{
  "id": 13880617,
  "title": "‘Leaving For Thailand’ – Malia Weaver Recalls Packing Her Whole Life In Five Days To Chase Her Muay Thai Dream",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/12/leaving-for-thailand-malia-weaver-recalls-packing-her-whole-life-in",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-10-12T05:14:05.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/leaving-thailand-malia-weaver-recalls-051405159.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "At just 16 years old, Malia Weaver has dedicated her life to Muay Thai, training in the United States and Thailand. Raised in Los Angeles, she started martial arts at four and found her passion for Muay Thai in 2020. Her family’s support, including her mother’s career as a personal trainer and father’s boxing background, fueled her journey. Weaver’s family relocated to Nashville, Tennessee, where she continued her training at Chonburi Muay Thai. Initially feeling self-conscious about her sport choice, she made her amateur debut at 10 and won her first bout within the first 30 seconds. A two-week trip to Thailand, organized by her former gym, sparked her love for the country and its martial arts traditions. Now, Weaver trains at Fairtex Training Center in Pattaya, vying for a World Title under the ONE Championship banner. She will soon make her promotional debut against Canada’s Olivia \"Diamond\" Bahsous in women’s atomweight Muay Thai at The Inner Circle 35 on October 16 at Bangkok’s Lumpinee Stadium. The bout will stream live in Asia for subscribers at live.onefc.com.",
  "summary": "A childhood passion, family sacrifices, and years of training abroad shaped the teenage phenom.",
  "key_points": [
    "16-year-old Malia Weaver dedicates life to Muay Thai.",
    "Family relocated to Nashville for her training.",
    "Promotional debut against Olivia Diamond Bahsous on October 16."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}