Nili Block (; born January 16, 1995) is a professional Muay thai and Kickboxing fighter. She is a 4-time Muay Thai and 2-time Kickboxing world champion representing Israel. Early life Born in Baltimore, Maryland, in the United States, Nili is one of six siblings to a dentist father and homemaker mother. Nili describes herself as a "traditional" or "observant" Jew who keeps kosher and the Jewish Sabbath. Bringing kosher food with her when she travels to competitions. observing the Jewish shabbat from Friday sundown to Saturday sundown, as well as other traditional restrictions on time and practice pose a special challenge which makes her achievements all the more remarkable. At the age of two, Nili and her family made aliyah to Israel from Maryland. They settled and now live in the religious neighborhood of Ramat Beit Shemesh in Beit Shemesh, Israel. Her mother, Rina, became a volunteer officer in the Israeli Defense Forces Border Police, and makes a living as a biking instructor and by cleaning homes. At age 11, Nili began representing Israel in international competitions as a member of the Israeli Women's American Flag Football National Team. She gave up the sport in 2012 in order to focus more fully on a single sport: Muay Thai. In 2015, in 12th grade, as a student at an ulpana, a high school for Orthodox girls, Nili beat hundreds of other girls in the 10K run of the 2013 Jerusalem Marathon. As her sports are not supported by Olympic-style budgets, Nili cleans homes and delivers newspapers to pay for her travel and training, Kickboxing and Muay Thai career When she was 10 years old, Nili's mother suggested she learn kickboxing, as a manner of self-defense. She trained at a kickboxing academy at Teddy Stadium in Jerusalem. Her coach her entire career has been Benny Cogan, who is also Israel's national kickboxing and Muay Thai coach, and she is trained as well by Eddie Yusupov. Nili is designated as an "outstanding athlete" by the Israel Defense Forces, which allows her to be in a special program that permits her to compete in international kickboxing competitions. In 2012 she became world champion in the flyweight class (50.5-53.5 kilos) at the 10th Amateur/Pro-Am Muay Thai Championships in Bangkok, Thailand. In May 2015, when she was in 12th grade, Block won a gold medal in her age category in the XIX KickBox World Cup in