THEY say beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, but every pair of eyes would agree that Thai MMA fighter Rika Ishige (pix) is beautiful.
During her childhood, Rika was constantly bullied because of her appearance in Thailand — she was mixed Japanese and Thai. That’s when she decided to sign up for martial arts classes to be able to defend herself. Her martial arts journey began with Aikido, Karate and Taekwondo.
When she entered her twenties, she started dabbling into the realm of Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, recipes for becoming an all rounded MMA fighter. This is when she went from student to professional fighter.
Now she is part of Asia’s biggest fight promotion, ONE Championship. Commonly known by her official fight name “Tiny Doll” for her doll-like looks, and unofficially as the “smiling doll” because she always has a smile on when fighting, she holds a record of 4 wins and 4 losses. “The possibilities are endless for me, and I will continue to work hard to make my family and my fans proud”, she declared.
