Ex-Bellator champ Zoila Frausto overcame adversity. What the Valley MMA fighter learned
Zoila Frausto hopes for a fresh start Friday night when she competes in the Combate Americas “Mexico vs. USA” fight card at the Save Mart Center.
The Fresno native, a former soccer standout at Madera High and Fresno City College, has risen fast and fallen hard in mixed martial arts.
She won Bellator’s inaugural 115-pound women’s championship in 2010 with a unanimous decision over Megumi Fujii, and won her next two fights.
But she lost to Jessica Eye in her last Bellator fight in 2012. Everything went downhill from there, losing her next three fights in a time she was going through a divorce from former UFC fighter Jorge Gurge and suffered a torn ACL.
“After I won that world title, things fell apart,” Frauso said. “For me, it was an eye-opener.”
Frausto, 35, said she moved to Cincinnati, got married and stepped away from MMA after her last fight in December 2013. She competed in muay thai three times in 2014 – winning each and adding another world title. She also went 4-0 in kickboxing bouts.
Frausto returned to MMA in 2015 and lost to Jocelyn Jones-Lybarger. But she followed with a win at Tachi Palace Fights 26 in 2016 and is looking for more wins to continue her MMA career, whether it’s with Combate Americas or elsewhere.
Frausto (13-5) will face Jaimee Nievera (7-4) in the flyweight co-main event Friday night. The card is headlined by Pablo Sabori (9-5) against Anthony Avila (17-5) of Lemoore that will be shown on DAZN.
“I went through a lot and overcome a lot,” Frausto said. “For everything and anyone that has been in the situation with me through adversity ... I’m here to prove to myself that I’m better than ever.”
Anthony Galaviz: 559-441-6042, agalaviz_TheBee
This story was originally published February 21, 2019 at 12:57 PM.
