Elaina Maxwell

About me:

When one door closes, another one opens. Everything happens for a reason, and as Ralph Waldo Emerson says, always do what you are afraid to do. Step outside of your comfort zone. If you don't, you will always be the same person, plus you'll always wonder what if. Live life with no regrets. What doesn't kill you will only make you stronger. A new chapter begins, and with that comes great change, but always remember that routine is the enemy! I still feel truly blessed because having graditude makes life so much better. I am thankful for everything my parents (RIP) blessed me with, my loving sisters and all of my true friends. Check my calendar often for upcoming events!

www.elainamaxwell.com

PS - I love dragon fruit, espresso, and egg whites.

"Dance like no one is watching, love like you've never been hurt, sing like no one is listening, and make money like you don't even need it."

"Don't tell me the sky is the limit when there are footprints on the moon!"

"If you want to achieve greatness, you must forget about yesterday."

"Intelligent people talk about ideas, average people talk about things and small people talk about other people; what kind of a person are you?"

"The day you stop trying to improve yourself is the day you decided to start dying."

"It's better to be an open sinner than a false saint."

"Isn't it ironic? We ignore those who adore us, adore those who ignore us, hurt those who love us and love those who hurt us."

"Find comfort in the discomfort."

"Love is stronger than any addiction."

Title & Championships:

2002 Born To Fight II Gold Medal Champion
2002 USAWKF National San Shou Champion
2003 Born To Fight III Gold Medal Champion
2003 USAWKF National San Shou Champion
2003 World Wushu Gold Medal Champion
2003 USH! Fighter of the Year
2004 USAWKF National San Shou Champion
2004 IKF San Shou US Light Middleweight Champion
2004 ISKA San Da San Shou Light Middleweight World Champion
2004 North American San Da Women?s Middleweight Intercontinental Champion
2004 USAWKF National San Shou Champion
2005 Arnold Super Fight Champion
2005 USAWKF National San Shou Champion
2005 World Wushu Silver Medal Champion
2005 IKF San Shou US Super Welterweight Champion
2005 Inside Kung Fu Competitor of the Year
2006 United Gracie Tournament Gold Medal Champion
2006 OTM US Open Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Gold Medal Champion
2006 USA Grappling Team Member
2007 Jiu Jitsu by the Sea Brazilian Jiu Jitsu - Open Weight First Place
2007 Pan Americans BJJ First Place - Unlimited Weight
2007 Best of the West Grappling First Place - Advanced Open Weight
2007 Golden State Light Middleweight MMA Champion
2008 MMA Legacy Cast

Biography

Elaina has always been an athlete of some kind because she loves competition. She started playing soccer in grade school in Salt Lake City, Utah with her twin sister, Ila. Yes, Elaina is the older twin by three minutes. After moving to Muscle Shoals, Alabama due to her father's work transfer, she picked up her love for volleyball in middle school, which she played year-round for twelve years. Having no martial arts experience whatsoever, Elaina started martial arts in somewhat of a strange way because she initially used kickboxing as an off-season workout for volleyball and track and field when it was the latest fad in workout trends. She fell in love with the contact, intensity, and competition of San Shou, which is Chinese Kickboxing. While finishing off her volleyball career and pursuing her educational goals at San Jose State University, Elaina made the USH! Fight Team in March of 1998. She began to grow as a martial artist from there under Cung Le's guidance. After taking some time off to complete her last volleyball season, Elaina began training on a more serious level because she missed the feeling and intensity of competition in her life. Going to school full time and working part time helped Elaina to dedicate herself more to martial arts. This helped her to become a more disciplined athlete in all aspects of her life through consistency and learning the overall mentality of a martial artist. In 2003 after Elaina's first World Wushu Gold Medal Championship in Macau, China, she received her BS in Business Administration with an emphasis in Human Resource Management. When in training for a fight, Elaina makes many sacrifices on a daily basis from eating the right foods to training double days. She's pleased to finally see the fruits of her labor, becoming a 3-time World San Shou Champion as well as the North American San Da Intercontinental Middleweight Champion. Recently, Elaina received her first professional MMA title, becoming the 2007 Golden State Light Middleweight MMA Champion. However, she knows that continued success only comes from training hard and staying consistent. Elaina displays an ongoing commitment to martial arts because she remains disciplined in her everyday routine and hungry for new competition. Venturing into Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in 2005, Elaina will soon be a purple belt. In addition, Elaina has been fighting professionally since 2006. Now that Elaina has been practicing martial arts for so long, she can't even imagine her life without it because training and teaching has become such an integral part of her lifestyle. During the past twelve years, Elaina has become one of the pioneers of San Shou and MMA, making history over and over again. With both of her parents dying in 2007, she has suffered a few setbacks, including two consecutive MMA losses, in the industry and decided to switch up her scenery and training environment by moving to Las Vegas in 2008. By making this monumental change in her life, Elaina hopes to move toward a whole new level of competition in Sin City. Ranked in the WAMMA Top 10 for her weight division, Elaina is now training out of Xtreme Couture and working diligently with The Institute of Sports Performance of Las Vegas.