“Let’s just hit her back and see what happens.” Adriana Grano is not a brawler by nature.
An accomplished kickboxer? Very much so. But not a street fighter by any means.
“I am always going to fight a little more on the agility side, with good footwork and quickness,” said the 21-year-old lifelong Sudburian upon returning home from a pair of international events in recent months. “That’s more of my preference.”
Having captured her semi-final bout at the 2024 Pan American Kickboxing Championships in Vina del Mar, Chile, late last month, Grano was preparing for a second straight Brazilian opponent.
“They (Brazilian fighters) like a lot of looping shots, hooks and upper cuts – and they all do it very well,” Grano said. “And they are all very big, very tough. They had such a big team in Chile, it seemed they were in every division. I got to kind of see their style – and our semi-final fight was first, so after I won the first fight, I got to watch the second one.
“I kind of had an idea as to what might happen in the final.”
Or maybe not.
Competing in the 70kg class, the graduate of Cambrian College spends part of her day working at the Sudbury Christian Academy before heading over to Sudbury MMA, both to teach and to train.
Always one of the smaller fighters in her weight class, her stature and her extensive background in dance are evidenced in her quick and agile fighting style, to the extent that she can dictate the style of fight.
“Just based on the style she was fighting, I got into a bit more of a brawl – and it kind of worked in my favour,” said Grano, returning home proudly as divisional gold medal winner.
“I know that I can brawl. It’s starting to evolve into my game a little bit more. But I want to look nice,” she added with a smile.
The trip to South America marked the end of a busy five-week stretch given that Grano was part of the national team that competed at a Canada-USA Cup hosted in St Petersburg, Florida, in mid-September. Her battle with American Casandra Uribe did not go her way, but that only served to fuel her fire that much more.
“It was a good experience, a good fight,” Grano said. “I went all three rounds; I didn’t get hurt; nothing crazy happened. I just didn’t perform the way I would have liked to. Nothing really tied together for me in that fight – and that happens. She just had a better night.”
Thankfully, she could turn her attention immediately to Chile and a chance for redemption.
“I knew that I was fighting four weeks later so it did not allow me to sit in the loss very long,” Grano said. “It didn’t go my way but we had to move on. I upped my training a little bit for Pan Ams, based on things I could do in a very short period of time.”
The end result is a national champion who is more driven and focused than ever before, looking excitedly to the calendar year ahead.
“I think I had to experience the loss and some wins (internationally) to completely set my mind as to where I want things to go,” said Grano.
“The big goal is World Championships in November (of 2025) in Abu Dhabi (United Emirates) – and the goal would be to podium, to win. Everything I am working through from January until later in the year is setting myself up for that.”
It’s possible that effort might also coincide with a drop in weight class, though that is still somewhat up in the air. What is certain is that Grano is committed to holding off on making a jump to the professional ranks for a few years yet.
“My goal is to accomplish things as an amateur first,” she said. “You can always go pro. I am in no rush. I still have things to learn, things to do and I don’t want to make that jump too quickly.”
Adriana Grano will get there in due time – be it as a technical fighter or a brawler – but a top-notch Canadian kickboxing talent, either way.
Randy Pascal is a sportswriter in Greater Sudbury. Pursuit is made possible by our Community Leaders Program.