Samoa Wins Gold at the Mixed Martial Arts World Championship in Netherlands

By Lagi Keresoma

APIA, SAMOA – 31 MARCH 202: Samoa has claimed first place and Gold Medal at the Global Association of Mixed Martial Arts (GAMMA) Championship 2021 in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

The tournament was supposed to take place in 2021 however due to the pandemic and international borders lockdown, the GAMMA Executive postponed the event twice and rescheduled it to the 23-27 March 2022.

Samoa’s only representative at the tournament was Inna Schwalger Leniu who competed in the Women’s 167 pounds division against Sahraqui Nourhen of Tunisia.

The other 3 Samoan representatives dropped out in the last minute and Inna travelled with her team to Europe.

Speaking to Talamua from Abu Dhabi, Inna said she did not start off well in the three round fight.

“I was struggling to find my rhythm in the first round, however it was somewhat strategic. My opponent came with some big heavy punches in that first round and initially I wanted to stand and fight back but I could feel my performance getting sloppy already at that point, then I heard my coach called out not to “fall in to it” which pretty much means stop being stubborn and engage,” said Inna.

She fell after taking a heavy punch from her opponent in the first round and she knew she had to dig deep and weather that storm.

“In the last 10 seconds, I actually remembered thinking to myself “Inna you didn’t come all this way for second place because it does not open opportunities.. “and I completely switched at that point and knew I had to go all out. It was me or her and I believe the last few seconds was what secured it for Samoa,” said Inna.

Inna is aware that martial arts is a male dominated sport, however, being a woman who has won  the first gold for Samoa in such a sport is an honour and a dream come true for her.

“I feel honoured, proud and hopeful that this will encourage more women and men to represent our island home of Samoa, ” she said.

“We are strong in mind, spirit and physically. I know my strength comes from being Samoan and MMA is a great way to build strength and character in our sport and watch your confidence grow from just trying martial arts,” was her message to women.

Inna is a strong advocate of martial arts because confidence has always been a trait she lacked but build the skill over the over the years.

“We all deserve to know our power and grace in this world and I want every woman to feel that security and that feeling of always being good enough in your own eyes. If I’m good enough in God’s eyes, then I’m sure to be good enough in my own eyes.”

Martial Arts is not a sport in Samoa and the closest to it is Judo.

“This is our next goal. Being on a global stage was phenomenal to see all the athletes and people from around the world and engaging with them. They are pushed and encouraged by their sports federations and governments and you can definitely tell they take so much pride in their countries and speak highly about how their governments look after them,” said Inna.

It is her dream to travel to Samoa and see what can be done to open up the sport for our Samoan athletes.

She believes there is a lot of potential for MMA athletes in Samoa and it is a matter of opening opportunities for them.

She is calling on the Samoan sports federation  to help them open this gate so there could be more Samoan athletes out there representing Samoa in the sport.

Inna is the daughter of the late Sonny Schwalger of Malie and Lusia Leaumoana of Togafu’afu’a. She is coached by her own husband Felise Leniu.