RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Selina “Teep Queen” Flores will soon be asking a very different kind of question inside the ring.
On Friday, September 4, the California native faces former three-sport ONE World Champion Stamp Fairtex in the atomweight Muay Thai main event of ONE Fight Night 47 on Prime Video , which broadcasts live in U.S. primetime from Bangkok’s iconic Lumpinee Stadium.
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Fresh off her first ONE Championship victory, Flores knows beating one of the promotion’s biggest stars could propel her into the ONE Women’s Atomweight Muay Thai World Title conversation. But away from training camp, the American has built an audience that extends far outside traditional combat sports circles.
The 28-year-old is behind the viral “Can You Fight?” video series, where she approaches complete strangers, asks whether they know how to fight, and occasionally invites them to prove it with a little shadowboxing, often with amusing results when their confidence exceeds their technique.
That simple format has generated millions of views and even made Flores recognizable around San Diego. Yet the series began with a sponsorship obligation, a suggestion from her fiancé, and one particularly unsuccessful trip to Target, a major American retailer.
A Failed Target Video Sparked ‘Can You Fight?’
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Flores readily admits that she did not come up with the original concept.
Her fiancé and coach, Jeremy Shepard, suggested the idea while Flores was sponsored by Egg Weights, a small training weight designed to fit in the palm while shadowboxing.
The sponsorship required her to produce a certain number of videos every month. After exhausting the obvious possibilities of filming herself training with the product, the San Diego resident needed something different.
She recalled:
“He was like, ‘Well, what if you just make other people shadowbox with them?’ I was like, ‘That’s a great idea.’ He was like, ‘You should just go out on the street, ask people to pick them up, and shadowbox with them, and it would be a funny thing.'”
“It started out really bad. My first one was so bad. I went to Target, I remember, and I got kicked out.”
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Flores had brought a videographer with a large camera setup for that first attempt. After struggling to find willing participants, she eventually improvised a punching challenge with a group of young women in the parking lot.
The resulting video went nowhere.
But rather than abandon the idea, Flores simplified the setup and tried again at the beach. The format gradually evolved into asking strangers whether they could fight and then inviting them to demonstrate their skills through shadowboxing. That second attempt produced a completely different outcome.
Flores continued:
“After that first terrible one I did at Target, my second one, I did it at the beach, and that one immediately hit millions. So ever since then, I was like, ‘If that’s what’s going to do good on my page, I’m going to keep going.'”
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Rodtang Joined In On The Joke
Eventually, Flores realized that she did not always need to ask strangers to demonstrate their own fighting ability.
Another variation of the series involved showing people photographs of accomplished martial artists and asking a simple question: Can this person fight?
One of the biggest examples came during a cosplay convention, where Flores showed attendees an unassuming picture of former ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Champion Rodtang “The Iron Man” Jitmuangnon posing in a dress.
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Several confidently suggested they could beat the decorated Thai megastar themselves, creating exactly the kind of disconnect that makes the series entertaining.
The video went on to attract millions of views, and Rodtang himself eventually appeared in the comment section with a laughing emoji.
Flores has utilized similar subjects including Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson and other accomplished MMA fighters, deliberately choosing ordinary-looking photographs rather than images that immediately reveal their profession.
She said:
“I tried to find a picture where they look normal. And yeah, nobody really knew who they were. I was surprised. You know, they’re well-known people.”
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There is another layer to the joke: most participants have no idea Flores can fight either.
Flores, a two-time WBC Muay Thai World Champion, does not introduce herself as a professional athlete before approaching strangers.
Only afterward, when participants ask where the footage will appear, do many of them pull up her Instagram account and discover who was conducting the interview.
The Californian explained:
“They’ll scroll through my profile really quickly after they follow me, and then they’re like, ‘Oh my God, you’re a fighter!’ So, they find out afterwards, usually.”
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Flores Wants To Reach People Outside The Fight Bubble
The viral success has created an unexpected identity for Flores.
Walking around San Diego, she is increasingly recognized not necessarily for her fights, but as the woman asking strangers whether they can throw down.
Flores ultimately wants to be known for what she accomplishes as a fighter, but she also recognizes that combat sports alone may never put her in front of people who have little interest in watching Muay Thai or MMA. The “Can You Fight?” video series gives her a bridge to that audience.
She explained:
“Obviously, I want people to know me for fighting because that’s what I put all my effort into. But I think to get those regular people who are not into fighting, that’s what I need to do.
“I think more fighters need to do that.”
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Flores handles all of the editing herself and deliberately keeps production simple. These days, she typically brings along a female friend and films with compact equipment rather than surrounding strangers with an ...
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