Why Tiffany Teo believes she could have a long future in Mixed Martial Arts
A few years ago, Tiffany “No Chill” Teo had a tough decision to make.
The former ONE Women’s Strawweight World Title challenger felt the pressure to choose between her passion for mixed martial arts and a more traditional career path that would satisfy other people's expectations.
“Before I was doing mixed martial arts, I was doing a lot of research,” the 29-year-old ONE Championship star says.
“Before I started to commit myself to mixed martial arts, I actually planned to do my masters and eventually, my PHD in Psychology.”
Teo earned her Bachelor Of Art from the University of Buffalo in the United States in 2013, and worked as a behavioral therapist for children with autism and ADHD.
For a while, she tried to satisfy both her love for the sport and her new career.
“I was working a lot with special needs kids,” she continues.
“I did a lot of neuroscience-related and developmental psychology-related research. I tried to juggle both [training and work] for a time, but I realized I needed to choose one.”
Following her heart, Teo chose a life in mixed martial arts, and went on to compile an 8-1 record, which includes seven straight victories to start her career.
Most recently, she earned the biggest win of her career at ONE: Heart Of The Lion on Friday, 9 November, as she defeated eight-time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World Champion Michelle Nicolini via unanimous decision.
While others in her position could only imagine “what if” when thinking about where they would be if they chose the other path, Teo’s education and experience has put her in an enviable position to actually find out by taking that path again later in life, albeit in a different capacity.
“I still see myself going back, but maybe not to child psychology. Maybe something more to do with sports psychology because I’m doing this now,” she explains.
“Throughout my whole camp and every fight prep, I understand what the athletes are going through. The psychology part of the sport interests me a lot, and that could be something I might venture into after I retire.”
Retirement may be a long way down the road for the strawweight, but she understands that the physical nature of combat sports makes it a career with a relatively shorter lifespan compared to white-collar jobs.
“I feel like fighting is a very age-specific sport,” she says. “I can still be fighting later on, but it’s not something I really want to do when I’m in my 40’s or 50’s.”
From the sounds of it, though, she plans to stick around in some capacity for a very long time.
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