Fighting for More Than Titles

Multiple Extreme Fighting Championship (EFC) World champion, Amanda Lino, wants her legacy to extend far beyond championship belts.

For Amanda, success is increasingly measured by the impact she has on others. The most significant chapter in her career has not been winning titles but transitioning from athlete to coach, a role anchored in her belief that leaders should set an example.

That philosophy is already producing results. Amanda currently trains four athletes in the South African MMA team, with her own journey providing a blueprint for the next generation. “I’ve lived what I teach,” she says. Having experienced both triumph and setback inside the hexagon, Amanda believes her athletes relate to her story. They have watched her become a champion, lose that status and fight her way back to the top.

Amanda made history in 2015 as the first female EFC champion. Three years later, she became the promotion’s first female double champion, simultaneously holding the bantamweight and flyweight titles. Seven years later, she added another milestone to her record. After losing the flyweight title in 2019, Amanda staged a remarkable comeback in 2025 to reclaim the belt, and she successfully defended it in June this year, becoming the first woman in EFC history to successfully defend a title after regaining it.

Her competitive ambitions remain intact; Amanda still has her sights set on breaking into either the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) or the Professional Fighters League (PFL). Yet her primary focus now is developing young athletes.

“While I’m almost like the cool aunt, Josh and Luke de Beer have almost become like my own kids,” she says. Coaching has also become a journey of self-discovery, with Amanda continually learning about herself whilst mentoring others.

Beyond the physical demands of elite sport, she has also navigated significant personal challenges. Diagnosed with ADHD and an anxiety disorder at a young age, Amanda says both conditions carried considerable stigma when she was growing up and, rather than hide them, she chose to speak openly about her experiences. “If you say I can’t, I’m going to,” she says. “I let that challenge fuel the negative into a positive.”

Amanda has also had to learn to manage what she describes as the “after-fight blues”: the emotional comedown following months of preparation, the adrenaline of competition and the quiet that inevitably follows. Recognising that her identity could not be tied solely to fighting proved critical. She realised that it was not fight night itself that sustained her, but the daily discipline of training and pursuing excellence. That perspective has helped her maintain balance and protect her mental wellbeing.

Breaking Boundaries

Amanda has spent much of her career challenging expectations in spaces traditionally dominated by men. Through both sport and business, she believes she has helped encourage other women to pursue ambitions that society may discourage. “Many women accept the limitations society puts on them. Myself and others who have broken out of the boxes have encouraged other women to also push boundaries,” she says.

Encouraging women to pursue their dreams and take risks has become one of her greatest passions, and the same mindset has shaped her entrepreneurial journey. What began as a single studio has grown into the Maddog Performance Institute, a comprehensive training facility occupying seven shops in the Balvista Centre. “My dream has become a reality. And it comes back to a strong mindset,” she says.

The world champion-led institute offers MMA, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and kickboxing training, alongside elite personal training and recovery facilities. For Amanda, success is not defined by a single achievement, but by the many elements that make up her life, such as family, sport, business and the opportunity to positively influence others.

Coaching young athletes has also revealed something unexpected: It has strengthened her desire to become a mother. “My partner and I want to have kids in about two years’ time,” she says with a warm smile.

For an athlete who has spent a lifetime breaking barriers, it may prove to be her most important chapter yet.

Instagram: @maddogperformanceinstitute

Photos: EFC WORLDWIDE / ROARKE BOUFFE & LANCE HUMPHREY