Last Night, Invicta FC 49 took place at the Sugar Creek Casino in Oklahoma. Jillian DeCoursey challenged Jessica Delboni in the main event in an attempt to get the atomweight title for the first time.
Jillian DeCoursey was born in Glendale, Queens and has a master’s degree in mental health counseling from Iona College.
Imagine the surprise on her patients’ faces when they discover DeCoursey is also a world-class mixed martial artist after Googling her.
DeCoursey submitted Delboni in an impressive fashion just last night.
She did it!!! @lionheartjill wins the Invicta FC atomweight title with this first round RNC of Jéssica Delboni pic.twitter.com/6RNeiITnXt
— Will (@ChillemDafoe) September 29, 2022
DeCoursey spoke with The Post about the fact that she still has a day job – and an unlikely one at that.
“You go to the doctor — especially if you go to a therapist — you’re Googling them, right? So they Google me, and the first things that come up are always my fight stuff. So it becomes a big, ‘Oh, that’s so cool!’ And they tend to open up more.”
Despite having trained in martial arts for well over ten years, DeCoursey achieved career milestones later than the average fighter. She didn’t start training in martial arts until she had finished her academic career, at about age 24.
The major break for DeCoursey came at Invicta on May 11 against renowned Lindsey VanZandt, who DeCoursey had defeated by decision in the amateur ranks.
Right hand missile from DeCoursey placed VanZandt’s head on a swivel, and left hand strike from him knocked her to the ground. Before the referee could help the stiffening VanZandt, she tossed in a pair of hefty hammer fists.
DeCoursey said: “I just remember seeing her fall to the ground, and I’m like, ‘Oh, that’s where I want you. That’s where I want to go.’ So I just followed up. Then I remember the ref pushing me off, and I was like, ‘Oh, my God! This just happened.’
“Now, you have all these kids that are coming up doing it. When I started, that wasn’t really the case,” DeCoursey said. “A lot of people were in the same boat as I was. They went to school; they had a career. … There were a few that were starting young, but most of them had careers and stuff. So it’s like, ‘Alright, you could do this.’ ”
DeCoursey believes the late start was the right path for her, in particular.
“I don’t think I could have done it younger,” she says. “Life was too crazy. I don’t think, mentally, I could have handled it. It happened at the time it needed to happen.”
DeCoursey is 38 years old and just became a champion. While Invicta usually serves as a feeder organization for the UFC they might pass due to DeCoursey’s age and due to her competing at atomweight. The smallest UFC division is strawweight.