Deborah Ann Purcell is a retired American female

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

. She was formerly an assistant coach to the

Southern California Condors The Southern California Condors are an International Fight League team based in Orange County, California. Coached by MMA legend Marco Ruas, the Condors were one of four new teams established at the beginning of the 2007 season. The Condors have a ...

of the

International Fight League The International Fight League was an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion billed as the world's first MMA league. It was founded on January 7, 2006, and closed on July 31, 2008.

Early life

Purcell was involved in

Cheerleading Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense Physical exercise, physical activity. It can be performed to motivate s ...

and

Gymnastics Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring Balance (ability), balance, Strength training, strength, Flexibility (anatomy), flexibility, agility, Motor coordination, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movem ...

throughout her early teens. She later quit gymnastics and took up Martial Arts. At the age of 17, she was introduced to

Tae Kwon Do Taekwondo (; ; ) is a Korean martial art and combat sport involving primarily kicking techniques and punching. "Taekwondo" can be translated as ''tae'' ("strike with foot"), ''kwon'' ("strike with hand"), and ''do'' ("the art or way"). In a ...

and this later introduced her to

Boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

Muay Thai Muay Thai or Muaythai (, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, the Art of Eight Limbs or the Science of Eight Limbs, is a Thai martial art and full-contact combat sport that uses stand-up striking, sweeps, and various clinch fighting, cl ...

Vale Tudo Vale Tudo or vale-tudo (; ), also known as No Holds Barred (NHB) in the United States, is an unarmed, full-contact combat sport with relatively few Regulation of sport, rules. It became popular in Brazil during the 20th century and would eventua ...

Wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. She is actively involved in supporting women's

MMA Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

, having set up Fightergirls.com and the WMAA (Women's Martial Arts Association), along with being a world-class competitor herself. Purcell also started Fightergirls, her own extremely successful women's fitness and MMA apparel line, in which she designs every piece personally. Purcell signed a three-fight deal with

Elite XC Elite Xtreme Combat, also known as EliteXC, was a United States–based mixed martial arts (MMA) organization owned and operated by ProElite. It was founded as a partnership between Showtime Networks and ProElite and officially announced on Decem ...

. Her first fight was against

Rosi Sexton Rosemary Ann Sexton (born 16 July 1977) is a British politician, mathematician, sports therapist, osteopath, and former mixed martial artist. Sexton obtained a degree in mathematics from the University of Cambridge in 1998, before later obta ...

ShoXC ''ShoXC'' is a mixed martial arts series produced by the mixed martial arts organization EliteXC, Showtime and Proelite.com. The series was announced on July 11, 2007. The purpose of the show is to highlight up and coming MMA fighters. On Octo ...

: Suganuma vs. Hamman II on August 15, 2008. Purcell lost the fight by Split Decision.

Personal life

Debi married Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fighter Ronald Assumpcao on July 11, 2009, in

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

. She also gained a stepson named Gustavo.

Accomplishments

* First woman to headline the world's first female MMA card HOOKnSHOOT * First woman to ever compete and win in King of the Cage * "Ultimate Wrestling" world Title Belt Holder * Hook-N-Shoot Revolution Winner, 2002 * Headliner on the first ever all-women No Holds Barred (NHB) card in United States history * "Ultimate Wrestling" Minnesota Winner and champion belt holder * Black Belt in Ruas Vale Tudo (only female in the world) * Black Belt in Taekwondo * Only female coach in IFL history * Current CEO of www.fightergirls.com the world's first female mixed martial arts website and store founded in May 2001 * One of the first pioneers for Women's MMA *Built the first and original women's MMA website Fightergirls.com *Original founder of all women's MMA clothing and gear

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 4–2 ,

, Decision (Split) , ShoXC: Hamman vs. Suganuma 2 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:00 ,

Friant, California Friant (formerly, Converse Ferry, Jones Ferry, Hamptonville, and Pollasky) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fresno County, California, United States. The population was 549 at the 2010 census, down from 778 at the 2000 census. Friant is loca ...

, , - , Loss , align=center, 4–1 ,

Hitomi Akano is a retired Japanese female mixed martial artist. She announced her formal retirement from MMA on August 1, 2013. Akano used a song she penned herself called "Between the Sky" as her entrance music. She is a former Smackgirl Middleweight Champ ...

, Decision (Unanimous) , Smackgirl - Advent of Goddess , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Nicole Albrect , Decision (Unanimous) , KOTC 17 - Nuclear Explosion , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

San Jacinto, California San Jacinto ( , ; ) is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. It is located at the north end of the San Jacinto Valley, with Hemet, California, Hemet to its south and Beaumont, California, Beaumont to its north. The mountains ...

, , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Amy Pitan , TKO (Punches) , UW - Ultimate Wrestling , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:41 ,

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Christine Van Fleet , Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) , HOOKnSHOOT - Revolution , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:42 ,

Evansville, Indiana Evansville is a city in Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 118,414 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is Indiana's List of cities in Indiana, third-most populous city after India ...

, , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Amber Mosely , TKO (Punches) , UW - Street Fight Minnesota , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:16 ,

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, ...

Outside MMA

Purcell appeared on the fourth season of

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism for Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network that launched on January 1, 1985, and is currently owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global's networks division based in New Y ...

Celebrity Fit Club ''Celebrity Fit Club'' is a reality television series that follows eight overweight celebrities as they try to lose weight for charity. Split into two competing teams of four, each week teams are given different physical challenges, and weighed ...

as a guest trainer. She also appeared on an episode of

The Montel Williams Show ''The Montel Williams Show'' (also known as ''Montel'') is an American syndicated tabloid talk show, hosted by Montel Williams, which ran from July 8, 1991 to May 16, 2008. On January 30, 2008, the end of production of new episodes of ''The Mo ...

in September 2007. Purcell has a HVAC license and owns and runs an air-conditioning business. She also owns a clothing design store called Purpur Hollywood Aprons, which specializes in vintage aprons.

References

External links

Fightergirls.com

Official Site

View Debi Purcell Video Highlights at Subfighter.com

Debi Purcell Awakening Profile
*
Ironlife Interview, May 2004

TheFightGame.tv Interview, 2004 (video)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Purcell, Debi American female mixed martial artists American female taekwondo practitioners People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu American female Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Mixed martial artists from California Mixed martial artists utilizing taekwondo Mixed martial artists utilizing vale tudo Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Sportspeople from Huntington Beach, California Sportspeople from Laguna Niguel, California 21st-century American sportswomen