Hayzia Bellem – Episode 37

Hayzia Bellem is the current Chair of the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF)’s International Women Commission, a position she took up in November 2019 after falling in love with the sport. Her role as a Chair is to advise the Board of the International Federation of Mixed Martial Arts (IMMAF) on the development and implementation of policy on women's participation in international MMA as well as promoting equal opportunities for female athletes.

Her goal is to develop women's MMA internationally and in France working in collaboration with the French Federation of MMA. Hayzia’s work also includes supporting initiatives that promote women's MMA and women's sport in general. Alongside her work in MMA, Hayzia also takes part in discussions within the framework of the Africa - France relationship to advocate for diversity and inclusion with sport and wider society.

Hayzia’s love for combat sports has led her to take up practising French boxing and MMA which she does on a recreational basis alongside her full-time job as a Paralegal at the world’s largest e-commerce platform.

In this episode of In Her Corner, we talk to Hayzia about how Tom Hardy inspired her to start working in MMA, why the challenges she’s faced in her career and personal life have set her up for success and how the IMMAF is supporting the growth of women’s MMA through working with member countries across the world to enable more women to enter, thrive and succeed in the Octagon.

You can listen to the trailer for Hayzia’s episode using the player below:

Hayzia’s full episode will be released on Wednesday 12 January and will be available to listen to on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and other major streaming platforms.

Podcast theme track by Wayne Urquhart and Mix Engineering by Nick Murphy.