On February 11, 2010, Mei “V Hajime” Yamaguchi shocked the mixed martial arts world when she submitted Japanese legend Yuka Tsuji in just 76 seconds to become Valkyrie Featherweight Champion at 115 pounds. She will make the first defence of her title on November 28th.
From early life in both Japan and the United States as a child, Yamaguchi has always had an interest in combat sports, but never dreamed that she would become a pro fighter. She speaks with MMARising.com about her upcoming rematch with Kyoko Takabayashi and goals outside of Japan.
As she continues to wait patiently for an opportunity in Strikeforce, unbeaten Belgian judoka Cindy “Battlecat” Dandois will stay busy with another fight in 2010. She will next face Russia’s Yana Kunitskaya at M-1 Challenge 22 on December 10th at the Druzhba Multipurpose Arena in Moscow.
Three months ago, former Smackgirl Middleweight Champion Hitomi Akano stepped into a Strikeforce cage to take part in the promotion’s inaugural 135-pound women’s tournament. What few observers knew was that the “Girlfight Monster” planned to retire if she lost her first-round matchup.
Olympic silver medallist Sara McMann will once again have to wait to make her professional mixed martial arts debut. The wrestling standout had been scheduled to face late replacement Monique Henry for Caribbean Gladiators on Sunday in Jamaica, but the entire card was scrapped at the last minute due to safety issues with the cage that was to be used for the event.
A lingering knee injury has forced Amanda Buckner out of a planned fight against Brazilian Amanda “Lioness of the Ring” Nunes on February 4th. The bout was set to take place in Buckner’s home state of Maine for the Global Fight League, but Buckner will instead undergo surgery on her knee.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship made its return to Germany today with UFC 122: “Marquardt vs Okami” at the König Pilsener Arena in Oberhausen. The card was headlined by a middleweight contender’s bout between Nate “The Great” Marquardt and Yushin “Thunder” Okami.
Two of the four semi-finalists in the Tuff-N-Uff 145-pound amateur women’s tournament were decided tonight on an excellent MMA card in Las Vegas, Nevada. Olympic Judo Bronze Medallist Ronda Rousey and unbeaten teen prospect Tay Stratford both advanced on with quick submission wins.
World Extreme Cagefighting came to the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada tonight for WEC 52: “Faber vs Mizugaki.” The promotion’s second-to-last event was headlined by a bantamweight bout between former 145-pound champ “The California Kid” Urijah Faber and Takeya Mizugaki.