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Mathew Scott

It was the year when Hong Kong’s Ramona Pascual was going to build on her momentum and on everything she had been learning at the UFC’s Performance Institute in Shanghai. And then it wasn’t.
“I guess the past 12 months just shows that anything can happen,” says the 32-year-old.
Like so many athletes all over the world, an extended Covid-enforced stint at home has meant Pascual’s career was effectively put on hold across 2020.
But she was finally able to return to Shanghai near the end of October, and has her sights set on a return to action by the end of January.


“I just want to fight,” she says. “I just want to be active. I just want to get that momentum going again and be super active in 2021.
“The first step was just getting back here to Shanghai and that took time. I was really lucky that I hit the ground running. I’m physically and mentally in a good spot and I’m just hoping to get a few fights as soon as I can.”
UFC rise of Hong Kong’s Palatnikov brings light to dark year
The end of 2019 had brought with it a victory inside the cage and affirmation outside it that the Hong Kong fighter had her career back on track. Then came 2020 and Covid-19.
“It was supposed to be an active year for me with no injuries and a number of fights, but it is what it is,” says Pascual. “In the grand scheme of things I have it good, considering everything. It has been a year of awareness about what you have and what you need to get by.”
Pascual had in 2019 joined the first intake at the US$13 million PI’s Academy programme, Hong Kong’s only representative among a group of around 40 fighters drawn from throughout China and chosen both for their potential and for their results following an extensive series of tryouts.

To get that far was an achievement in itself, given Pascual had struggled with knee issues and with the distinct lack of opportunities for bantamweights (57.2-61.2kg) on the women’s side of the sport in Asia.
Just how much difference the PI can make to a fighter was on show when just four months later, Pascual (4-2) returned to the cage after an almost two-year lay-off with a 26-second pounding of Russian Yulia Kutsenko (4-7) on a card staged by regional promotion Wu Lin Feng.
But the coronavirus struck and Pascual had to cool her boots. The PI was closed for four months from March, like China itself, and Pascual found herself back at home in Hong Kong with all that time on her hands.

“I’m used to being busy,” she says. “So it’s been challenging. It plays with your mind when you’re thinking, ‘How can I get back into fighting shape when I can’t even train in the gym?’ So it’s definitely been a year to strengthen the mind.
“I’ve been dealing with myself in all the areas where I am weak. Like not being able to handle this situation is a weakness. It comes down to not being able to accomplish what you want to accomplish because as athletes we are so results-driven. But accepting this as part of the process, looking at things in the long term.”
While there were times when Pascual felt she was “spinning my wheels”, she also got to work on some specifics, particularly the striking side of a fight game that has been built on her foundations in judo.

Sessions at home four times a week with Shenzhen-based boxing coach Jon Jordan have her fine-tuned – and the return to Shanghai has her jumping out of her skin.
“I’m seeing so much more awareness of my body and how it moves in the striking context. My eyes have been opened,” says Pascual. “Now I am back in Shanghai, you can tell, given the year that we have had, that there’s that extra level of appreciation of being here, of having this, and of being back together.
“We realise how the rest of the world is and we’re just so grateful for what we have. Now we all just want to fight.”


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Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

Hong Kong MMA fighter Ramona Pascual back at UFC Academy in Shanghai – ‘I just want to fight’

Ramona Pascual is back at the UFC Shanghai Performance Institute. Photo: Instagram

=== PHOTO CAPTURED ONLINE=== Mixed martial artist Zhang Weili poses with Ramona Pascual after the Hong Kong MMA star's win.

Ramona Pascual at the UFC Performance Institute Shanghai

=== PHOTO CAPTURED ONLINE=== Mixed martial artist Ramona Pascual celebrates her comeback win.

UFC: how the rise of Hong Kong’s Sasha Palatnikov brought light to dark Covid-19 year

Sasha Palatnikov on the scale at the UFC 255 weigh-in in Las Vegas. Photo: Amy Kaplan

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - NOVEMBER 20: (L-R) Opponents Louis Cosce and Sasha Palatnikov face off during the UFC 255 weigh-in at UFC APEX on November 20, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

Sasha Palatnikov's arm is raised in victory.

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - NOVEMBER 21: (R-L) Sasha Palatnikov punches Louis Cosce in their welterweight bout during the UFC 255 event at UFC APEX on November 21, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

UFC: Daniel Cormier would ‘love’ Khabib comeback but says ‘I just care about him as a person’

Daniel Cormier and Khabib Nurmagomedov hug during training at AKA. Photo: Instagram/Khabib Nurmagomedov

UFC: Daniel Cormier thinks Jon Jones gets immediate heavyweight title shot – ‘don’t see anything wrong with that’

Jon Jones training at the gym. Photo: Instagram

Jon Jones, left, delivers a kick to Dominick Reyes, right, during a light heavyweight mixed martial arts bout at UFC 247 Sunday, Feb. 9, 2020, in Houston. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

UFC: Leon Edwards calls out Jorge Masvidal after Khamzat Chimaev fight is scrapped again

Leon Edwards during training. Photo: Instagram

May 9, 2020; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Vicente Luque (red gloves) fights Niko Price (blue gloves) during UFC 249 at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - SEPTEMBER 19: (R-L) Khamzat Chimaev of Chechnya punches Gerald Meerschaert in their middleweight bout during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on September 19, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - DECEMBER 12: (R-L) Kevin Holland elbows Jacare Souza of Brazil in their middleweight bout during the UFC 256 event at UFC APEX on December 12, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

UFC: Joanna Jedrzejczyk plans to negotiate new contract  – ‘I deserve a bigger piece of  cake’

Joanna Jedrzejczyk touches her forehead during her five-round war with Zhang Weili. Photo: AFP

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - MARCH 07: Weili Zhang takes a punch form Joanna Jedrzejczyk in a Zhang split decision win at T-Mobile Arena on March 07, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Harry How/Getty Images/AFP == FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY ==

July 26, 2020; Abu Dhabi, UAE; Marina Rodriguez (blue gloves) of Brazil kicks Carla Esparza (red gloves) in their strawweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event inside Flash Forum on UFC Fight Island. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via USA TODAY Sports

July 12, 2020; Abu Dhabi, UAE; Rose Namajunas punches Jessica Andrade of Brazil in their strawweight fight during the UFC 251 event at Flash Forum on UFC Fight Island on July 12, 2020 on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via USA TODAY Sports

UFC women's strawweight champion Weili Zhang, right, of China, gets kicked by former champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk of Poland during UFC 248 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas Saturday, March 7, 2020.(Steve Marcus/Las Vegas Sun via AP)

Sport

Martial Arts

Mixed Martial Arts


Bantamweight looks to get back in the cage in January after 12 months of ‘spinning my wheels’
‘I just want to fight. I just want to be active. I just want to get that momentum going again,’ says Pascual



Ramona Pascual looks to get back in the MMA cage in January after returning to the UFC’s Shanghai Performance Institute, following 12 months of spinning her wheels.
