If not for a bad batch of oysters, Sierra Lee Dinwoodie would still be an Okanagan girl.
Dinwoodie, 29, was born in Vernon, grew up in Armstrong, graduated from Salmon Arm Senior Secondary, then moved to Kelowna to seriously pursue a career in mixed martial arts (MMA) fighting.
The former jiu jitsu competitor started training at 13, got into wrestling and submission grappling, and was doing all kinds of jiu jitsu training. She began competing in jiu jitsu at 15, and at the same age, took part in her first MMA fight.
She met up with Sarah Moras, a veteran UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) athlete who took Dinwoodie under her wing as a training partner and friend. Moras was, and remains, a big inspiration and huge influence to Dinwoodie.
After 10 years in Kelowna 鈥� where she won four amateur MMA fights, two kickboxing bouts, and a kickboxing amateur title in Seattle 鈥� Dinwoodie spread her wings and jetted east to the Hamilton area for a training trip under the watchful eyes of Kru Alin, owner/operator of Kru Alin HOC (House of Champions) MMA, and to be on an MMA fight card for her first professional fight.
She beat her opponent in the fight, but lost disastrously to a plate of seafood.
"After the fight, we went out and I had some oysters," said Dinwoodie from her home in Stoney Creek, Ont., just outside Hamilton, home of Kru Alin HOC. "I was scheduled to fly back to the Okanagan the next day, but I got so sick I couldn't leave the hotel room."
Turns outs the nasty oysters were the best thing to happen for Dinwoodie and her burgeoning career.
Alin invited her to stay, and Dinwoodie never left. She met everyone at HOC and realized eastbound and down would be a good change for her career.
"I never pictured myself leaving the Okanagan," said Dinwoodie. "My family is there. When I came out here, I thought it was just a short visit. Trust the universe 鈥� what seems like a bad thing (the sickness) ends up being a blessing."
The move has opened so many doors for Dinwoodie. She's met amazing people, has proper MMA management and coaching, and her fighting career is taking off.
Alin is her coach and manager. He has trained multiple world champions. Three of her gym mates fight in the UFC, including Kyle Nelson, "a huge part of my camp, all-round good person, big influence on me getting better and being the UFC ultimate fighter I want to be," said Dinwoodie. She has a former professional fighter, champion, and collegiate wrestler in Adrian Woolley coaching her in wrestling techniques
Dinwoodie is 4-0 as a professional, having won her last two bouts by unanimous decision, including a win over San Diego's Nikol Aguirre at the Seneca Fight Night MMA card, presented by Legacy Fighting, at the Seneca Niagara Resort and Casino in upstate New York in late February.
Those two bouts show her progress in the sport. Both times she had to go the distance, and both times Dinwoodie experienced something rare in her fighting career 鈥� sitting on a stool between rounds. She won her first two professional fights and three prior amateur bouts by either knockout or submission before the end of the first round.
"It's good to know if I have to go the distance, my cardio and technique is good enough," said Dinwoodie. "I don鈥檛 lose momentum if a fight goes longer."
Standing 5-foot-11, and weighing in at 135 pounds, Dinwoodie competes in the bantamweight class. She is currently ranked No. 72 in the world among bantamweight fighters (). She is ranked No. 59 in North America, and No. 4 in North America sub-regions (Canada, U.S. Northeast, New York, Ontario).
Due to the comparatively small number of female fighters in most regions, all women are grouped into a single Pound for Pound ranking in each region, instead of separate rankings for each weight class.
And that's one of Dinwoodie's issues. While she's ready, able, and healthy to fight, finding a willing opponent is not so easy.
Take, for example, the summer of 2024, when she, Alin, and company flew to Paris for a scheduled card. Dinwoodie took part in all of the lead-up of fight week, promotional appearances, interviews. When it came to the weigh-in for the match, her scheduled opponent showed up 鈥� 37 pounds overweight. No fight was to be had.
"She ate every meal I skipped," laughed Dinwoodie. "It was disappointing but still a good experience. We have a hard time getting someone to say 'yes' to a fight. Hopefully there will be more opportunities, but I'll be ready to rise to the challenge."
Her ultimate goal is to be in the Ultimate Fighting Championship series, where bantamweight is the smallest division.
"I think I could be a good addition," said Dinwoodie. "I have lots to learn, and I'm still growing. Every fight, I want to show up and get better and better."
She trains a minimum of three-to-four hours a day, six days a week. Sunday is a rest day. When she's not training, Dinwoodie teaches jiu jitsu to kids and adults, and is also a personal trainer.
She used to work two-to-three jobs to survive, including security, construction, and dealing with stucco and plaster.
"I used to get asked, 'what's your workout routine?' and I would tell people 'well putting concrete on a roof will make you strong,'" chuckled Dinwoodie.
Away from the gym, she describes herself as an avid reader. And a daddy's girl.
Dinwoodie is the daughter of North Okanagan country music singer/songwriter Lee Dinwoodie, one of her biggest fans.
"I'm following in dad's footsteps. He's inspired me and I'm working on my own music," she said. "I write, I sing. I get by on the ukulele and guitar. It's an outlet. It's very therapeutic for me. I've always looked up to my dad. I never saw myself as a kid being an MMA fighter. I wanted to be the next Shania (Twain) but I never had the confidence."
She has that confidence now. Being on the MMA stage has helped. And when she enters the ring, dad's newest single, Nothing Like Her (available on Spotify), is her entry tune, blaring away on the loudspeakers.
"I've walked into the cage with that song for my last two fights. It gets me ready. I love it, it's a great song," said Dinwoodie. "I can share that and have dad there with me, even if he's not. It's personal to me, and it gets the crowd going too.
"Dad is one of my biggest supporters, and does everything he can to support me. He followed his dream, and that鈥檚 what I鈥檓 trying to do."
Mom Dana Dinwoodie has warmed up to the idea of her daughter making a living by knocking people out or choking them into submission.
"Cage fighting was not her first idea of what she wanted me to do," laughed Dinwoodie. "She's supportive, but she worries. She has a hard time watching me. But I know she's very proud of me."
Dinwoodie has also switched places with her brother, Dakota. Where Dakota was the captain of his football teams and always the athlete growing up, Dinwoodie was the bookworm. Now she's punishing people with her fists and feet while her brother is saving lives as a paramedic and former firefighter.
She has fallen in love with Stoney Creek, which reminds her a lot of home.
"I'm a small-town girl, and while Toronto is great, I love not being in the hustle-bustle among the skyscrapers. I'm right by the water (Lake Ontario)," said Dinwoodie.
You can take the girl out of the Okanagan, but you can't take the Okanagan out of the girl.
