Kenia Rosas makes her Legacy MMA debut when she faces BJJ world champion, Mackenzie Dern at Legacy Fighting Championship 58 being held on July 22, 2016 at the Golden Nugget Hotel & Casino in Lake Charles, LA. The fight will take place at 110 lb, and will be televised on AXS TV.
Despite being just nineteen years old, Rosas has a number of fights under her belt;
“I was born in Mexico City, and am currently living in Clovas, New Mexico. My dad started training when I was eleven years old; I got interested, started doing it as well, and really liked it. I started studying Brazilian Jiu Jitsu at twelve and karate as well; three to four years ago, I started training in kickboxing.”
Rosas has competed at an amateur level in both MMA and kickboxing;
“When I turned seventeen, I had my first fight. That was two years ago. In kickboxing, I took part in the WAKO tournament at the UFC expo. I did a kickboxing fight for Legacy a year ago and recently won the Shamrock Fighting Championship 125 lb title in St. Louis.”
As an amateur in MMA, Rosas accumulated a record of 4-2, and went 7-0 in kickboxing;
“I train at Different Breed MMA in Lubbock, TX and at Clovas Karate Dojo/Silverback Jiu Jitsu in Clovas.”
Some fighters stepping in to face an opponent with a pedigree like Dern might be intimidated, but Rosas is cut from a different cloth;
“It doesn’t really bother me. I know she’s good on the ground, but I feel that I have more experience than her in actual MMA fights.”
As well as training MMA, Rosas is a college student;
“I attend Wayland Christian University in Plainview, TX. I want to major in criminal justice, as I want to be a detective. I am on the wrestling team there. During season, September to May, we train Monday to Fridays and sometimes attend wrestling camps in the summer. I started wrestling a year ago, and I’ve found it has helped a lot. In my last fight it really made a difference.
“During the season, I do wrestling in the day and MMA at night. Right now I’m just doing MMA. I don’t do specific strength and conditioning. I like to get that from my training.”
As for a prediction, Rosas doesn’t like to give one;
“I just hope that neither of us gets injured. I’ll just go in there and do what I usually do. As a fighter, I’m tough. I’m a striker, I don’t like to go to the ground. I also don’t have a reverse button, and don’t like to go back.”
Training takes up a large part of Rosas’ life;
“I tend to keep myself busy with training. I also like to watch movies and eat things.”
With thirteen fights in MMA and kickboxing, Rosas has one fight that stands out for her, which took place against another veteran of Legacy;
“I really liked my third fight; it was against Bi Nguyen and took place a year ago. I looked technical, relaxed and focused. I won in the third round in the last second by knockout.
“I’d like to thank my family and friends, all my sponsors and Legacy for giving me the opportunity to fight. It’s a big deal to have my pro debut for Legacy on a main card.”
