Marina Shafir
Marina Shafir (born 14 April 1988) is a Moldovan professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist, signed to WWE as part of their NXT brand. She formerly competed for Invicta Fighting Championships in the women's featherweight division.
Marina Shafir | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 18, 1988 |
| Nationality | Soviet Moldovan |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Children | 1 |
| Ring name(s) | Marina Shafir |
| Billed height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) |
| Billed weight | 145 lb (66 kg; 10.4 st) |
| Trained by | WWE Performance Center |
| Debut | August 25, 2018 |
| Mixed martial arts career | |
| Division | Featherweight (145 lb) |
| Style | Judo |
| Fighting out of | Venice, California |
| Team | Glendale Fighting Club |
| Years active | 2012–2016 (MMA) |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 3 |
| Wins | 1 |
| By knockout | 0 |
| By submission | 1 |
| By decision | 0 |
| Losses | 2 |
| By knockout | 2 |
| By submission | 0 |
| By decision | 0 |
| Draws | 0 |
| No contests | 0 |
| Amateur record | |
| Total | 5 |
| Wins | 5 |
| By knockout | 0 |
| By submission | 5 |
| By decision | 0 |
| Losses | 0 |
| By knockout | 0 |
| By decision | 0 |
| Other information | |
| Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog | |
Mixed martial arts career
Shafir began her mixed martial career at an amateur level in 2012. In a two year spell, she was unbeaten, winning all five of her matches by submission (four by armbar and one by arm-triangle choke). She turned professional in early 2014.
Shafir's first professional fight was against Chandra Engel on April 12, 2014, where she won by submission in the first round. Later that year, Shafir suffered her first-ever loss in a first-round defeat to Amanda Bell.[1] The following year, she signed with Invicta Fighting Championships.[2] Her first match in the Invicta promotion was against Amber Leibrock on July 9, 2015, which was Leibrock's first professional fight. Shafir was defeated in the first round.[3]
Professional wrestling career
NXT (2018–present)
On May 7, 2018, WWE announced that Shafir, along with Jessamyn Duke, had signed with WWE and reported to their Performance Center for training.[4]
On October 28 at WWE Evolution, Shafir and Duke made their WWE debuts as heels when they interfered during the NXT Women's Championship match, in which they helped Shayna Baszler regain the title over Kairi Sane.[5] They made another appearance at NXT TakeOver: WarGames, when they interfered during Baszler and Sane's two out of three falls match, in which Baszler scored the first fall and the victory in the latter to retain the title.[6] On the December 19, 2018 episode of NXT, Shafir and Duke made their NXT in ring debut, but were defeated by Io Shirai and Dakota Kai, when Shirai pinned Shafir after a moonsault.[7] At NXT TakeOver: Phoenix, Shafir and Duke assisted Baszler in retaining the title against Bianca Belair.[8] In October 2019, Duke and Shafir were defeated by Kai and Tegan Nox in a number one contender's match for the Women's Tag Team Championship.[9]
Raw (2020)
After several months of inactivity, Shafir returned to WWE TV on August 17, 2020, reuniting with Baszler and Duke, and winning a Raw Underground match.
Personal life
Shafir is a close friend of Ronda Rousey, who trained with her at Glendale Fighting Club, and had a similar background in judo. They lived together for a number of years in Venice, California, along with Shayna Baszler and Jessamyn Duke.[10]
In December 2015, Shafir got engaged to professional wrestler Christopher Lindsay, better known as Roderick Strong.[11] On April 24, 2017, Shafir gave birth to their first child, Troy Veniamin Lindsey.[12] The two were married on November 7, 2018.[13]
Shafir is Jewish.[14]
Mixed martial arts record
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 3 matches | 1 win | 2 losses |
| By knockout | 0 | 2 |
| By submission | 1 | 0 |
| By decision | 0 | 0 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 1–2 | Amber Leibrock | TKO (punches) | Invicta FC 13: Cyborg vs. Van Duin | July 9, 2015 | 1 | 0:37 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Loss | 1–1 | Amanda Bell | KO (punches) | LOP Chaos at the Casino 5 | August 10, 2014 | 1 | 0:37 | Inglewood, California, United States | |
| Win | 1–0 | Chandra Engel | Submission (armbar) | LOP Chaos at the Casino 4 | April 12, 2014 | 1 | 1:57 | Inglewood, California, United States |
| Amateur record breakdown | ||
| 5 matches | 5 wins | 0 losses |
| By knockout | 0 | 0 |
| By submission | 5 | 0 |
| By decision | 0 | 0 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 5–0 | Nicole Upshaw | Submission (armbar) | U of MMA: Fight Night 5 | February 9, 2014 | 1 | 1:53 | Los Angeles, California, United States | |
| Win | 4–0 | Tabitha Patterson | Submission (arm-triangle choke) | Tuff-N-Uff: Future Stars of MMA | November 29, 2013 | 1 | 0:59 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 3–0 | Danielle Mack | Submission (armbar) | Tuff-N-Uff: Mayhem in Mesquite 2 | March 23, 2013 | 1 | 0:59 | Mesquite, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 2–0 | Becky Lewis | Submission (armbar) | Premier FC 12: Premier Fighting Championship 12 | November 17, 2012 | 1 | 2:03 | Albany, New York, United States | |
| Win | 1–0 | Denise Goddard | Submission (armbar) | Premier FC 9: Battle to the Belt | May 20, 2012 | 1 | 0:44 | Holyoke, Massachusetts, United States |
References
- "Video: Marina Shafir suffers upset KO loss to Amanda Bell". MMAJunkie. Retrieved 2015-04-12.
- Doyle, Dave (April 1, 2015). "Marina Shafir signs with Invicta FC". mmafighting.com.
- "Marina Shafir knocked out by Amber Leibrock in 37 seconds at Invicta FC 13". mmafighting.com. April 1, 2015.
- Clapp, John (May 7, 2018). "Marina Shafir and Jessamyn Duke, Four Horsewomen teammates of Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler, report to WWE PC". WWE.
- Benigno, Anthony (October 28, 2018). "Shayna Baszler def. Kairi Sane to become the new NXT Women's Champion". WWE. Retrieved October 29, 2018.
- Trionfo, Richard (November 17, 2018). "BLACK VERSUS GARGANO: LIVE ONGOING WWE NXT TAKEOVER WAR GAMES II COVERAGE". PWInsider.
- "WWE NXT: Dec. 19, 2018". WWE.
- Winter, Arya (January 26, 2019). "NXT TakeOver Phoenix live results: Four title matches". Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
- "WWE NXT: Oct. 23, 2019". WWE.
- Gordon, Grant (November 28, 2013). "The MMA journey of Marina Shafir". Glendale News-Press.
- Meltzer, Dave (2015-12-25). "Daily Update: Poll for McGregor's next foe, Trish Stratus to get award". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved 2015-12-25.
- "Roderick Strong and Marina Shafir welcome son into the world". WWE. April 24, 2017.
- "Roderick Strong and Marina Shafir get married". WWE. November 8, 2018.
- An Interview with MMA Fighter Marina Shafir Jeremy Fine, oychicago.com (September 24, 2013)
External links
- Professional MMA record for Marina Shafir from Sherdog
- Marina Shafir on WWE.com
- Marina Shafir's profile at Cagematch.net