The motivations behind a career in combat sports aren’t always clear cut and easy to understand. This is especially the case when the athlete involved seems to have plenty of other options on the table.

Juli Firso has confidence the other endeavors in her life could be both fruitful and lucrative, but there’s something fighting gives her no other avenues comes close to providing….the challenge.

The 21-year-old Moscow-based model and dancer has found success in the entertainment world and built a large social media following in the process. Nevertheless, it was a venture into Muay Thai, and a rough go of it in her striking debut, which convinced Firso she wanted to take a deeper dive into combat sports.

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“I was a dancing coach in Russia and very popular within the dancing community there,” Firso told FloCombat. “I traveled the world and gave a lot of seminar and master classes in the dancing arts. I was also a fashion and beauty consultant. I wrote blogs on hair and fashion and all of those things.

“I was in Thailand when someone suggested I go to thai boxing class to take pictures, but I wanted to give it a try. I immediately fell in love with the training but never thought I would actually become a fighter. I eventually accepted my first fight and it was more of a casual thing. I didn’t know if I had the skills but I was game enough to try. And I got destroyed in that first fight.

“My face was destroyed in that fight,” she added. “The fight took place three days after I accepted it and I had never sparred before. That result may have been enough to turn lesser people away, but character is very big with me. I knew everything would heal and it did, but proving you can get back up and come back stronger is the most important thing.”

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Forget designer clothes, the catwalk and dance floor ensembles. It’s fighting that has the young Russian inspired above all else, and she’s willing to travel the globe in an effort build the skills required to make a serious run.

Alongside her boyfriend Roman Hamed, the two up-and-coming talents have set up shop at American Top Team in South Florida. Hamed is currently in the middle of his second camp at the Coconut Creek-based facility, while Firso is experiencing the world renown fight team for the very first time.

Hamed is off to a strong start in the professional ranks as “The Russian Hammer” has found success in all but one of his five showings inside the cage. His next bout will take place under the Desert Force banner in Abu Dhabi, and Hamed credits his decision to move his training to South Florida for taking his skill set to the next level.

“I’ve been here six months and it is my second camp at American Top Team. It’s a crazy feeling to be here and training with so many world class fighters. There wasn’t really anything back home where I’m from so to come here and get to work with so many guys who fight at the top level is amazing.

“I started fighting when I was a kid and I loved it. I was in Tae Kwon Do and believed my skills could take me places. No one believed I could do it and that provided a lot of fuel for me to prove them wrong. That’s what I’m doing with each fight. I’m getting better and showing the people who doubted me I’m living my dream because of fighting.

“Now I’m training with the same people I used to watch on the television,” he added. “Will Brooks bruised my eye and that’s pretty cool.”

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Success in the fight game is all about learning how to make adjustments, and even though Firso has only been stateside for a short time, she’s already come to understood the value in being able to adapt. Logging training sessions with the best coaches and fighters in the world is undoubtedly a humbling experience, but Firso’s open minded approach has led to immediate improvements showing through.

“Everything here is so different from Russia and it’s a great thing,” Firso said. “The people, the style and especially the weather is such a big change. Back home it is -30 degrees right now and here I am wearing a skirt. When it comes to fighting and training here, the differences are even more staggering. My mentality toward training has definitely been changed.

“There is a lot of tough training in Russia but the sessions are very intense and you can sustain a lot of injuries. It’s an accomplishment just to make it through camp and reach your fight in Russia. Here they train just as hard but break it up into different sessions and take a much smarter approach.

“I came to ATT thinking I had solid striking skills for kickboxing and muay thai, but after my first session I realized I’m terrible,” she laughed. “The coach made adjustments in my technique right away that showed me I have a very long way to go, but I’m excited to get that type of instruction. I also learned fighting smarter and more efficiently is better than just coming in and being tough. It’s a big change but I love it.”

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While Hamed is putting the finishing touches on his training camp before his next fight in February, Firso is in the process of determining her next step in combat sports. She’s currently competing in Muay Thai, kickboxing and jiu-jitsu tournaments, but can see a future where she can combine all of those skills to compete in mixed martial arts.

Yet, while her MMA debut may be a ways down the road, it’s the work required to get there that has Firso excited. Life as a model and dancer would undoubtedly be the easier path to travel, but Firso is all about discovery, and has a pretty good idea of how her career would fare in the world of beauty and entertainment.

Fighting, on the other hand, holds a tremendous amount of uncertainty, and finding out what she’s truly made of is the true motivation behind Firso’s career in combat sports. Firso is determined to prove she's more than just a pretty face, and the process of progress is what she's invested in.

“There is so much to learn and it’s all very exciting,” Firso said. “Right now I’m doing Muay Thai, kickboxing and BJJ, but I can definitely see MMA in my future. Two years ago I never imagined I’d have a career in fighting, but it’s become my passion and I’ve already come such a long way.

“My future is in fighting and wherever this journey takes me will be exciting.”