Following her Fight of the Year battle in May, former Deep Jewels champion “V.V” Mei Yamaguchi returns to the ONE cage on August 13th at ONE Championship 45: “Heroes of the World” in Cotai, Macau. Yamaguchi faces off against undefeated Brazilian prospect Istela Nunes de Souza.

Yamaguchi is coming off of a narrow five-round decision loss against Angela “Unstoppable” Lee in a ONE Women’s Atomweight Championship bout that was heralded by many as one of the best fights in MMA history. Nunes de Souza recently scored a highlight-reel head-kick knockout victory in April.

Yamaguchi (15-9-1), who previously held titles in Japan for both Deep Jewels and Valkyrie, became an instant star for ONE Championship following her amazing back-and-forth battle with Lee. Both women attempted numerous submissions on the ground, and Yamaguchi showcased her underrated striking power by nearly knocking Lee out with a right hook very early in round three. Lee recovered and walked away with a razor-thin title-winning decision victory, but Yamaguchi’s performance impressed ONE matchmakers, and she faces another highly-touted prospect in her second fight for the promotion.

Nunes de Souza (4-0-0, 1 NC) has torn through the opposition in her native Brazil, where she has earned vicious knockouts in two of her four official wins. A fifth victory, at Imortal FC 2 in December, was overturned to a No Contest after it was ruled that Nunes de Souza had KOed opponent Caroline “Miss Barbie” Silva with an illegal soccer kick. This year, Nunes de Souza has added two more wins to her record including an April stoppage of the previously unbeaten Karoline “Mão de Pedra” Martins Moreira, whom Nunes de Souza brutally knocked out with three consecutive head kicks.

ONE Championship 45: “Heroes of the World” takes place on August 13th at Cotai Arena in Cotai, Macau. The bout between Yamaguchi and Nunes de Souza will be contested in ONE’s women’s atomweight division, where fighters weigh in between 47.7kg (105 pounds) and 52.2kg (115 pounds).

(Photo Credit: Deep Jewels)