And quite honestly, I couldn't have imagined a more beautiful event for this than Ultimate Badass by chinkilla!
by Patrizia Rizzello
What an emotional time, and in the end, I was able to walk out of the cage with a victory—but it was about so much more than just winning.
Sometimes life takes a turn that we neither wanted nor expected, and suddenly everything is turned upside down. With a volume that my heart could barely handle. And somewhere along the way, I guess I lost myself.
At a moment when everything became too much, I got into kickboxing, without having any idea how much I would need it.
In the beginning, training was "just" an outlet for me. Fight Gym Lupus Paderborn became a place where my head went quiet for a few hours. A place that gave me room to breathe again—calm, even though a storm was raging inside me.
That outlet quickly turned into a passion, and with it came the desire to one day fight myself. Quite early on, I already had this thought in my head: "I hope that eventually, I'll become good enough to fight just once."
It took a lot of effort to say that wish out loud. I wrapped it in a smile as a joke, even though I meant it completely seriously. I knew myself that it was actually way too early for that. My coach replied with a smile: "If you keep going like this, you're well on your way."
From that moment on, I had something I wanted to work toward. I wanted to get so good that the question would eventually come up on its own. So I kept training for a year—motivated, disciplined, and eager to learn—day after day, week after week.
And then the moment I had been waiting for actually arrived. My coach asked me: "What are you actually doing on November 15th?"
I knew immediately what that date meant. Of course I did; as an enthusiastic kickboxer, I had been closely following Chinkilla and their events. After all, this was the exact event I had wished for.
I replied with a grin on my face: "What am I supposed to be doing on November 15th?" and he finally asked: "Do you want to fight?"
What started as a joke had now become serious: Ultimate Badass 3 in Cologne!
Signing up brought not just anticipation, but also nerves. Suddenly, the whole thing had a date, a venue, and an opponent.
The preparation became harder and more intense. Daily training on top of a full-time job. Constantly pushing past my own limits and putting my body through strains I didn't even know it could handle.
Slowly, however, doubts began to creep in: "Have I trained enough?" or "Should I have done more?" I knew I would be walking out in front of over 600 people—in front of my family, my friends, my team. For two months, anxiety was my constant companion!
Two weeks before the fight, that anxiety turned into an inner calm.
I felt well-prepared, confident, and strong. I knew I had given my absolute best during preparation. I knew there could only be one winner, and that my opponent was probably training just as hard. I knew that when both sides invest so much time, energy, and love, we both deserved the victory.
From that moment on, I realized that no matter how the fight turned out, I had already won in my heart a long time ago!
I had become stronger and better, I found myself again, and I grew mentally. I have amazing people by my side who have long been more than just my team—people who believe in me and motivate me. A gym that has grown dear to my heart and feels like home. I had already won all of that a long time ago!
With this warm feeling and full of anticipation, I arrived in Cologne on November 15, 2025. After all those months of training, sweat, doubts, growth, and countless hours in the gym, the time had finally come: the day of my first fight.
Just before my walkout started, it just slipped out of me: "Crap, I'm really going in there now." My coach pumped me up and patted me on the back: "Hell yeah, man, you've got this!"
Then my walkout song started. I could already hear the crowd cheering. I took a deep breath and entered the room—I was completely overwhelmed by the atmosphere.
I hugged my coaches and thanked them once again for everything—for their support, their trust, and for standing by my side up until this very moment.
Then I stepped into the cage for the first time. From that point on, it was all about trusting myself and my corner. And quite honestly, despite all the preparation—wow, a fight is genuinely exhausting! The rounds were tough and demanding, and my opponent barely gave me any time to breathe.
The cheering from my corner carried me through the rounds. It gave me energy even as my body was getting tired.
And then came the decision: victory. This victory was the end of a battle that had been raging inside me for a long time.
I never would have thought this moment would overwhelm me so much...
But when I stepped out of the cage and saw my team, my friends, and my family cheering in the crowd—all of them there to support me—I just burst into tears. Every shout, every smile, every hug made this experience something truly special. I will carry this day in my heart forever!
Maybe there is a woman reading this right now who is thinking:
"I would love to fight one day too."
"Am I strong enough?"
"I'm scared."
"What will others think of me?"
"I would love to fight one day too."
"Am I strong enough?"
"I'm scared."
"What will others think of me?"
I know those thoughts. And I wish for you to find the courage not to let your doubts have the last word! Because as my coach loves to say:
"You've already won the moment you step into the ring!"
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