17-year-old MMA fighter arrested for misdemeanor charge after allegedly beating up woman

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WENDOVER, Utah ( ABC4 ) — A 19-year-old woman said she was severely beaten up by a 17-year-old MMA fighter — and that fighter could soon be facing a lawsuit from the woman’s family.

Angela Zamora is from Wendover, Utah — and the teen who allegedly put her in the hospital is an MMA fighter from West Wendover, Nevada. On Thursday, Sept. 26, Zamora said the 17-year-old assaulted her right outside her house.

“I came inside my house, I thought I got what I needed, and once I was going outside back to my car — and then that’s when I saw her,” Angela Zamora told ABC4.com.

The Zamora family claims that the fight was over an ex-boyfriend.

“I asked her, ‘What are you doing here,’ she wouldn’t reply. And that’s when I got distracted …” Angela Zamora said. “She started attacking me and punching me, and that was to her advantage. She is trained to do bodily damage to people. She is a trained MMA fighter, and so honestly I couldn’t defend myself. I was defenseless.”

Angela Zamora’s sister, Chantal Zamora, said that her sister has never been in a fight.

“She has never been in an altercation with anybody. That’s not the kind of person she is,” Chantal Zamora said.

The Wendover City Police Department has arrested the fighter on a class B misdemeanor charge, but she has since been released.

After the incident, Angela Zamora is not the only one who feels threatened by the 17-year-old.

“I could have got beaten up, too,” her friend Sophia said. “It could be me in the hospital, and that is a really terrifying thought.”

Sophia said she is in the process of getting a restraining order, and Angela Zamora’s parents, Enrique Zamora and Claudia Perez, are now considering taking legal action.

“We are going to do everything in our power to get the justice she deserves no matter what it takes,” her parents said.

“The police have told us that just because she is a minor, she can’t face the consequences just yet — and this is what is infuriating us, is that how could she cross state lines and come and beat up our daughter and not face consequences?” her dad asked.

Clayton Simms, a criminal defense attorney in Utah told ABC4.com that there are “always issues” in a fight — and that knowing MMA is similar to having a deadly weapon.

“Essentially, their skills make them a person who is dangerous, and they have the ability to control the fight,” Simms said.

But Simms also said the lines can get blurry.

“An aggravated assault is the level of injury. So, you can have a fight where no one is injured, which is a misdemeanor assault,” Simms said. “An aggravated assault is when a weapon is used and there is serious bodily injury. So, the seriousness of the assault charge is based on the level of injury.”

Simms said the 17-year-old could face a civil lawsuit for the damages she caused — such as hospital bills or “pain and suffering.”

ABC4.com has reached out to the family of the 17-year-old accused of assaulting Angela Zamora, but did not hear back at the time of publication.

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