Friday, December 6, 2013

Interview with Angela "Overkill" Hill

Angela "Overkill" Hill is a raising star in the field of MMA. She has recently made the switch to pro fighter and has signed with XFC MMA. She has an impressive record of  1w-0L (pro) with 14W-0L as an amateur. Four of those wins were ko's. She will be making her XFC MMA debut soon. Angela has attracted a great deal of attention already and we suggest you follow her career early on.

BKO Kung Fu: Angela, thank you for taking the time to answer a few questions for our website.

Tell us about yourself before you started Muay Thai training?

Angela: Before muay thai, I was an art school undergrad working as a bartender and an animator. All that sitting around was catching up to me and I wanted a work out that wouldn't bore me. I took a trail Muay Thai class with Brandon Levi, the owner of Evolution Muay Thai, and I've been hooked ever since!

BKO: What motivates you?

Angela: A lot of things motivate me. Obviously the people around me, my coaches, my training partners, my family and friends. A kind of new motivation is my fans, I'm hearing more and more stories of people, especially black women, being inspired to be strong, active and live healthy lifestyles after following me and my career. I feel like we don't have nearly enough black women in the fight world to look up to, so being able to be a Layla Ali or a Lisa King to other young people who aren't always encouraged to follow their passion means a lot to me.



BKO: What is different about you between when you first starting fighting vs. now?

Angela: I fight a lot smarter now-a-days. Before, I relied on my aggression and just overwhelming my opponent. Now, I'm able to execute the game plans a little more effectively and adapt on the fly when they do something unexpected. I think I hit way harder than I used to too, haha!

BKO: What was the number one life changing event you ever experienced? What did you learn from it?

Angela: Living in Thailand for a month was definitely life changing. We were out in the boonies outside of Bangkok and really saw the level of poverty that exists out there. It made me appreciate the things I took for granted back home. I trained in a Thai camp and fought twice while I was there, and the training was HARD. The best way to describe it is boarding school for American fighters. I learned to focus more when I trained, making goals for myself on top of the 10 mile runs and hundreds of "knee bag" 's I had to do each day. When I got back home there was way less complaining when Brandon would make me do something, haha.

BKO:  Did anything else about Thailand, the culture or country, catch you by surprise? How so?

Angela: I was surprised how many scam artists there were. Luckily living in NYC prepared me not to trust strangers with great bargains "just for me!" All in all though, Thailand was a great experience. One of my coolest memories was going back to MBK mall after fighting the previous weekend, a couple taxi drivers recognized me and went "Oooh! good muay thai!" and started mimicking knees to the face, haha. Good times.

BKO: What do you think is the greatest moment in fighting history? why?

Angela: The greatest moment of fighting history? That's a tough one, there's so many. I'm gonna go with the one that has most to do with my journey and say Cyborg v.s Carrano. It was the first time women had made the main event in a major organization and they showcased athleticism comparable to the mens'. It proved there is an interest in women's MMA and there are women capable of performing at a level to be expected of athletes. It also proved Cyborg is an unstoppable beast.

BKO: What are your top 5 priorities in life, in order?

Angela: Be happy.
              Live with no regrets.
              Eat, sleep, train.

BKO: You've stated before that you stock your fridge with beer and ice-cream before every fight. What is your favorite beer? ice-cream?

Angela: Beer: Rasputin Imperial Ale
              Icecream: Ben & Jerry's Coffee Heathbar

BKO Kung Fu: Is there anything else you would like to tell our readers?

I didn't get a chance to fight Dec 13th but 2014 holds a lot of promise between XFC, Invicta, Lion Fight, and UFC's announcement of their 115lb womens' division. Follow me via my Facebook fan page Facebook.com/AngelaHillMMA or via instagram and twitter @angieoverkill to stay updated on whats up next!




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