South Korean striker Seo Hee Ham successfully retained her CMA/KPW women’s championship on Sunday night at Gladiator: “Dream, Power and Hope” in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. Ham submitted pro wrestling convert Ryo Mizunami with an armbar early in round one of their title bout.
In other MMA action on the card, standout wrestler Jade Marie Anderson posted another victory over MMA pioneer Megumi Yabushita in a rematch from Jewels: “22nd Ring” in December. Anderson dominated Yabushita on the mat and finished the fight with an armbar midway through round one.
Ham (10-5-0), who was competing in MMA for the first time since her December 2011 Jewels title bout against Ayaka Hamasaki, had little trouble defeating an overmatched Mizunami (0-1-0) on Sunday. After an early striking exchange, the fight went to the ground and Ham used a quick transition to set up an armbar attempt. She secured the submission hold and Mizunami was forced to tap out at the 1:05 mark of the opening round. Ham remains the CMA/KPW Women’s Lightweight Champion.
Ham’s next bout will come in one month’s time when she challenges Naho “Sugi Rock” Sugiyama for the Jewels Featherweight Queen Championship at Jewels: “24th Ring” on May 25th. She drops back down to her former weight of 48kg (106 pounds) for the title tilt.
Anderson (2-0-0) followed up on her one-sided Unanimous Decision victory over Yabushita (19-22-0) in December by once again mauling the veteran on the ground. Anderson opened the fight with two stiff jabs and she dragged Yabushita down to the mat after taking her back. Anderson landed punches and hammerfists and eventually looked to secure a rear-naked choke. Yabushita reversed into Anderson’s guard and landed hammerfists of her own, but lost the position after dropping back for a heel hook.
The fighters stood and Anderson reversed a judo throw attempt on the way down. She punched from top position until Yabushita gave up her back. Anderson took advantage by locking on a far-side armbar. Yabushita refused to submit, but the referee called a halt to the fight after Anderson bent Yabushita’s arm back at an awkward angle. The technical submission came at the 2:33 mark of round one.
The American-born Anderson, who now resides in South Korea and trains alongside Ham at CMA Korea, remains undefeated in her young MMA career. She is one of the most powerful female MMA fighters in Asia today.
Tim Peterson contributed to this report.
Good for Ham. I believe that she is currently the best female fighter out of South Korea and would be nice to see another country represented at Invicta, if she is invited and accepts to fight in the US. She may never be a champion, but her style is always exciting.
I hope Yabushita retires with good health. She shouldn’t be fighting with all the strain her body has had over all these years fighting in MMA, kickboxing and wrestling and it’s clear that her competitive career is reaching its end. I hope her gym and Fight Chix business is doing well so that she doesn’t need to fight much longer.