Five years ago, Abi Pacinelli was just a single girl living alone. Fast forward to present day and she’s about to be an 8-time Fight 2 Win veteran who also has a full life outside the competition arena. She credits Jiu-Jitsu with giving her a sense of purpose as far as competition goals go, and it helps her throughout the rest of her life as well. Now Abi wants to be an example for other women looking for the same.
“I just wanted to be able to defend myself,” Abi says, talking about why she first walked into the academy at TAC Team/Paramount. “After 2 months I realized how beneficial the sport is and got hooked early. Now I want all women to share in the empowerment.”
“We are family. I’m sure all teams have that bond. I have however, built a strong group of women underneath me that are going to do amazing in the coming years.”
Off the mats Abi is a mom, wife, step mom, dog mom, chicken mom, small business owner. “Nothing special,” she says. She just wants to live a full life, put it all on the mats and become the best version of herself possible.
“Stepping into an academy at 34 year old scared to death but wanting to better myself, I feel like that was one of my biggest accomplishments.” Truth be told, it’s dictated a lot of where she wants to be moving forward. Abi has now set a goal to become a black belt world champion in my early 40s. “Its going to happen…come watch with me!”
Looking ahead to this Saturday night at Fight 2 Win 91, Abi will be stepping in OCBJJ black belt Jen Russell in what should be one of her biggest challenges yet. And this is fresh off just winning a match vs. Rachel Beach last week at Fight 2 Win 90 in Philly.
“The staff, the fans, the adrenaline…in that order,” this is why Abi says she keeps coming back. She competes regularly on the IBJJF circuit also and said it’s both fun and challenging to switch the mode back and forth. This one (vs. Jen) will be especially challenging, not only because it’s on back-to-back weekends, but also because it’s both her first black belt match and her first no-gi opportunity on the big stage.
When asked for a prediction on how she would win, Abi wasn’t shy at all.
“Arm lock…duh.”
“Thanks to everyone for showing up and watching. You are all amazing…I wouldn’t be here without you!”
