Fredia Gibbs

She amassed a kickboxing record of 16-0-1 with 15 KOs. Her only draw came from an exhibition fight with a male opponent. She beat the Most Dangerous Woman in the World from France Valerie Henin in "The Battle of the Masters" PPV show to win the ISKA World Championship in April 1994; this made Gibbs the first African American female to hold the world kickboxing championship for the International Sport Karate Association.

Her fight gear is displayed at the Sports Legend of Delaware County Museum, dedicated to preserving the history and memory of Delaware County Sports Legends. She is an author, celebrity trainer, philanthropist, motivational speaker, and radio host. In 2016–2017 she was honored and participated in the Orange County Heritage Black History Parade and was nominated to attend the United State of Women summit hosted by the White House.

In 2016 Gibbs was named one of the Top Ten Greatest African American Female Athletes of All time for Kickboxing.

Gibbs has also worked as an actress and a sports model for Sebastian International Sports Department. She has been featured in Black Achievers, Black Belt, Daily Press, Delco Times, Inside Karate, Jet, Los Angeles Sentinel, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Sports Illustrated for Women, and Upscale Magazine. In 2001, Gibbs the villain Tanya "Terminator" Tessario in the film Knockout. In 1996, she had a cameo in an episode of "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air."

On January 15, 1999, Gibbs handed Las Vegas hometown favorite Hannah Fox her first loss in a six-round unanimous decision, shown live on ESPN2. On November 16, 2001, Gibbs fought a highly anticipated WIBA world title fight against Sumya Anani, who had defeated former champion Christy Martin. Gibbs and Anani fought an exciting ten-round majority draw, which left the 140-lb WIBA World Title vacant. The Gibbs-Anani rematch occurred April 28, 2003, and Gibbs was unable to answer the bell for the second round with an injury to her right hand, yielding the victory to Anani. Disappointed in the outcome, Gibbs explained "I came in ready to win this fight, but Sumya is a strong fighter and I was not prepared to fight her with only my left hand." Following the fight, Gibbs announced her retirement from boxing.

In 1997, Gibbs started boxing professionally. Her record was 9-2-1 (2 KO). She made her boxing debut January 23, 1997 in a four-round decision over Maria Fortaleza Recinos. Due to unfortunate scheduling, Gibbs entered the title fight against Leah Mellinger during the time she was filming the movie Knockout. The intense film schedule combined with the cross-country flight from Los Angeles to Atlantic City, New Jersey, was less than ideal, and Gibbs suffered her first loss. Gibbs said the loss to Mellinger inspired her to intensify her training to resume her journey to the top.

Gibbs made Black History when she became the first African-American female Kickboxing ISKA World Champion. She earned the name "The Most Dangerous Woman in the World" after an upset in 1994 in her fight against World Champion Valérie Wiet-Henin of France in the "Battle of the Masters" Pay Per View Event in San Jose, California. She went on to become one of the most dominant champions of all time and remains a significant historical figure in light and superlightweight kickboxing divisions. She competed from 1991–1997, amassing a record of 16 wins, 0 losses, and 15 KOs, and three world titles. She also competed as a top contender in women's professional boxing from 1997–2005 with a record of 9 wins, 2 losses, and 1 draw. She wrote The Fredia Gibbs Story about her life on 2016.

In 1990, after moving to North Hollywood, California, Gibbs took up kickboxing at the Benny Urquidez's The Jet Kickboxing Training Center under the instruction of Rubin Urquidez and David Krapes. After that she studied Muay Thai Kickboxing under the instruction of Bangkok, Thailand Sur Puk & Saekson Janjira of the Muay Thai Academy of America in North Hollywood. Her Muay Thai manager was Felice Levair. She had studied martial arts at Quiet Storm under the instruction of Master Rick Berry, Mr. Brown and her uncle William Groce in Chester, Pennsylvania.

From the age of 12 until 1988, Gibbs competed in basketball. She was credited with turning a winless program at Chester High School into a Division Champion, District Champion, and State Semi-finalist while earning All-County, All-State, and All-American honors. She averaged 28 points, 5 rebounds, and 10 assists in her senior year. In 1981, she received dual scholarships in basketball and track to Temple University. After competing at Temple for one season, she lost her scholarship in 1982 due to academics and withdrew.

Fredia "The Cheetah" Gibbs (born July 8, 1963), is an American former professional martial artist, kickboxer, and boxer who competed from 1975–2005. During her kickboxing career, she held ISKA, WKA, and WKF World Titles. Before her kickboxing career, she won three world titles in Tae Kwon Do and was an All-American in basketball and track.