2008 Olympic bronze medallist Randi Miller won’t have an easy fight in her mixed martial arts debut. The wrestling standout will face Jewels postergirl Hiroko Yamanaka in a special rules MMA bout on August 29th as part of the Shootboxing Girls S-Cup card in Tokyo, Japan.
The fight will be contested under “special Jewels rules” which permit strikes to the head on the ground. Women’s fights in Jewels traditionally outlaw ground-and-pound. Round numbers and times were not disclosed, but it is expected that the bout will be a professional mixed martial arts fight.
Yamanaka (9-1-1), who towers over most opponents at 5’11” tall, is seen as one of a handful of top challengers who remain for Strikeforce Women’s Middleweight (145-Pound) Champion Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos and she proved earlier this year that she can make 145 pounds without issue. Having fought primarily in open-weight fights over 160 pounds, Yamanaka cut down to 143 for a rematch with Strikeforce competitor Hitomi “Girlfight Monster” Akano in March and avenged the lone defeat of her career. She had been scheduled to compete in shootboxing on the August 29th card, but will instead face Miller in the American’s MMA debut.
Miller (0-0-0) won a Bronze Medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympics in 63kg (138.6 pounds) Freestyle Wrestling and boasts an extremely impressive wrestling pedigree. She is also a Pan-American Games Champion and a six-time Senior All-American, and will now look to challenge herself in the world of mixed martial arts. Miller will hold a significant edge in the wrestling department over Yamanaka and should have few problems in taking down her much larger opponent, but it remains to be seen how the H.I.T. Squad member will adapt her wrestling for MMA. She will face a solid test when she takes on Yamanaka, a former dominatrix who is now one of Japan’s top female MMA stars.
The 2010 Shootboxing Girls S-Cup begins on August 29th at the Grand Prince Hotel Akasaka in Tokyo, Japan. Among those competing are 2009 Girls S-Cup Champion RENA, former DEEP Women’s Lightweight (106-Pound) Champion Hisae Watanabe and current Valkyrie Featherweight (115-Pound) Champion Mei “V Hajime” Yamaguchi.
Girls S-Cup Tournament Matchups:
– RENA vs Hisae Watanabe
– Kate Martinez vs Zaza Sor Aree
– Mei “V Hajime” Yamaguchi vs Samanta van Dole
– Ai Takahashi vs Christina Jurjevic
(Photo Credit: Jewels)
[…] Hiroko Yamanaka vs Randi Miller On August 29th | MMARising.com Hiroko Yamanaka will be facing 2008 Beijing Games Olympic Bronze Medallist in Freestyle Wrestling Randi Miller on August 29th in an MMA bout. The fight will be part of the same card as the 2010 Shootboxing Girls S-Cup. […]