a doctor was extinguished after intern hours in the ER and pediatrics made it clear that path was too draining. So she switched gears to pursue bioethics.

“I thought maybe I could shift into policy making or working with some entity who deals in world affairs,” Pettigrew said.

That led to more internships, this time at the United Nations and NYU’s Bellevue Program for Survivors of Torture. Realizing this also wasn’t a good fit added to the stress of living and working in NYC. But not being a quitter, she earned her masters in bioethics from NYU in 2010 while working full-time at a nonprofit. 

“Since I had to let go of gymnastics, from that point until I found martial arts, I was searching,” Pettigrew explained. It all drained her.

Epiphany

Unhappy, out of shape, and stressed, Pettigrew kept looking for something. She found it back home while watching UFC fights with her family during a Christmas visit. A beautiful woman from the audience was interviewed, and turned out she was an MMA fighter, too.

Stunned and intrigued by Gina Carano — a professional MMA fighter and actress who defied fighter stereotypes — Pettigrew started studying Carano and other female fighters.

“I had never thought of myself as an athlete even though I did sports my whole life,” Pettigrew said. “I was an academic.”

But everything changed after that. Her first workout at an MMA gym left her sore and loving it.

“I liked that it was hard. I remember feeling very empowered, hyped up about it… Hitting stuff feels good. It was hard so it made me want to do it again.”

Recognizing a fighter’s time in the sport is limited, the academic Pettigrew asked plenty of questions and absorbed all she needed to advance quickly. After seeing others move along to 

Alliance MMA in San Diego, she decided in 2016 that a move there would be a step toward her MMA goals.

In The Right Place

Pettigrew was undefeated as an amateur — winning five fights in a year, all while working full time for a company three time zones ahead in NYC. That meant working 5 a.m. to 3 p.m. and then training at night.

“I’d get on morning meetings with little black eyes,” Pettigrew said. 

And while her company supported her, the demands took a toll and she tapered her hours until she left in August 2019 to go all-in as a pro fighter with Combate Global.

“My rhythms and hormones were not where they could be because of my lifestyle,” she said. “When I left, I got strong right away and really lean, I was able to train twice a day and sleep more.

“Nobody wanted to fight me. When you’re undefeated as an ametuer, they don’t want to fight you.”

Pettigrew won her pro debut in December 2019, choking out her opponent in 4 minutes. She has a 3-2 pro record and is slated for a fight in early August. She said the losses came with lessons and have made her a wiser fighter.

Now, she’s at peace knowing she found what she was searching for.

Pettigrew and boyfriend of five years, Alberto “Filly” Trujillo, also a pro fighter with Combate, enjoy their six-days-a-week rhythm of: train, eat, shower, sleep, train again and coach, which they do for income. Sunday is their only rest day.

Pettigrew has some goals:

  1. Get into the UFC and become “one of the best to ever do it.”
  2. Become a commentator.
  3. Open a gym with Trujillo.

Their coach, the legendary Eric Del Fierro, has trained some of UFC’s top fighters. He sees the drive in Pettigrew.

“She will do a technique over and over again until she gets it right or feels she has a grasp on it. Her work ethic shows, not just in athletic performance, but in all aspects of her learning,” Del Fierro said. 

“As a professional fighter, you are showcasing your skill set in front of thousands of people to be judged or appreciated and that takes bravery to put yourself in the arena. She is very authentic and vulnerable… and I believe that is what sets her apart. You can only grow if you're willing to share your fears and limitations.”

One of the biggest lessons Pettigrew said she learned was from her mother: Put yourself out of your comfort zone.

“She’s always learning new stuff, talking to new people, trying new things,” Tina Pettigew said about Debi. “Women are lifelong learners. It’s so important to have an open mind.”

Debi Pettigrew — who recreated some of Tina’s top fight moments in pastel portraits — always backed her daughter.

“I believe your kids should follow their dreams,” Debi said. “People have paradigms about fighters. People meet (Tina) and come up to me later or tell her to her face, ‘I cannot believe how sweet you are.’ They think fighters are tough or mean. That’s a performance.”

Tina Pettigrew said she always knew she made the right choice.

 

“Fighting gives me the opportunity to be me.”

----------------------------------

Tina Pettigrew

Age: 36

Fight class: 135 pounds

Height: 5-foot-7

Pro league: Combate Global

Amateur record 5-0

Pro record: 3-2

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tinapettigrew_/?hl=en

Instagram for Tina’s food: @time_to_eat_with_tina

Facebook: /thepredator.mma/ 

 

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