Interview with Sergio Cunha on Shana Olson

 Shana Olson with coach Sergio Cunha of MFF

Hi Sergio, first I want to start with your history, you were formerly with Chute Box Brazil?

“I was with Chute Box for 17 years and have 23 years of MMA experience”

I know that Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos trained with Chute Box Brazil before coming to the US; did you ever work with her?

 “I work with her a little bit, not much”

As far as female fighters go, when you were with Chute Box did you train any female fighters?

“I always had a lot of females training in my gym; none of them were really good enough to be a fighter.”

How did you feel about training Shana when she first came to you?

“When Shana first came to me she was determined, she believed in herself but she didn’t know where she could go. After a few months I saw she had talent and spirit, I saw that Shana was a hard worker.  When she had the fight with Kaitlin young she had a challenge, everybody thought she couldn’t beat Kaitlin but she did.  When I saw her fight Kaitlin I was motivated to coach Shana.  I saw her spirit and thought seriously about big stuff, bigger things for her.”

A few months ago Shana was contacted by Strikeforce about fighting Erin Toughill but that fight never happened. Do you feel that invitation was more of a “feeler” fight that Strikeforce was trying to put together for Erin who was supposed to have an upcoming match against Cyborg or that it was a valid invitation?

“I have many plans for Shana and she has many invitations, she has been invited to fight in Brazil.  As for Strikeforce Shana is a younger fighter who is just starting out, why make a big jump now to fight Erin when there are so many small steps to take? I won’t let her make that jump until I think she is ready, she will be a more experienced fighter next year, and Shana gets better every day.”

I’ve watched you train Shana and I can definitely see a good connection between the two of you as a team. I can tell that you care about her not only as a fighter but as a person too and this extends to not only Shana but all of your fighters beyond the mat.  Is this part of your philosophy as a coach?

“I care about my fighters also as people.  You train people but it is not just punch, kick I need to know about how they are mentally and how is their family and how is their job.  When I work with a fighter they are my family, their family is my family and their teammates are also family.  This is especially true and even more important with female fighters.  Women are different and I need to know what is going on with Shana at home, at work, I need to know where her mind is.  Women cut weight differently because physically there are times when cutting weight is not possible.  Shana needs a strong group of people behind her to support her and she has that with her team mates and her family.  She has her boyfriend Dan who is there for her, he has to help to take care of things so that she can focus on what she needs to focus on - training and her mind can be in the right place to do what she needs to do.   This will all help her to have a good performance.”

How do you feel about Shana’s matchup with Yoko?  “She is ready.  She works hard everyday, she trains with her teammates and they help her prepare.  She trains with Travis Reddinger and Nik Kirk but when she trains with them they are not themselves. For example when she train with Nik Kirk he is not Nik he is Yoko.”

Have you and Shana found holes in Yoko’s game?  “Oh yes. And my fighters don’t have to watch their opponents past fights, I watch and I make the strategy for my fighters.  Every time there is a new fight, I make a new strategy; different opponents mean different strategy, different workout and different plan. It is never the same.”

Yoko has a good ground game; she is strong in her jiu jitsu but also a good striker.  Are you comfortable with all the places this fight could go?  “Yes, Shana will be fine anywhere, Shana is good in three different places.  MMA fighter needs to be ready to fight in three different places to be successful fighter.  They are stand up, ground and transitions.  If everything works the way I think, Shana is going to have a good performance.”

By Christina Garcia

Photo Story On Shana Olsen

Today was the first day of shooting for my photo story with MMA fighter Shana Olsen.  I'm following her the next couple of weeks leading up to her April 24th fight on the CFX XKL fightcard against Japanese fighter Yoko Takahashi (#6 Female at 145 in the world). Shana trains under the tutelage of Sergio Cunha one of the original founders of Chute Boxe Brazil who now runs Minnesota Fight Factory. Now if you have any question as to the type of training Shana is receiving with Sergio you can get an idea by just a few of the fighters that have come out of Chute Boxe. Most notably Wanderlei Silva who fights in the UFC, Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos who is a Strikeforce fighter and on the female side Cris "Cyborg" Santos who holds a 9-1-0-0 Female Mixed Martial Arts professional fight record.

This is my first visit to Minnesota Fight Factory and I honestly didn't know what to expect from this location as far as lighting, space and atmosphere.  I had an idea based on the description of the building, but you never know as a photographer until you arrive at the scene.

The first thing that comes across when meeting Shana is her striking appearance and one gets an immediate sense of calmness when in her presence.  She is very soft spoken and if you didn't know any better you would never guess at the warrior that resides behind this calm facade and soft demeanor.  Once we stepped into the training area a little bit of that warrior came out and it was immediately evident she was mentally putting herself in the zone.  Shana wasted no time pulling off her hoodie and taking off her shoes, wrapping up and hitting the mat for a warm up. She ran around the mat a couple of times did some shuffling and stretches and was ready to go. Today Shana and MFF team mates Colby Voight and Mike Foster were present for the 4:30 training session with Sergio.  Shana may be a female, but that fact means little when she hits the mat, she is respected by her fellow fighters as a tough training partner and a fighter who won't go easy on the guys so going easy on her would just be a mistake on their part. This is where Shana's true fighter spirit becomes clearly evident to anyone who questions her commitment as a fighter and an athlete. 

On the mat the connection between Shana and Sergio is visibly strong, you can tell that he cares about her as a coach and a friend.  You can see that this is a good partnership between trainer and trainee, and that Shana's collaboration with Sergio has made her a more well rounded fighter mentally, physically and technically than she was just a year ago.  Sergio doesn't go easy on the three, they hit the bags, spar, work on their sprawling techniques in a unique way that I have never seen.  The whole session he keeps time with a stopwatch, giving short rest periods, rotating the fighters and giving direction when needed.  Sergio keeps them moving and at one point after a barrage of strikes and kicks from Shana on her bag says "Shana hits to kill" and I couldn't agree more. In the end one nights training equates to the equivalent of 12 rounds in the cage. Shana never gassed out, never quit, never complained and never gave in to either of the guys when sparring. I can see where she got her "Rock Solid" fighting moniker, because she is "Rock Solid" in every respect.

I easily shot two rolls of 120 format film on my Lomography camera and a little over a hundred shots on my SLR. Shana was easy to shoot, even though I moved around her quickly taking shots, switching lenses and camera's she showed no signs that she was aware of my presence.  She is phenomenal as a person and a fighter and I am very fortunate to have this opportunity to shoot this photo story with her.  Especially since she is one day going to be wearing a championship belt, of this I have no doubt.

This is where fighters are made or broken, in the days and weeks leading up to their fight, you see them in the cage but you just don't have any idea what they did to get there and you have no clue of their evolution as a fighter.  You remain clueless unless you were right beside them through their training and amateur fights or ironically enough you are doing a story on them.  This is why I wanted to do this project, not just to photograph a female MMA fighter on her rise to the top, but also to tell her story, in photos and in words.  Female mixed martial arts hasn't been around long and it has taken some time for female fighters to gain what respect they have now in the cage and out.  Thanks to female Mixed Martial Arts pioneers such as Debi Purcell and Gina Carano more people are taking Womens MMA seriously and there are more fight cards everyday all over the United States featuring female fighters. However even coming thus far, Women's MMA still has a ways to go. There has yet to be a womens division in the UFC and I am still disheartened by comments in the crowds at female cage fights such as "cat fight," or "lets see some camel toe" along with comments on the physiques of the female fighters. It is belittling to the level of athleticism, skills and commitment to the sport these female fighters have devoted.

So what can you expect from my photo story and this blog? I promise you brutal honesty, an inside look at Women's MMA from the locker room, the mat, and life of a promising MMA fighter.  I will show you a fighter who takes her future seriously, respects her sport, her coach, her team mates and her opponent.  I won't doll her up and use sex to sell her as a fighter because that would be just plain disrespectful to the reputation of all female fighters who came before her and no matter what I do anyway her spirit and her beauty will shine through.

I once saw a photo of a female fighter who was topless using her arm to barely cover her breasts wearing nothing but fight shorts posing with a muay thai kick. I won't knock that photographer or that fighter on the shot, there was beauty in the photo and it was quality work; however why go there at all?  Do we honestly need to glamorize Women's MMA to make it digestible to the public? Once glamorized what happens to all those female fighters who lack a palatable sex appeal (and I mean an American palate) but are impeccable fighters and athletes?  Make no doubt about it these female fighters retain their femininity despite their sport, I just don't feel we need to use sex to sell them. Let them sell themselves on the mat and in the cage, their talent should speak for them in place of assumptions and stereotypes. You won't see a scantily clad fighter in my photos, because to be honest if that is what we need to do to promote Women's MMA and launch it into the mainstream, then we don't need those types of fans or arena's anyway.

This is the story I want to tell and it is my hope that in doing so I can present to you a side of Women's MMA that you don't see everyday and maybe in the process build a stronger rapport among female fighters and MMA fans as well as promoters. One day Women's MMA is gonna explode into the mainstream with a blast heard round the world and Female MMA Fighters will gain the respect they've earned.  I know I will be one among many who champions this future until that day happens.




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