It threatened to bring a tragic end to one of the sport’s most inspiring and influential careers.
But after overcoming the frightening ordeal, Christy revealed in a Netflix documentary how surviving that day was her greatest victory.
She said: “I came to some realisation that I got my 50th win when I got off the floor, November 23, 2010.”
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Christy’s boxing journey began in 1986 when she was dared by her friends to enter a toughwoman contest.
She knocked out all three of her opponents and pocketed $300 while becoming hooked on the sport.
Christy was then put in contact with coach Jim by a promoter – and her life would never be the same.
Jim – embarrassed at the thought of even training a women – instructed his boxers to try break Christy’s ribs and punch her out the gym.
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He soon found out that was not an option.
Jim, speaking from Orange County Jail in Florida, said: “Christy’s got a granite chin.
“You hit her with a sledgehammer and she’s still standing there looking at you.”
Inside the astonishing real life story of Christy Martin, who Sydney Sweeney will portray in upcoming Hollywood biopic
Christy was forced to fight for free to even get a shot by promoters, earning as little as $60 if she ever did get paid.
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But as her KO streak grew so did her relationship with Jim – before one day something out of the ordinary happened.
Christy revealed: “After one of the fights, you know you’re so excited and everyone’s so happy. And I kissed him.
“I don’t even know what happened.”
Christy had grown up a secret lesbian, hiding it from her family despite being in a relationship with an old school friend Sherry Lusk.
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She soon went public with her relationship with cornerman Jim – who was 25 years her senior and even older than her dad.
The two married in 1991 after buying their rings from Walmart and three years later Christy was signed to legendary but controversial promoter Don King.
King was initially going to watch tapes of Martin’s previous fights to help him decide whether to give her a contract – but after his TV stopped working he instead made her shadow box in front of him and saw enough to give her a deal.
But King was not the only iconic boxing name to take notice – an incarcerated Mike Tyson was among Martin’s admirers.
She was booed into the ring with fans convinced it was no more than a novelty act – but Martin was cheered out.
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Martin fought Lisa Holewyne in 2001 and made jibes about her opponent’s sexuality – despite her secret lesbian past.
She throws a lot of hard punches, crowd-pleasing. She gave everybody their money’s worth. So I said, ‘Put Christy Martin on my undercard.’
Mike Tyson
She admitted: “I said a lot of rude comments about homosexuals. But also, Jim did encourage that type of behaviour.
“And I would tell him, ‘Jim, you don’t understand, I’m gonna keep saying this stuff and somebody from my past is going to creep up.”
As Martin’s career as a star boxer reached its height in the early 2000s – her private life was the opposite.
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She wanted to bring in a new trainer – but husband Jim would not tolerate the thought – and made it known during a sparring session.
Christy said: “He knocked me out. I’d never been knocked out. I’d never been dropped even.
“You know when you’re hitting someone in the right spot. You know when you’re hitting someone hard enough to knock them out.
“He knew exactly what he was doing. Is it abuse? Yeah, he’s smart. He disguised it.
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“All I wanted to do was leave him, all I wanted to do was live my life freely.”
In 2003, Christy stepped up to super-middleweight to challenge Muhammad Ali’s daughter Laila despite the ONE STONE weight difference.
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Laila dominated the bout but Jim refused to pull Christy – perhaps on purpose as punishment.
Christy said: “He could’ve stepped up and stopped it. I could always say, ‘Jim stopped it, I didn’t quit.’
“But I quit and that’s hard for me to live with.”
In the years following, Christy and Jim became hooked on cocaine, even using it while training for fights.
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Christy said: “If I was hitting the heavy bag, I’d say, ‘Jim, I’m so tired. Do you have any more?’ He’d say, ‘Keep hitting the bag.’
“He would go cut a line, I’d still have my gloves on. I was high all the time. But I couldn’t stop, I didn’t want to stop.”
The relationship was disintegrating behind the scenes and Christy pleaded for divorce.
She said: “I would tell him, ‘You know I’m a lesbian, so let’s get divorced! I’m begging you to please divorce me.’
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“I went as far as to write up a contract, I’ll take care of all these expenses, just please leave.’
“He hit me and knocked my tooth through my lip. Blood went everywhere.”
Jim denied that Christy asked for a divorce. But he made her fight on in the ring.
In 2010, Christy reconnected with her old partner and friend Sherry on Facebook – but she claimed Jim threatened to kill her if she left.
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Eventually, Christy did walk out and Jim released explicit images of her in retaliation.
“This was my revenge,” he admitted.
But the compromising pictures pale in comparison to what would come next as on November 23, 2010 an argument broke out between Christy and Jim.
‘Please don’t let me die’
Following a physical altercation, Jim stabbed Christy four times and ignored her desperate pleas to help.
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Christy said: “He stopped everything and just left me laying there… I could hear my lung gurgling. So I know it’s filling up with blood.
“He’s walking in and out of the room to see if I had to died yet. I’m begging him, ‘Please don’t let me die. I’m sorry Jim, I made a mistake. Truth is, I love you.’
“But then by the time I realised he can’t let me live I was like, ‘Oh, f*** you. I never loved you. You’ve been a piece of s*** the whole time. I’m your personal ATM, you’ve done nothing but use me.’”
Jim did eventually walk back towards Christy – only to fire a shot into her torso.
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Christy remembered: “He stands at my feet with my own pink 9-millimeter. I told him, ‘You don’t have the balls to shoot me.’ And he shot me.’
“My mind’s like, ‘No, I don’t wanna die. I have to get out. I have to save me. Some way, I have to save me.’”
Jim callously left Christy to die – but she was not done fighting yet.
My mind’s like, ‘No, I don’t wanna die. I have to get out. I have to save me. Some way, I have to save me.
Christy Martin after being stabbed and shot by her ex-husbanf
As her former trainer took a shower, Christy miraculously escaped the house on to the road where a stranger took her to hospital.
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Jim fled and slept in a tool shed behind an abandoned home – still clutching on to a blood-soaked knife – until police found him.
The murder attempt exposed Christy’s sexuality – but she received widespread support from the boxing world.
Amazingly less than a year after the attack – with a bullet still lodged in her back – Christy began training for a comeback bout.
And she was seconds away from winning her return fight only for the ringside doctor to pull her out after she broke her hand.
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Christy had just one more fight – losing in 2012 – before suffering a stroke.
By that time, her and Sherry had split up and soon Holewyne – almost a decade from their bitter bout – got back in touch.
Jim was also standing trial in 2012 and was later sentenced to a minimum of 25 years in prison for the attempted murder.
Five years on from Jim’s sentencing, Christy married former rival Holewyne in 2017 with the two happily together to this day.
She said: “I love her without question and I’m the happiest I’ve ever been in my life. I’m happy in my own skin.”
Christy – who was inducted into the boxing Hall of Fame in 2020 – now works as a promoter and motivational speaker.
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And her incredible life story is set to be depicted by Sydney Sweeney in a biopic directed by David Michod.
Sweeney, 26, told Deadline: “I grappled and did kickboxing from 12-19 years old.
“I’ve been itching to get back into the ring, train, and transform my body.
“Christy’s story isn’t a light one, it’s physically and emotionally demanding, there’s a lot of weight to carry. But I love challenging myself.”
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Despite all the accolades in and outside the ring, Christy’s biggest triumph was surviving her evil husband.
She said: “That was not just my 50th win but that was my biggest win of my life.”
The issue with yellow cards pre-dates Maresca’s appointment in June.
Former Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino spoke last season about how “silly” bookings were a problem and showed video clips to his players to try to rectify the issue.
The Blues were punished last season for not adapting to new Premier League rules for dissent.
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Jackson picked up 10 bookings last season but only one was for a foul, the others were for dissent, not retreating quickly enough for a free-kick and entering the field of play when a substitute.
Other players fell foul in similar situations and captain Reece James received two red cards – including one for two yellows – despite playing just 421 minutes.
The immaturity of Chelsea’s young squad may be another factor and with centre-back Thiago Silva having departed in the summer the average age of the group has dropped further to 23.4, according to data from Transfermarkt.
The Blues also have the lowest average height in the league, according to Transfermarkt, averaging just over 5ft 8in, which was another issue Pochettino complained about when in charge.
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It perhaps leads to a tendency for players to look at other ways to try and impart their physicality on matches.
And under both Pochettino and Maresca Chelsea are firmly a possession-based team, trying to implement various pressing styles. That pressing can lead to bookings in transition phases and there is a tendency for teams operating these tactics to produce tactical fouls to stop counter-attacks.
Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), the body which governs referees in England, has also changed the rules in recent years, with an automatic yellow card now expected to be brandished in several situations.
Netherlands legend Johan Neeskens has died at the age of 73, the Dutch football federation has confirmed.
The former midfielder was part of the Ajax and Netherlands teams credited with creating “total football” in the 1970s.
“With Johan Neeskens, the Dutch and international football world loses a legend,” the KNVB federation said in a statement.
Neeskens was capped 49 times for the Dutch and was part of the teams that finished runners up at the 1974 and 1978 World Cups.
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At Ajax he helped them win the European Cup three times and their domestic league twice.
Neeskens also spent five seasons at Spanish giants Barcelona, winning the Copa del Rey and European Cup Winners’ Cup with them.
“His name is forever linked to European successes with clubs like Ajax and Barcelona and two World Cup finals for the Dutch national team,” the KNVB added.
“With his characteristic tackles, sublime insights and iconic penalties, [he] will forever remain one of the most prominent and beloved players to ever play for our country.”
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After retiring as a player in 1991, Neeskens coached several clubs and was also an assistant coach with the Dutch national team from 1995 to 2000.
MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.
But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.
Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC, PFL and Bellator.
Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie or officially announced by the promotions from Sept. 30-Oct. 6.
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UFC Fight Night 246, Las Vegas, Nov. 9
Jan 21, 2023; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Luan Lacerda (red gloves) reacts after the fight against Cody Stamann (blue gloves) during UFC 283 at Jeunesse Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jason da Silva-USA TODAY Sports
UFC 309, New York, Nov. 16
Jim Miller
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UFC Fight Night 247, Macau, Nov. 23
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – AUGUST 10: (R-L) Quang Le of Vietnam punches Chris Gutierrez in a bantamweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on August 10, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Al Powers/Zuffa LLC)
UFC Fight Night, Tampa, Fla., Dec. 14
Jun 29, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Cub Swanson (red gloves) fights Andre Fili (not pictured) during UFC 303 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
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UFC Fight Night, Las Vegas, Jan. 11
Chris Curtis
UFC 311, TBA, Jan. 18
Nov 4, 2023; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Jailton Almeida (red gloves) fights Derrick Lewis (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Ibirapuera Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jason da Silva-USA TODAY Sports
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Be sure to visit the MMA Junkie Instagram page and YouTube channel to discuss this and more content with fans of mixed martial arts.
STAR juvenile filly Lake Victoria will only run at the Breeders’ Cup if she races again this season.
It had been mooted that the brilliant Cheveley Park heroine, terrifically handled by Aidan O’Brien, could step up two furlongs in trip for her next outing in the Fillies’ Mile at Newmarket.
But O’Brien, buzzing after a fabulous weekend in France, told me this morning: “The Breeders’ Cup (Juvenile Fillies’ Turf) is a possibility Matt, but not the Fillies’ Mile.”
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If she travels, Lake Victoria would still be stepping up to a mile in America but Del Mar is much more of a speed test than Newmarket with the tight bends.
It would seem a very good spot for her and the Coolmore lads – and she’s currently a best-price 2-1.
Lake Victoria us currently top priced as the 7-2 favourite for next year’s 1000 Guineas.
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In other news another Group 1 heroine, Tamfana, might be seen again this season on Champions Day at Ascot.
Tamfana provided the always charming David Menuisier with a well deserved Group 1 success in the Sun Chariot Stakes at Newmarket on Saturday.
Plans remain fluid, but Menuisier said to me this morning: “I don’t think the Breeders’ Cup will be on for Tamfana. We might think about the Queen Elizabeth II at Ascot run in memory of our late and loved Queen.”
Speaking of high class horses, it’s sales time this week and the first offspring of Lady Bowthorpe goes under the hammer (for sale) in Newmarket on Wednesday.
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Lady Bowthorpe was a terrific beast for music mogul Emma Banks, finishing second in the Group 1 Lockinge, third in a QEII and landing the Group 1 Nassau at Goodwood in July of 2021.
“Lady Bowthorpe’s colt yearling sells on Wednesday at Tattersalls. I went to see him in the sales grounds yesterday and he’s looking great and seems to be really well received,” Banks said.
ITV schedule undergoes major change with new broadcast of historic sporting event confirmed
“Now I’m no expert (being modest here!) on this stuff, but people tell me he walks really well for a Dubawi – apparently they are known not to be the best of walkers – and he seems to have a bit of a swagger.
“When I saw him he was still very interested in everything at the end of the day so I’m excited and nervous and full of trepidation of what is going to happen.
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“I think he’s a lovely yearling and I’m really proud of him and I know his mother, Lady Bowthorpe, is really proud of him. We’ll see what happens but Im not sure I’ll be eating much before Wednesday afternoon but that’s probably not a bad thing!”
Owner-breeders are so important to this game. Banks is not short of a few quid, but let’s hope this is a case of ’Show me the Money’.
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Welcome to the latest update to the MMA Fighting pound-for-pound rankings, where every month our esteemed panel sort through the noise to answer one question: Who are the best overall male and female MMA fighters in the world?
Let’s take a look at how things stand following a pair of title fights at UFC 307 in Salt Lake City, and a performance from one contender that has her on the cusp of a top 5 spot.
Throwing four of the best bantamweights in the world on the same card was bound to shake up the women’s pound-for-pound charts and Saturday’s results didn’t disappoint.
Kayla Harrison led off the UFC 307 main card with a convincing win over perennial contender Ketlen Vieira. It wasn’t a first-round demolition, but rather a gutsy 15-minute performance that showed how much Harrison has matured in her sixth year as an MMA fighter. It’s no stretch to say Harrison’s first two UFC opponents, Vieira and Holly Holm are a considerable step up from what she faced in the PFL (with the exception of Larissa Pacheco, who Harrison still holds two wins over) and she’s impressed against both, in different ways.
The win over Vieira bumped Harrison up four spots to No. 8 in our rankings, one spot higher than her previous best. The Harrison hype train headed for champion station appears to be right on track.
With a split nod over Raquel Pennington, Peña is the UFC bantamweight champion once again, which puts her back in the rankings at No. 13 and in the driver’s seat if she has anything to say about it. Her ideal opponent is retired rival Amanda Nunes, the woman Peña beat at UFC 269 to score one of the most shocking championship upsets ever, only to immediately return the title at UFC 277 when Nunes pummeled her for five rounds.
It’s doubtful “The Lioness” awakens from her slumber to deal with Peña, so a title defense against Harrison feels inevitable. The winner could find themselves cracking the top 5 of the pound-for-pound rankings, something no women’s bantamweight has done since Nunes’ retirement in June 2023.
Falling out of the rankings (previous ranking shown): No. 20 Macy Chiasson
Alex Pereira shut down a spirited effort from Khalil Rountree Jr., so there’s not a lot to report when it comes to the men’s side of the list, though Pereira’s dominance and popularity continue to push the question of just how close he is to usurping Islam Makhachev in the No. 1 spot.
Few would dispute Makhachev’s status as the best fighter in the world, but activity matters and Pereira has a strong case to top the charts with his fourth title fight victory in less than a year. To add further context, Makhachev has fought five times since the start of 2022, smoking Charles Oliveira to claim the lightweight title and then going 2-0 against featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski. His most recent outing saw him finish Dustin Poirier, one of the best lightweights ever.
Given that lightweight is widely considered to be a stronger division than light heavyweight or middleweight, it’s fair to keep Makhachev at No. 1. But if he doesn’t book a title fight soon, and Pereira keeps up this pace, Makhachev might not be able to hold “Poatan” for long.
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Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): No. 2 Alex Pereira def. Khalil Rountree Jr.
The six-person voting panel consists of MMA Fighting staffers Alexander K. Lee, Guilherme Cruz, Mike Heck, E. Casey Leydon, Damon Martin and Jed Meshew.
Updates to the rankings will be completed following every UFC pay-per-view. Fighters will be removed from the rankings if they do not compete within 18 months of their most recent bout.
Should a fighter announce their retirement, our panel will decide whether that fighter should immediately be removed from the rankings or maintain their position until further notice (let’s put it this way: we’d have taken Khabib Nurmagomedov out of our rankings a lot quicker than the UFC did).
As a reminder, the notion of pound-for-pound supremacy is always going to inherently be subjective. When you’re debating whether someone like Sean Strickland should be ranked above someone like Charles Oliveira, there is no true right answer. In other words: It’s not serious business, folks.
Thoughts? Questions? Concerns? Make your voice heard in the comments below.
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