Heather Woods is a unicorn.
No seriously, what we mean is that Heather is just one of that rare breed of individual who’s not shy about pursuing the one thing that life ultimately boils down to – happiness. In respect to that, Heather has, and always will follow her soul.
In respect to jiujitsu, Heather discovered MMA/BJJ about six years ago. She took this up in the course of other life changes, including graduating college and selling all her things to travel the world. Now she finds herself training at Atos, one of the top jiujitsu academies in the world.
This Saturday night Heather makes her F2W debut against a familiar opponent in Mariana Gil.
Get to know a little more about Heather before she takes the stage at Fight 2 Win 95.
Heather, care to share your life story?
You’ll have to buy my book when it comes out.
Fine. How’d you get started in jiujitsu?
I started jiu jitsu about 6 years ago. I had done some MMA previously with my old roommates who were well know MMA fighters. They taught me a lot of standup but kept telling me I was shit and I should try jiu jitsu. I am super clumsy and bad at footwork. After college I sold my whole life: Car, dresses, purses, literally everything tangible and I started to travel through South America. I started training and never stopped.
Who are some of your biggest training influences?
Have you trained at ATOS? Dang, well it’s not easy. GALVAO, Angelica, Luiza, Nikki, Ronaldo, Liera, Lucas, Carbs… I learn a lot from my teammates!! I’ve traveled around the world, so I’ve also learned from some other great jiu jitsu players as well. I feel super blessed.
What’s a typical day off from training like for you?
I need to learn to rest, like really rest. I want to do 1 million things and meet 1 million people in one day. When I’m not training, I’m an apprentice at the best brow bar in San Diego. Perfecting my skill: we do Microblading, Waxing and Lash lifts. I love to run with my pup, skate, cook, futsal, surf, write, read, or just hang with jiu jitsu people talking about jiu jitsu.
What’s the biggest obstacle in your journey?
Oh man, that’s tough. I think my hardest is believing in myself.
What do you want out of life?
Happiness
What accomplishment are you proudest of so far?
I guess that I have had the opportunity to compete all around the World, So I’m proud of that. No one paid my way. I’ve won Nationals, Rio Open, Abu Dhabi grand Slam and a bunch of others.
What’s your style like?
Smashy
What do you expect out of your F2W95 opponent, Mariana Gil?
I fought her before, she is really good. I lost to her on points. I really like her and know how hard she works, but I know how far I’ve come since then. I expect a battle.
How getting ready any specific way?
Same as always, I train 6 days a week with some doubles and lifting, functional strength. I just changed one thing. Let see how it goes.
What’s next for you after this?
All the F2W’s especially Hawaii, I’m going to start telling the girls there now so I can get a fight
Any last words for the fans or anything else?
My Instagram is @heathernwoods. For Christmas I want socks, coffee cups, toys for my dog, and World peace.
