Mixed martial arts legend Megumi “Mega Megu” Fujii’s storied career came to a disappointing end tonight in the main event of Vale Tudo Japan 3rd in Ota, Tokyo, Japan. Fujii was once again defeated by Jessica “Jag” Aguilar tonight, this time as a result of a doctor stoppage due to an eye injury.

Aguilar and Fujii first faced off at Bellator 69 in May 2012, where Aguilar prevailed via a contentious Unanimous Decision. Fujii was poked in the eye early in tonight’s rematch, prompting a break of longer than 15 minutes. When her eye became even worse, the doctor was forced to stop the fight.

Aguilar (16-4-0) and Fujii (26-3-0) got off to a fast start in tonight’s fight and they exchanged quick punches on the feet right away. Aguilar scored with a right cross and Fujii answered with jabs and left hands. Aguilar stuffed a takedown and landed a knee, but she inadvertently poked Fujii in the eye in the process. Time was called, but action quickly resumed. Fujii landed more jabs and attempted a head kick, and Aguilar fired back with one-twos. Fujii was accidentally poked in the eye a second time and the fight was halted once again.

Following a very lengthy break, during which time it appeared that the fight would be stopped, Fujii opted to fight on. Her damaged right eye was bloodshot and rapidly swelling shut, which severely limited her vision. Nevertheless, she pressed forward aggressively with punches and tried for another head kick. Aguilar replied with two- and three-punch combos and finished the round with a nice flurry.

As round two began, Fujii’s eye gave her more and more trouble and she struggled to avoid Aguilar’s punches. Aguilar shrugged off a clinch attempt and countered a combination from Fujii with a nice body kick. She backed Fujii up with another combination and followed with a second kick to the body. A hard right hand landed for Aguilar and she mixed up her strikes well with kicks and punches. She landed another powerful right hand before the bell.

Between rounds two and three, the cageside doctor came in to check on the condition of Fujii’s eye, which was now almost completely shut. He deemed Fujii unable to continue and waved off the fight, giving Aguilar a TKO victory. However, Aguilar was just as disappointed with the fight’s outcome as Fujii was, and she stated after the bout that she did not feel that she deserved a win.

Fujii’s retirement ceremony proceeded as planned, though the ending of the bout had silenced much of the crowd. Fujii’s legendary 29-fight career comes to an end with 26 victories, two controversial decision defeats, and tonight’s loss as a result of an injury brought on by an accidental eye poke. It was surely not the way that Fujii had imagined that her career would end, but she graciously thanked those in attendance for supporting her during her nine-year run in MMA.

Though she was never able to capture a major MMA title, Fujii holds one of the most decorated fight résumés of any female MMA fighter to date. Of her 26 wins, 20 came inside the distance including 19 by submission. She held the number one spot in the women’s pound-for-pound rankings for well over three years before suffering her first loss in the 2010 Bellator 115-pound women’s title tournament.

With tonight’s win, albeit not in the fashion that she would have liked, Aguilar retains her spot atop the 115-pound women’s rankings and extends her winning streak to seven.

Winner: Jessica Aguilar by TKO (Doctor Stoppage) at 5:00 of round two. She improves to 16-4-0.

(Photo Credit: Bellator)