This appears on abs-cbnnews.com
A girl named Maya
A Japanese girl by way of Vancouver took a chance and
now she’s reaching for the stars.
by rick olivares
“Waitress!”
The diminutive young girl with dreams of becoming a
star quickly made her way to a customer to take his order.
That was life for Maya T. back in Vancouver, British
Columbia, Canada where she makes her home. She worked in a restaurant to add to
her savings while she worked her way up to college and to pay the bills. It was
another way to hone her adopted English language as she was born in Japan but
relocated to North America at a young age.
“Back in Vancouver, only my co-workers or classmates
knew my name,” recalled the 5’4” bombshell who has since made a name for
herself as a ONE FC Ring Girl.
While surfing the net looking for some work, she came
across ONE FC’s web page and she found it impressive. “I wrote them asking if
they were looking for a ring girl and a few days later, Victor (Cui, the MMA
organization’s President and Chief Executive Officer) wrote me. Before I knew
it, I was making my debut at ONE FC: Moment of Truth in Manila last December.”
Maya admits that the transition to Ring Girl was
relatively easy for her as she once competed in some bikini contests back in
Canada where she won.
When walking around the catwalk of the ONE FC cage,
she’s the recipient of many cat calls and words of admiration from the crowd
and the people scattered around the area. “Thankfully, no one has been rude,”
she revealed. “So I guess I am lucky. But the fans have been really good
though.”
It isn’t only the fans who have been good to Maya.
Good things are happening. As a ring girl, doors have opened for a burgeoning
modeling career. “I haven’t become rich or anything,” Maya of her newfound
fame. “But I am all right with it because I am learning a lot of things. The
important thing is to be noticed and do a lot of gigs because it will open even
more doors.”
But as her modeling career was taking off, her
parents, conservative traditional Japanese folks talked to her about her baring
skin. “They are only concerned,” Maya admitted. “But as long as I don’t do
anything dumb or where I am compromising myself, they are fine with it.”
MMA isn’t something new to her. When the opportunity
presented itself, she followed the now defunct Pride Fighting Championships
back in her native Japan. “I can’t really say I was a die-hard fan. I only
followed it casually. But I have always watched sports. Living in Vancouver, I
have become a hockey fan and I sometimes go to watch the (NHL’s Vancouver)
Canucks. Go, Canucks!”
With ONE FC, she now follows MMA a little more
religiously. “I’ve got a front row seat to all the action. It’s impossible not
to become a fan or learn the sport,” she said of her MMA 101. “I am really
enjoying being in the middle of this.”
“And one of the best things about being a part of all
of this is I get to travel,” gushed the girl with the big dreams.
“I know being a ring girl isn’t forever,” she
admitted. “I honestly am not sure what to do just yet. I know that right now, I
am enjoying myself with all of this.”
After the conclusion of the most recent ONE FC event,
Honor and Glory, Maya said she was flying back to Vancouver the following day
to resume her old life. But with one difference she added.
Since her ONE FC debut, she no longer works
anonymously at that Vancouver Japanese restaurant.
She laughed.
“They now call me, ‘Maya.’”
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