Before ever stepping into the cage for her professional MMA debut, Melissa Balic’s reputation precedes her.
The former kickboxer has already experienced viral fame and even tried out for WWE after an approach from the legendary Paul Heyman. And she will bring a sizeable social media following with her this Thursday night when she has her first fight under the PFL banner.
Balic, from New York, trains out of the famous Tiger Schulmann gym and steers clear of the spotlight while she’s preparing for a fight. And she plans to develop as a flyweight contender before eventually entering their global season and fighting for $1million.
Melissa Balic was stunned by viral fame after makeup tutorial garnered millions of views
The kickboxing champion-turned-MMA fighter has accrued over a quarter of a million followers before even fighting as a professional. She first found fame when she shared a video showing her before and after an amateur bout, which was viewed over 11million times on Instagram.
A soft-spoken New Yorker of Montenegrin descent, Balic was floored by her massive jump if viewers and following. Speaking exclusively with Bloody Elbow, she explained: “It was this one video I posted where I had a really hard sparring session that day and my face was all cut up.
“I was about to go to dinner and I was like ‘you know what? Let me do a make-up tutorial. That sounds like a great idea!’ Then I sat down, took a makeup brush and put makeup on my face like I do before I go to dinner.
“So I said I’d post this and my mom came up and was like ‘I really liked that video you put up, you’re probably going to delete it’. I’m a post-and-delete girl, I get super shy. Then it was just like ‘poof’ and it had 11million views and I was like ‘nice’.
“It was a blessing for sure. I’ve been getting a lot of congratulations and praise but I’m just pushing it to the side and focussing on the fight ahead of me and I’ll enjoy all of that cool stuff after, I try not to let it put me on any sort of high or anything, I want to make sure I’m just a regular person, I’m not anything.”
Melissa Balic had WWE trials after link-up with Paul Heyman
Before making the move to PFL, Balic was approached by WWE and even participated in a few try-outs for the professional wrestling giant. She formed a solid friendship with fellow New York native Paul Heyman after a social media meeting, but opted to fight instead of moving into sports entertainment.
“I love Paul,” Balic noted. “Whenever I need advice I would go to Paul because he’s a very smart man in the field of wrestling and fighting too, obviously. We got into contact and I would always go to him if I needed any advice.
“His area of expertise is the ‘representing yourself as a superstar’ factor. He’s very good at managing wrestlers and he knows how to cut a good promo. He’s the best in the game and a very smart man. I’ve known him for a few years now.”
Balic was able to earn a number of trials with the WWE, although she is more keen to prove herself in the cage first. “I had a few tryouts,” she explained. “But I just think that for now, fighting is the right path for me, but maybe one day.”
Melissa Balic wants to ‘surprise everyone’ in MMA debut
Given the nature of her social media following, there will be doubters over the legitimacy of Balic’s skills until she proves herself. And she plans to do that in spectacular fashion against Kristina Katsikis on the undercard of Thursday’s PFL event at former Bellator stronghold Mohegan Sun.
“Of course I watched all of her fights,” she said of the renowned grappler Katsikis. “It’s important so you know what to deal with. I think she’s very strong and she’s very good.
“But I think it’s time for me to show the whole world and how amazing I am as a fighter and surprise everyone.”
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