Undefeated Muay Thai champion Miriam Nakamoto will make her pro MMA debut against SikJitsu’s Elizabeth Phillips at Red Canvas: “Submission 2” on September 15th in San Jose, California. MMARising.com confirmed plans for the matchup with a source close to the promotion on Tuesday.

Nakamoto overcame a bad cut to defeat 53-fight veteran and 14-time champ Julie Kitchen in a WCK Champion of Champions Muay Thai title bout 11 days ago and some now feel that Nakamoto is the best female striker in the world. She looks for continued success in her MMA debut next month.

Nakamoto (15-0-0 Muay Thai, 0-0-0 MMA) has been fighting professionally for seven years and first gained recognition as a cast member on the Fight Girls reality show competition in 2007. She earned victories in both of her fights on the show and went on to capture numerous Muay Thai championships including the WBC and WMC lightweight titles. A serious knee injury kept Nakamoto out of action for much of 2011, but she returned with a stoppage win in April and earned her biggest victory to date by defeating Kitchen earlier this month. She is now regarded by some as the top pound-for-pound female striker in combat sports. Nakamoto has prepared for her MMA debut at the Combat Sports Academy in California and feels that now is the time to tackle a new challenge in mixed martial arts.

Phillips (3-1-1 amateur) does not possess a striking background that compares with Nakamoto’s, but the Washington native has put together a solid career as an amateur mixed martial artist since debuting in June 2011. After fighting to a Draw with Priscilla “The Gorilla” White, Phillips earned back-to-back decision wins and stepped in on short notice to face current Invicta FC prospect Jessamyn “The Gun” Duke in March. Phillips suffered her first and only loss in the fight, but got back on the winning track with a Split Decision win over White in the pair’s June rematch. Phillips has gone the distance in all but one of her fights and brings a considerable amount of cage experience into the bout with Nakamoto. She looks for her first pro win by upsetting the Muay Thai phenom.

Red Canvas Fight Promotions: “Submission 2” takes place on September 15th at the San Jose Civic Auditorium in San Jose, California. The bout between Nakamoto and Phillips is expected to be contested at 135 pounds and the event may be streamed online.

(Photo Credit: Scott Hirano)