Serena DeJesus, MMA Fighter with Autism, Wins Her Professional Debut

Serena DeJesus, also known as the Southpaw Outlaw, won her professional MMA debut Saturday night. She competed in the co-main event on a fight card promoted by Fusion Fight League at the Four Seasons Arena in Great Falls, Montana.

DeJesus is one of the first professional MMA fighters to be diagnosed with autism.

Fellow MMA pro and friend Roxanne Modafferi first broke the news of DeJesus's win via her Facebook page.

Montana Sports profiled DeJesus prior to her fight, posting a video in which she opened up on her thoughts about being a role model for others:

“It’s a big reason why I fight," she said. "I want to show that there can be good role models in the autism community. Everybody looks up to fighters. I can be that strong example that you can do it; even if something is hard, just try, try again. It’s great. I have two siblings who are also autistic, and they're doing it too. One of them wants to fight like me when they get to be of age, and the other one wants to be social and be healthy, so it’s nice.”

April is National Autism Awareness month.