Linda Darrow confirmed as inaugural UFC Scholarship recipient

Bengaluru, June 21: The UFC and AirAsia announced on Wednesday (June 20) that current "OnePride MMA Pro Never Quit" women's strawweight champion of Indonesia, Linda Darrow, has been selected as the first-ever student to be admitted into its UFC Scholarship program.

The 28-year-old Darrow, will receive an all-expenses paid trip to the United States to train at the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas, Nevada as part of this scholarship. Once at the Performance Institute, Darrow will have access to the facilities staff of experts in the fields of strength and conditioning, nutrition and physical therapy to help hone down her skills.

"We are excited to award this scholarship to Linda, as she is a wonderful role model for all aspiring mixed martial artists around the world," UFC Vice President of International Partnerships Rene Valencia said.

"Her journey is just beginning and we are immensely proud of our ground-breaking partnership with AirAsia, who are helping us create new MMA development opportunities for athletes. We look forward to warmly welcoming Linda to Las Vegas and the UFC Performance Institute."

The four-week curriculum, devised by the world's premier mixed martial arts organization, will give athletes the opportunity to test themselves and train with the best MMA athletes in a world-class training facility.

"We are very pleased to receive this exciting news that Linda Darrow of Indonesia has been selected as the inaugural UFC training scholarship recipient," Chairman Komite Olahraga Beladiri Indonesia (KOBI) A. Ardiansyah Bakrie said.

"KOBI was established under the Ministry of Sports in Indonesia to support the growth and development of MMA in Indonesia, we appreciate the efforts of UFC and AirAsia as sponsors, and recognise both organisations as further enhancing the credibility of MMA in Indonesia and globally."

"This is a great honour for the Indonesian MMA community, we are honoured that Linda Darrow the "OnePride MMA Pro Never Quit" Women's Strawweight Champion of Indonesia, has been selected for this prestigious scholarship," Chairman, OnePride MMA Indonesia David Burke said.

"We would like to thank both UFC and AirAsia for this sponsorship, and hopefully in the future other Indonesian MMA fighters might also be capable of qualifying for other UFC scholarships, this will go a long way to motivating Indonesian MMA Fighters and without a doubt have a positive impact to the MMA community in Indonesia."

Source: Press Release