Hawaii resident Bruno Pucci has proven hes capable of overcoming any obstacle – KHON2

Posted: Sep 17, 2019 / 03:46 PM HST / Updated: Sep 17, 2019 / 03:46 PM HST

Bruno Pucci // ONE Championship

The path to greatness for Bruno Pucci has never been an easy one.

Pucci, a 29-year-old from Brazil who married Hawaiis Angela Lee last year, accepted the first challenge of his life at just 11 years old when doctors told him he had a growth hormone problem.

Years later, Pucci has turned himself into an elite trainer at United MMA & Fitness Center in Waipahu alongside Lee, the reigning ONE Womens Atomweight World Champion. Together, they are helping to promote martial arts in Hawaii as a viable option for health fitness especially among the youth.

For Pucci,his life struggles have helped shape him into the man he is today.

It washard because every follow-up with the doctor was pretty exhausting, Pucci said. One day during a follow-up with the doctors, they recommended for me to start some sport to make things go back to normal.

That iswhere Puccis father stepped in and set his son on his current road to greatness as a world champion.

My dadsaid, Why dont you try Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu? Pucci remembered. And then I decided to try. Training martial arts, specifically Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, for so many years made me more self-confident and gave me a strong mind.

I neverthought that I would become an athlete having this growth hormone problem.

Throughhormone replacement therapy and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Pucci would find success quickly, first on the local state scene before hitting it big on a larger level.

In 2009and 2010, Puccibull won the No Gi Grappling World Championship, earning five podium finishes in all in either Gi or No Gi at the highest level. He is now a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and owns a 7-3 record in mixed martial arts.

Pucci madehis professional mixed martial arts debut in 2011 and won his first three bouts, including his inaugural appearance with ONEwhen he submitted Bashir Ahmad in the opening round. Back-to-back wins via first round submission over Xie Chao and Kotetsu Boku have highlighted his latest run, along with marrying Lee.

All fiveof Puccis victories with ONE have come via submission, as he has finished Ahmad, Chao, Boku, Jimmy Yabo and Anthony Engelen. Of those five opponents, only Engelen was able to survive the first round before falling to a rear-naked choke in the second.

I feelthat I can go through any difficulty in life, either in my career or personal life, and I can overcome anything, Pucci said. Martial arts has changed my life in so many ways and I am very grateful for that.

The powercouple of mixed martial arts first met in 2015 while Pucci was training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at Evolve MMA in Singapore. Lee, a Mililani graduate, made her debut around the same time with ONE Championship, scoring four wins in all during the calendar year.

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Hawaii resident Bruno Pucci has proven hes capable of overcoming any obstacle - KHON2