THEMIS TAKEOVER
Damon Martin
This past Thursday the Global Combat Championships record breaking GCC 8 featured some prominent names in the MMA world as well as a few lesser known. With all eyes on two main events who would expect a newcomer to have nearly stolen the show.
Grecian born Atara Themis, fighting out of her father's gym, Themis Palaestra, put on an absolutely dominant performance against Lyla Nitro. Controlling the entirety of the fight no matter the position, Atara grappled her way to a unanimous decision Friday and caught the attention of many fight fans and opponents alike.
MMA Weekly was fortunate enough to have stolen some of Themis' time for a quick Q&A over on our YouTube channel. Check it out and be sure to subscribe for all the latest in MMA.
"
Hi Atara, it's a treat to meet you and speak with you.Thanks for giving us some time."
All smiles from her New York home Atara appears on screen via webcam. "No problem, it's a pleasure but we have to start this out right Damon. I can't disappoint my fans." spoken playfully she gives the camera a knowing grin.
"Oops, you're exactly right. How could I forget. By all means."
Atara giggled before going into character, expression and tone transformed and the come hither facade of her XWF personality appeared, "Hello Doves."
The dulcet voice of Aphrodite Incarnate gave her fans the catch phrase they expected with a wink to follow and as instantly as she got into character she was Atara again.
"Have to keep up with expectations Damon."
"Expectations, I have a feeling you never disappoint and as a new fan of yours I hope you don't but speaking of expectations let's start by talking about what was expected Friday night.
"It's your show."
"Haha, but you're the guest....
...Dominance.
That was the hashtag GCC used in the tweet posted immediately after your fight Friday night and I have to say no other word could have been more fitting. You're signing with GCC certainly raised a few eyebrows in the MMA world. You've exploded onto multiple scenes already and yours really is a star burning bright at the moment.
There was no doubt you would be a name to get subscribers, but there was little to nothing about your background within mixed martial arts.
"Mmhmm."
"We know your father, Eros, is an accomplished pankratiast and we learned you wrestled at the amateur level in high school, honestly we expected Lyla to win being the more experienced in the cage and coming off a win herself but...Atara
You dominated her at every stage and at every facet of the sport. It's one of the more remarkable debuts I've ever seen. The only way it could have been better was if you had gotten a finish and that elbow you landed...busted Lyla open..I thought that was it. That performance, where did that come from?
Clearing her throat Atara was silent for moment while her thoughts formulated, "Well as I said at the press conference, I've been training since I was 8. While the cage is new to me, competing isn't. I have the best coaches possible at Themis Palaestra, my dad is an incredible teacher. You'll all see once Ambrus and Osira step into the cage.
Seriously, Doves, if you want to learn and train with the best sign up with Themis Palaestra. We have a gym here in New York and of course our main camp back in Athens.
Plug over," Atara laughed.
"But yeah, it was training and mostly our Strategy Coach's gameplan. He mapped Lyla out pretty good so all I had to do was execute. What you saw Friday was our plan, we knew she struggled with the clinch and especially when pressed against the cage. We knew she had a small gas tank and we knew obviously, I was the superior wrestler.
"Everyone else may be surprised, but we weren't. That's the facts."
"You're used to performing in front of thousands, did the empty arena effect you in any way or do you think it had an effect on the fight?"
"It was odd, but we don't train or spar in front of thousands of people so... any bearing it had on fights I can't say. Makes for hearing your better if anything."
"What's the plan moving forward. Was this a one off thing, we know you have a lot scheduled in the coming weeks. Will you be back in the cage anytime soon?"
"Oh no Dove, I am in this for the long haul. As soon as GCC calls with a fight, I'm there. Give me anybody. Knight, Gaia, Stevens, Kosov, DeMeans...this is my division now."
"Haha, I'm sure they'll disagree. We hope to see your name on a card very soon Atara. That's about all the time we have, thanks again for joining us. As always MMA fans, for all the latest and up to-date news, gives us a like and subscribe….."