By Sara Atencio-Gonzales, The Paper. — When Lydia Warren first walked into a jiu jitsu class, she had no plan to become a professional fighter. In fact, she had no athletic background at all.
“I had a friend that wanted to go to a jiu jitsu class and I was like, ‘That sounds fun’,” says Warren. “And then they ended up quitting, like, two weeks in, and I was like, ‘Wow, I really like this’.”
At 19 years old, while still in college in North Carolina, Warren made a decision that would completely reshape her life. “I called my mom one day, and I was like, ‘Hey, I think that I’m gonna drop out of college and become like a professional fighter with absolutely no real experience whatsoever’,” says Warren.
Soon after, she packed her bags and moved to Albuquerque to train, alone. “I packed my bags and moved here for Jackson Wink [MMA Academy], all by myself, and I’ve been here ever since,” says Warren.
Starting over in a new city came with its own challenges. Warren describes that time as both a cultural shift and a personal awakening.
“You’re a brand new adult, and then you move across the country, and you’ve never really traveled, and you’ve never really done anything by yourself,” says Warren.
Inside the gym, the learning curve was steep from the start. “I didn’t know what I was doing at all,” says Warren, explaining that she had only trained jiu jitsu for about a month before arriving in Albuquerque. Suddenly, she was surrounded by experienced fighters. “I’m jumping in with, you know, Michelle Watterson, and, like, everybody that really has been doing it,” says Warren.
Now nearly a decade into her career, that confidence did not come overnight. Warren explains that it took years before she truly felt like she belonged. “In the last couple years have I felt like, okay, I actually can do this, versus before. It’s kind of like you fake it till you make it almost,” says Warren.
The journey has come with setbacks, something she describes as “a roller coaster” filled with “mental highs and lows.” For much of her career, those challenges were compounded by the need to balance multiple jobs while training.
“It was horrible,” says Warren. “You can’t put your entire heart into something and recover and do all of these things while you’re also just on your feet for 30 hours a week.”
Recently, Warren made a major shift, stepping away from that balancing act to focus fully on fighting. The decision, Warren says, felt “a little bit scary, but free,” and came at a moment when she realized she needed to fully commit to the path in front of her. “I really do feel like now’s the time to step out into it or bust,” says Warren.
That commitment is also reflected in her growing audience. Warren has gained more than 40,000 followers on Instagram, where she shares her journey as both a fighter and her day-to-day life.
That sense of risk and growth is deeply tied to Albuquerque, the place where Warren says she truly became herself. “I really, truly, kind of grew up out here,” says Warren. “Everything I’ve learned truthfully in my heart has been out here, and I’m always going to be thankful for that.”
As she prepares for her next fight in July, Warren is embracing that mindset fully, grounded in the belief that has carried her this far. “Just really believe in yourself and put it all on the line for something great,” says Warren.