Women Fighters Monthly - Who Are the Ladies of Pain?

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Who Are the Ladies of Pain?

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Astrid: Who is sponsoring this event?

Lana: Primetime TV (owned by Belinda Dunne of New Zealand) are still looking for fiscal sponsors. I am not sure who she has at the moment, but she is under negotiations as I understand it. Any sponsor would be foolish to pass this up, as she is also looking to sell the series to a television network. Several companies are looking at it now. Its difficult not to see the potential in this.

Photo courtesy of Lana Stefanac

(Top Left to Right) Lana Stefanac, Elaina Maxwell

(Bottom) Katrine Alendal, Shawn Tamaribuchi

Astrid: Who is sponsoring your team?

Lana: Team USA has at this time only House of Pain. We are looking to find sponsorship for minimally our flights over to New Zealand. Me, and my girls, are wicked good fighters and will throw a great show, so any and all monetary sponsorship would be greatly appreciated.

Astrid: Are you interested in adding any new team members?

Lana: Of course! I would take any female with desire, drive, ambition, and a martial arts attitude. By that martial arts attitude I mean all that the martial arts used to entail like; respect, honor, courage, strength and discipline. I don't want any 'superstars', I want the rough material and will help her to forge herself into what she already is.

This show will produce stars. I am only here to help those females along the way to discover who they really are. As a coach and pro fighter myself, I know how miserable it is to find someone, particularly in ego driven male gyms, who care enough to take the time to help a woman self actualize in her fighting career.

Astrid: What is your advice for any women martial artists who are interested in MMA?

Lana: Good luck! If you want to train for mma, I recommend you start out in Brazilian jiu jitsu and muay thai, this is what I did then for me it lead into mma. You need to have a solid foundation in both. BJJ is the spine of mma, as well as whatever stand up discipline you choose, just remember, takedowns are imminent so plan accordingly. Most importantly, find a gym who will treat you as they would a male.

Because you are female, do not expect special treatment. Expect to train as hard as the men, particularly if you want to be taken seriously. Pick your training partners with extreme caution, do not roll or spar with men (or women) with egos or attitudes because you will get hurt. The purpose of a team, male or female, is to help each other, never to hurt or humiliate. A team should act as a family. If you do not feel this, find another place to train, there are great gyms out there who will give you the respect you deserve.

Astrid: Are you ladies professional fighters or amatuers?

Lana: The idea of my team is that we are all professional, or en route to being pro. We all fight as often as time allows, including myself. I encourage them all and lead by example by fighting and competing in high caliber tournaments as often as possible.

For more info on the Ladies of Pain, or to sponsor them contact Lana Stefanac at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .