Strawweight Queen of Pancrase Champion Haruka “Salt” Hasegawa will make her first title defence on September 29th at Pancrase 347 in Tokyo, Japan. Hasegawa is set to face off against former Pancrase champion and current Shooto titleholder Emi “Kamikaze Angel” Fujino on the card.
Pancrase officials announced the title fight this week along with two more women’s matchups so far. Newly-crowned Atomweight Queen of Pancrase Champion Satomi “Sarami” Takano faces Yerin “Ghost” Hong in non-title action, and former flyweight champ Takayo Hashi meets Fumika Watanabe.
Hasegawa (4-4-0) has primarily competed for Shooto during her career and this will mark her first fight for Pancrase since she won the women’s strawweight title from Karen in a rematch at Pancrase 333 in April 2023. She had previously upset Karen in a non-title bout four months prior. After succumbing to a first-round scarf hold armlock from Deep Jewels champion Saori Oshima at Rizin FF 43, Hasegawa returned to Shooto with a quick TKO win in December before most recently dropping a a narrow Split Decision to Wushamo Hailai on May 19th.
Fujino (30-14-1, 1 NC) is one of the most experienced female fighters in MMA. Her pro career spans more than 20 years and, most impressively, she is undefeated in her past five fights and still performing at a high level. Fujino held the Strawweight Queen of Pancrase title from late 2019 until she was upset by Karen in March 2022, but she has recently experienced a career resurgence after transferring to Shooto. On the Shooto same card in which Hasegawa lost to Hailai, Fujino became the inaugural Shooto Women’s Strawweight Champion by stopping Megumi Sugimoto.
Takano (19-14-0), like Fujino, is also coming off of a big title win. However, whereas Fujino won her championship in Shooto after struggles in Pancrase, Takano did the opposite. The former Shooto Women’s Super Atomweight Champion entered the inaugural Queen of Pancrase title tournament in December and advanced to the finals with a Unanimous Decision victory. Facing off against rising star Sayako Fujita at Pancrase 341 in March, Takano knocked out her foe in just 48 seconds. She will look to make it three straight wins for Pancrase in the September non-title bout.
Hong (4-4-0) won four of five fights after dropping her 2019 pro debut to the aforementioned Fujita, but she has recently struggled and will be looking for redemption in September. In February 2023, Hong was submitted by Saori Oshima in their featured bout at Black Combat 5, and she did not return to action until this past April when she challenged former Pancrase champ Karen in a strawweight bout at Pancrase 342. Hong came out on the wrong end of a Unanimous Decision and she now moves back down to atomweight in hopes of halting Takano’s winning streak.
Hashi (19-9-1) is another battle-tested veteran whose lengthy career dates back to September 2004 and includes title reigns for Smackgirl, Deep Jewels and Pancrase. She won the Flyweight Queen of Pancrase title with a five-round Unanimous Decision win against Nori at Pancrase 324 in October 2021, then repeated that feat again in a rematch 18 months later at Pancrase 333. However, Hashi’s title reign came to an end at the hands of undefeated prospect Honoka Shigeta, who outpointed her at Pancrase 341, and the 46-year-old now looks to get back in the title hunt.
Watanabe (1-1-0) gives up a massive edge in experience and will understandably be a considerable underdog against Hashi, but her most recent fight ended in a significant victory. After dropping a close decision to former title challenger Emiko Raika in her March 2023 pro debut, Watanabe faced another former Pancrase title contender in Nori at Pancrase 341. Surprising her more experienced foe, Watanabe took a well-deserved Unanimous Decision victory. Now, despite having just two pro fights, Watanabe is potentially one win away from a title shot if she can get past Hashi.
Pancrase 347 takes place on September 29th at Tachikawa Stage Garden in Tachikawa, Tokyo, Japan.
(Photo Credit: Pancrase)