WPMF Women’s Pinweight World Champion Ayaka “Little Tiger” Miyauchi defends her title on September 27th at Suk Weerasakreck 10 in Tokyo, Japan. Miyauchi is set to face WPMF Japan Women’s Pinweight Champion Saya Ito in a battle between two of Japan’s top female kickboxers.

WPMF officials confirmed the champion versus champion matchup today following weeks of campaigning by Ito, who first set her sights on world champion Miyauchi after capturing the WPMF Japan title one year ago. The 16-year-old Ito has racked up eight straight professional Muay Thai wins.

Miyauchi (27-12-5) is one of Japan’s most decorated and well-known female kickboxers. Competing primarily in her home country and in Thailand, Miyauchi has captured multiple championships during her career. Most notably, she has held the WPMF Japan Women’s Atomweight Championship, mini-flyweight titles for both the WMC and WPMF and, most recently, WMC and WPMF women’s pinweight world titles. The latter championship will be on the line when she faces Ito later this month.

Since the beginning of 2012, Miyauchi has tasted defeat just four times. She had a ten-fight unbeaten streak snapped by Peung Siam in a non-title fight at the Queen’s Cup in Thailand on August 11th, and now looks to rebound from the decision loss by retaining her title with a victory over her teen foe.

Ito (78-12-3 amateur, 9-2-1 pro) struggled early in her pro career, but she has since re-established herself as one of the fastest rising young stars in Japanese Muay Thai. This past September, Ito captured the WPMF Japan women’s pinweight title by avenging a past loss against veteran Haru “Taj Mahal” Tajima. She later went on to total notable victories over sisters Yuuki and Chihiro Kira, and handed Yoshimi “443” Hatayama a Unanimous Decision defeat in July. She travelled back to Thailand on August 21st and extended her winning streak to eight with a five-round decision victory.

Suk Weerasakreck 10 takes place on September 27th at Differ Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan. The event also features a rematch for the WPMF Japan Women’s Bantamweight Championship between J-Girls rivals Madoka Jinnai and Yoko Odamaki. Jinnai retained her J-Girls bantamweight title with a five-round decision victory over Odamaki in December.

(Photo Credit: Hirofumi Sugi)