Samourai MMA 9 transpires on February 2nd at La Tohu in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
SMMA 9 combatant Isabelle Lacroix joined LM2 in the lead-up to this card. The 105-pound warrior offered great insights ahead of her fight against Justine Priede.
Excerpts from the conversation with Dylan Bowker of MMA Canada can be found below.
Samourai MMA 9
Lacroix has long represented Mas Thai Boxing and the Team Renzo Gracie Brazilian jiu-jitsu product has also been getting in some London-area work at the Submission Academy.
In addition to training, helming the women’s only BJJ program and creating confidence as well as curating a community from that has been such a clearly massive passion for Lacroix.
So far, she has had two PFC fights before and the journey to Samourai came via her manager Alex Caporicci with KO Reps. November and December discourse was had with a multi-fight Samourai MMA deal now being locked in for Isabelle Lacroix. Something that could very well serve an active 2024 run that the atomweight seems to be eyeing.
Isabelle Lacroix
There was a contrast given between the Lacroix that first spoke to Bowker versus the fighter she has become now. Going from professional debutant to now looking to go 3-0 in the sport. When asked where she is at now in terms of that refinement in her MMA game between these anecdotal interactions, Lacroix said,
Isabelle Lacroix vs Justine Priede
The Tapology top ten ranked pound-for-pound woman in Canada has been fine tuning her striking to be more MMA-focused. In addition to top game improvements that have been noticeable with wrestling and no-gi being a consistent focus for Lacroix, development has been evident in a few regards for her. Lacroix laughed about the fun that underpins mounting and punching partners in the face in discussing the friendship bonds that can come out of that kind of training.
The journey continues from when she won a North American Muay Thai title a decade ago after getting a gym membership just a few months prior to that. Lacroix will see the next part of her story unfurl at Samourai Chapter 9 Friday night in Quebec.