How to become an MMA presenter like Vanessa Campos 🔥💃🏽

A huge shout out to Vanessa Campos here for taking the time out of her busy schedule for this interview. What we wanted to achieve is to inspire anyone to reach out and use the same level of passion, positivity, persistence and attitude that Vanessa has, to break into a role in MMA that they are thinking of aspiring to, but might not yet have the confidence to get going.

Vanessa is a busy woman! She is an MMA presenter, commentator, model, Muay Thai fighter and a brand ambassador for multiple products, check out Vanessa's Instagram below 👇🏼

On to the interview!

[thisMMAlife]
Tell us a bit about yourself (where you grew up, what you are passionate about, anything else interesting):

[Vanessa]
I'm an islander born in the Philippines. It is such a beautiful country with such happy people, you'll have to come and visit, all your stresses will go away! :)

I then moved to Toronto, Canada to study Architecture and then moved to Europe to check out how cool it really was. I also moved to Ireland where my fiancé was a doctor, there we trained at SBG headquarters and met some amazing people in MMA (but more on that later)

[thisMMAlife]
If MMA presenting isn't, then what is your day job?

[Vanessa]
At the moment MMA presenting is not my full-time role yet but I am hoping to be signed to a larger MMA promotion/ Sports Channel in the future, I am going to keep doing whatever it takes to get there.

[thisMMAlife]
How did you get into the MMA scene?

[Vanessa]
I wanted to learn self-defence so I trained at what I believe to be the best place in Europe, SBG Dublin, whereas you know the most famous fighter of all times hails from! Yup Conor McGregor! I then fought a k1 bout under their gym but soon realised my love for MMA and I am currently learning the beauty of the sport.

[thisMMAlife]
Do you train MMA? If so what disciplines and why?

[Vanessa]
Yes, I trained Muay Thai/K1 to learn self-defence first and now I am learning more Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

[thisMMAlife]
How long have you been an MMA presenter?

[Vanessa]
Less than a year, but I am loving every minute of it, it is my dream job!

[thisMMAlife]
At what point did you decide that you wanted to get into being an MMA presenter?

[Vanessa]
After I saw Megan Olivi interviewing Conor McGregor, I said to myself "I want to do what Megan does" so that was it, call it what you want.. manifestation, visualisation, I just went hell for leather to get that first opportunity.

[thisMMAlife]
What did you do first to become an MMA presenter?

[Vanessa]
Actually, I took the approach of gaining 'insider knowledge' and wanted to experience it for myself first, so I trained hard and actually competed in a fight to show how committed I was to get where I wanted to be, it taught me lots that I didn't know and it gave me the groundwork and understanding of the sport and the business.

[thisMMAlife]
What certifications or training did you need to complete to get started?

[Vanessa]
I was an architecture graduate, and I have been advised to go to journalism school, I may consider going back to school but also I am incredibly motivated, obsessed and willing to learn more every hour of every day.

Like Conor McGregor says: “There’s no talent here, this is hard work. This is an obsession. Talent does not exist, we are all human beings. You could be anyone if you put in the time. You will reach the top, and that’s that. I am not talented, I am obsessed.”

[thisMMAlife]
How do you get your first opportunity to actually do MMA presenting for real?

[Vanessa]
I made contacts through fighting and training and was continuously networking, I reached out to many people on Instagram, fighters, promoters, peers, I just kept pushing and pushing, then I got my first opportunity at Bellator London last year!

[thisMMAlife]
How many bouts have you been an MMA presenter for?

[Vanessa]
Oh wow...erm let me remember... Bellator London, Brave MMA London, MCP Greece 10, True Champion MMA - loved every single on of them! ❤️

[thisMMAlife]
Do you get paid?

[Vanessa]
For live events yes I get paid, for the internal interviews, no - but every single one of them has given me experience, more exposure and has helped me continuously network and build my brand. Opportunity dances with whoever is on the dance floor 💃🏽

[thisMMAlife]
If any of our community members wanted to be an MMA presenter today, what advice would you give them to get started?

[Vanessa]
Just do it! Don't be afraid and keep positive! Yes there will be knock backs, yes there will be days where you don't feel it, but trust yourself - let the passion, commitment and dream take over, if you want something bad enough and you do the right things to make it happen, it will come, you WILL start making progress!

There is no magic sauce here, just persistence, passion, attitude and hard work.

[thisMMAlife]
Which promotions do you work in the most?

[Vanessa]
I varies depending on which one suits my schedule the most and location of the event!

[thisMMAlife]
What is the ultimate success for you?

[Vanessa]
To become the Asian Megan Olivi!

Megan Olivi

@meganolivi

@KapKobe

03:15 AM - 07 Apr 2020

[thisMMAlife]
How progressive do you feel the MMA scene is for women in your role and for your future aspirations?

[Vanessa]
MMA gives women power and femininity at the same time. Look at the incredible inspiring female champions we have in our sport like Joanna, Paige Van Zant, Karate Hottie, Rachel Ostovich and many more who are paving way for modern female MMA athletes and would kick most men's asses!

IMO MMA is a very progressive sport and one of the first to have women headline events.

[thisMMAlife]
Thank you Vanessa! We really appreciate you taking the time to share this with our community 🙏🏼 we wish you all the best in the future and we can't wait to see you up there presenting on the big screen as big as Megan Olivi!

[Vanessa]
Thank you and I just wanted to shout out to my fiance “The Fighting Doc” Dr. Raphael who is the real fighter here, he is front line during this Pandemic xxxxx