Karoliine Moones stepped into the ring against an experienced opponent in the main event of The Clash 4. Although she had to accept defeat this time, the competition left her with strong emotions and valuable experience. Moones admits that her attitude toward losses has changed significantly over the years—whereas she used to take them very hard, she is now able to analyze the outcome more calmly and move on. “My last losses were as an amateur, and the most recent one was in 2018. Back then, I cried, and it just felt so awful. This time, it wasn’t like that at all. I just have to come back stronger,” said Moones.
Team support helped her get over the loss
Moones trains at the Invicta sports club in Pärnu, where she is surrounded by a supportive team. According to the athlete, the feedback from her training partners and friends after the The Clash 4 match was especially important. “I did feel a bit sad for a moment, but everyone came up to me and said they respect me even more now than before. They said I showed a lot of heart and took on a tougher opponent with a different fighting style,” Moones recalled.
“When everyone is so supportive, you start to believe it yourself and think that maybe it really wasn’t that bad after all.”
— Karoliine Moones
When her loved ones and teammates emphasized her courage and fighting spirit, it helped the athlete herself see the match in a different light. “When everyone is so supportive, you start to believe it yourself and think that maybe things really weren’t that bad after all.”
The women’s main event was a special opportunity
The Clash 4 headliner stood out because the evening’s most important bout featured two female athletes. Moones considers this a significant moment both for her own career and for the visibility of women’s combat sports. “The fact that the main event was a women’s match was very special. I don’t even know if I’ll ever have another opportunity like this in my life.”
Despite the loss, the match left a deep impression on her. “That fight is still very close to my heart, even though I lost. I was in the main event and enjoyed it immensely. It’s really cool that the organizers put something like this together and made a women’s match the main event.”
In her opinion, The Clash has developed rapidly in a short time. The combat sports event, which began in Pärnu, has grown into a European combat sports festival held in Tallinn. “The Clash has done very well. They’ve developed very quickly, and now there’s an entire festival taking place in Tallinn. The organization has been excellent,” Moones praised.
Plans Include a Training Camp and Match in Thailand
Moones hopes to return to Thailand soon, where he has trained and competed before. According to the plan, the next training camp could begin as early as August. “I think I’ll go in August. I’ll do a training camp there and maybe a small fight, then I’ll come back and do another camp here before October,” he said. The goal is to return to Estonia in time to compete in The Clash 5, which takes place in October.
Data Engineer by Day, Combat Athlete by Night
Outside the gym, Moones works as a data engineer in the IT field. His weekdays are spent mostly in front of a computer, but his evenings are dedicated to training. “During the day, I’m on my laptop working; in the evening, I go to training, walk the dog, and enjoy the weather when it’s nice. It’s a pleasant and peaceful life,” he described.
During training camp, her workout schedule becomes significantly more intense. Then Moones might do two workouts a day and add morning runs to her routine. “During camp, there’s a morning run and, for example, two training sessions a day. During the off-season, I try to do one run a day and a gym session, or one of those combined with Muay Thai training. I might have one or two training sessions each day, but they don’t both have to be very intense,” she explained. Running workouts help maintain endurance, while at the gym she focuses on building physical strength.
There’s a shortage of female sparring partners in Pärnu
One of the most challenging aspects of Moone’s training is finding suitable sparring partners. There are few female fighters training in Pärnu, and most of her sparring partners have been men. “I actually don’t spar very much anymore. I’ve been doing this sport for so long, and at some point it hit me that all my sparring partners are men, and that hurts.”
Moones felt that, at a certain point, constantly sparring with men no longer provided her with the benefits she was looking for. “I’ve sparred so much over the course of my life that I’ve scaled back a bit now. I’d rather spar with women,” she said. While there are female athletes in Estonia, Moones would have to participate more often in women’s sparring sessions held in Tallinn.
Desire to compete in the 54-kilogram weight class
Moones wants to compete in the 54-kilogram weight class for her next matches. This makes it difficult to find suitable opponents in Estonia, as most female athletes compete in higher weight classes. “I want to compete at 54 kilos. In Thailand, I compete at 54 kilos, and I’d like to compete in that weight class at the next The Clash as well.” According to her, the difference between the 54-, 57-, and 60-kilogram weight classes is noticeable in combat sports.
However, the athlete’s long-term dreams aren’t limited to just competition results. Her greatest wish is to live on her own terms. “I dream of a beautiful life and freedom—to be able to do what you want and just be free,” Moones reveals.
- The 2026 European Combat Sports Festival will take place October 20–24 at the Unibet Arena in Tallinn. The festival will culminate on October 24 with the Main Event, The Clash 5.
- Co-funded by the European Union. However, the views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the European Union or the Education, Audiovisual, and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor the EACEA can be held responsible for them.