Utah woman becomes professional fighter after leaving abusive relationship

Utah woman becomes professional fighter after leaving abusive relationship

(Courtesy of Tandi Suitter)


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OREM — Professional MMA, muay thai fighter and gym owner Tandi Suitter’s life has the makings of a blockbuster film, though her life is anything but scripted. Suitter’s authenticity, compassion and strength have enabled her to craft her own narrative and beat the script.

Suitter’s saga began when, at 18 years old, she found herself a single mother caring for her son, Ammon, who had cerebral palsy.

“My son’s biological dad was really abusive psychologically, physically and in all the ways you can be abusive. After being in a vulnerable situation with him, I always wanted to learn how to defend myself. I was really quiet and insecure at that time,” she said.

But Ammon became the catalyst of Suitter’s hope.

“Ammon was so strong. He would go through surgeries like it was nothing and still smile at me as happy as could be," Suitter said. "To watch that in someone that can't complain and can’t fight back or does not understand what is happening, I think that was the biggest motivation. If he can fight back through all that pain, then why can’t I?”

Tandi Suitter and Ammon. (Photo: Courtesy of Tandi Suitter)
Tandi Suitter and Ammon. (Photo: Courtesy of Tandi Suitter)

Two years after Suitter’s divorce to Ammon’s biological father, her best friend invited her to a muay thai class. This was the beginning of a new journey for the single mother. She quickly gravitated to the sport.

“I loved that feeling of putting yourself in vulnerable situations, then learning how to fight back and confront what is coming after you,” Suitter explained.

After barely losing her first muay thai fight, Suitter decided she didn’t want to lose again. Since that day, she's won every fight. During one particular fight, Suitter broke her eye socket after her opponent drove her knee into her face. But she persisted on, half-blind.

“A lot of a fight is physical, but a huge part of it is mental. For example, when you train for a fight, it is a lot like how you practice for events in everyday life,” Suitter said. “If you want something really bad, you can’t just practice it and think that you will do great. You literally have to put the situation into play in your mind before it happens. You have to practice being calm and in the moment.”

Tandi Suitter in the ring. (Photo: Courtesy of Tandi Suitter)
Tandi Suitter in the ring. (Photo: Courtesy of Tandi Suitter)

Suitter continued to confront difficult life situations, in tandem with the ones she encountered in the ring. The young mother watched her son go through almost every surgery imaginable — spine, hip, stomach and several others throughout his entire life, until on May 31, 2015, Ammon passed away.

“Watching your child die is something that no mother should ever have to go through. And to watch him fight for 18 years to breathe and then have to have the doctors take the oxygen off of him — that went against everything I had gone through my whole life.”

Suitter said she knew that her time with Ammon was coming to an end a few months before his passing.

Tandi and Blake Suitter attend Ammon's funeral. (Photo: Courtesy of Tandi Suitter)
Tandi and Blake Suitter attend Ammon's funeral. (Photo: Courtesy of Tandi Suitter)

“Something just kept telling me — even three months before he passed away — it was almost like Ammon was spiritually communicating with me that it was his time to go. Like I am so glad you are happy, and you could almost feel like him saying it is my time to go,” Suitter said.

Suitter’s life had been dedicated to Ammon 24 hours every day for 18 years and navigating this new space without him seemed impossible. But life slowly came back to her after she followed her husband, Blake Suitter's, suggestion to get out of the house.

She eventually went back to coach at The Pit Elevated gym in Orem, but when she arrived, the Pit’s owners announced the gym was closing.

So, Suitter decided to open her own gym. Tandi, Blake and Tandi's stepson, Braydn Suitter, opened Wasatch Combat Sports in March 2016. They ran the gym together and lived off Blake Suitter's income for the first year, keeping the gym afloat. The gym offers muay thai, boxing, MMA, jiujitsu and strength and conditioning classes.

Tandi Suitter teaches kids at her gym. (Photo: Courtesy of Tandi Suitter)
Tandi Suitter teaches kids at her gym. (Photo: Courtesy of Tandi Suitter)

“We started classes straight from the get-go. I was running the front desk, doing the marketing and teaching classes. I taught a lot of the muay thai and boxing classes,” Suitter explained. “All the coaches came from The Pit. They truly are such great people. There are zero egos here.”

After a divorce, a remarriage and the death of her son, Suitter is still fighting, becoming the heroine of her own blockbuster.

Suitter’s gym has grown substantially since its opening in 2016 and will move to a significantly larger location at 543 E. 1600 North in Vineyard in February 2018.


Sara Jarman

About the Author: Sara Jarman

Sara Jarman is a journalist and content marketer. Her book "Elephants on the Rampage: The Eclipse of Conservatism in America" came out in February 2017. She currently attends law school at BYU. Previously, Sara Jarman worked as a content manager for KSL.com. You can contact her at sjarman2@gmail.com or on Twitter at @saraajarman.

“We started classes straight from the get-go. I was running the front desk, doing the marketing and teaching classes. I taught a lot of the muay thai and boxing classes,” Suitter explained. “All the coaches came from The Pit. They truly are such great people. There are zero egos here.”

After a divorce, a remarriage and the death of her son, Suitter is still fighting, becoming the heroine of her own blockbuster.

Suitter’s gym has grown substantially since its opening in 2016 and will move to a significantly larger location at 543 E. 1600 North in Vineyard in February 2018.


![Sara Jarman](//img.ksl.com/slc/2590/259064/25906406\.jpg?filter=ksl/65x65)
About the Author: Sara Jarman -----------------------------

Sara Jarman is a journalist and content marketer. Her book "Elephants on the Rampage: The Eclipse of Conservatism in America" came out in February 2017. She currently attends law school at BYU. Previously, Sara Jarman worked as a content manager for KSL.com. You can contact her at sjarman2@gmail.com or on Twitter at @saraajarman.

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