Four more fights have been announced for Greatest Common Multiple’s all-female Valkyrie 8 card on November 28th. Valkyrie Flyweight Champion Yasuko Tamada will face Naho “Sugi Rock” Sugiyama in a non-title bout, while promotional veterans will return in other featured fights.
Unbeaten prospect Ayame “Iris” Miura will face Mayumi “Super Benkei” Aoki in a 58kg bout, while Mika “Hari” Harigai welcomes Chisa Yonezawa back to Valkyrie after a one-year absence. In other action, Kimie “Sakura” Okada will look for her first win when she faces Megumi Morioka.
Tamada (12-4-3) has not lost in over four years and is currently riding an impressive 12-fight unbeaten streak. Once a divisional castaway, Tamada’s training alongside Megumi Fujii has developed her into one of the sport’s elite female fighters and she added Valkyrie gold to her résumé with a decision win over Naoko Omuro in June. She will move up in weight to face the unbeaten Sugiyama (2-0-0), who stopped Megumi Morioka with punches on the same June Valkyrie card. Sugiyama will give up a significant amount of experience, but should hold a strength advantage.
Miura (3-0-0) will look to keep her unbeaten record intact when she faces Aoki (5-7-0), whose three-fight winning streak was halted by Rin Nakai at Valkyrie 7 in September. Miura most recently submitted Mika Harigai by way of scarf hold armlock, while Aoki fell victim to a first-round armbar from Nakai in the Valkyrie Open-Weight Tournament semi-finals. All but one of Aoki’s wins have come by stoppage, but she will enter the bout with Miura as an underdog.
Harigai (6-21-1), a veteran gatekeeper, has competed sparingly in recent years and has dropped her last four fights. However, she will carry an edge in experience and victories into the bout with the still-winless Yonezawa (0-3-0), who will compete for the first time in over a year. Both fighters have faced tough competition in their careers, but neither has been able to make an impact in Valkyrie thus far. Of Harigai’s six wins, five have come by way of knockout or submission, but Yonezawa has only been finished once; by final Smackgirl champ Takayo Hashi.
Lastly, Morioka (1-1-0) will look to rebound from her first career loss when she faces Okada (0-3-1), who has yet to capture her first win. Morioka knocked out Mamiko Mizoguchi at Valkyrie 4 in February, but came up short in a bout with Naho Sugiyama at Valkyrie 6. Okada, meanwhile, dropped a two-round decision to Yuka “Butterfly Knife” in June and will drop down in weight for this fight. A part-time training partner of Roxanne Modafferi, Okada will look to make a fresh start at 107 pounds.
Valkyrie 8 takes place on November 28th at Differ Ariake in Tokyo, Japan.
Valkyrie 8 Fight Card (to date; subject to change):
– Mei “V Hajime” Yamaguchi vs Kyoko Takabayashi [Valkyrie Featherweight Championship; 3×5]
– Rin Nakai vs Mizuho Sato [Valkyrie Open-Weight Championship; 3×5]
– Yasuko Tamada vs Naho “Sugi Rock” Sugiyama [47kg Non-Title Bout; 3×3]
– Ayame “Iris” Miura vs Mayumi “Super Benkei” Aoki [58kg Bout; 3×3]
– Mika “Hari” Harigai vs Chisa Yonezawa [62kg Bout; 3×3]
– Megumi Morioka vs Kimie “Sakura” Okada [48.5 kg; 3×3]
(Photo Credit: GBRing.com)