Champ Mizuki Inoue Joins Shoot Boxing Girls S-Cup 53.5 LineupFresh off of her victory at Invicta FC 6 this past weekend, Mizuki Inoue has signed on for this year’s Shoot Boxing Girls S-Cup 53.5kg tournament on August 3rd in Yoyogi, Japan. The 2012 champion joins Ai Takahashi, Rio Kamikaze and Miyo Yoshida as the fourth tournament participant.

Inoue won the inaugural 53.5kg Girls S-Cup this past August by defeating Takahashi in a six-round war for the title. She has not lost a shoot boxing match since her pro debut in May 2010. Takahashi has won three straight fights since she suffered her second loss to Inoue in last year’s final.

Inoue (4-1-0 SB) went 3-0 in shoot boxing competition this past year. She upset then-Shoot Boxing Women’s Flyweight Champion Takahashi (15-4-0 SB/KB) in a non-title bout in February, then advanced on to the final of the 53.5kg Girls S-Cup by stopping Mina on April 13th. In a closely-contested rematch that required an extension round, Inoue outpointed Takahashi on August 25th to become the first Shoot Boxing Girls S-Cup Champion at 53.5 kilograms.

Takahashi has wasted no time in getting back on track after the disappointing loss to Inoue in August. She has earned three straight stoppage wins in shoot boxing and kickboxing competition since then and most recently choked out an overmatched Yuri Kim with a standing guillotine choke on June 23rd.

Kamikaze was defeated by Takahashi in a 53.5kg semi-final bout last year, but rebounded with a win over Seira Aragaki in August. MMA and kickboxing veteran Yoshida advanced to the semi-finals of the 2011 Girls S-Cup Japan tournament before losing to champ Erika Kamimura. In her most recent shoot boxing match, Yoshida was defeated by Lorena “Lady Pitbull” Klijn via Majority Decision on April 20th.

2013 Shoot Boxing Girls S-Cup Japan Midsummer Festival takes place on August 3rd at Yamano Hall in the Yoyogi district of Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. The event also features a bout between three-time Girls S-Cup Champion Rena Kubota and Klijn, as well as the semi-finals and final of this year’s Shoot Boxing JKS48 high school girls’ tournament.