Atomweight of the Year

Photo Courtesy of Invicta FC

The Japanese stand-out has done it again, the WMMA Press has selected Ayaka Hamasaki as the Atomweight of the Year for a second year in a row. She has now won the award every year she has competed in the division.

Despite fighting one time, 2015 was a busy and career defining year for Hamasaki. In winning the Invicta FC championship, she became the first Japanese fighter to win a major championship in North America. In addition, she helped train Shoot Boxing's Rena for her successful mma debut and appeared in a Vice Japan series where she helps train two women who have never fought before.

Gong Magazine's Best Fighter of 2015

2016 should be an exciting year for the champion, with wins over the #2, #3, and #4 ranked Atomweights in the world, many think that a fight with #5 ranked Amber Brown may be on the horizon.

The nominees were:

Ayaka Hamasaki (InvictaFC champ) 

Mei Yamaguchi (DEEP JEWELS champ) 

Julia Jones (3-0 in 2015)

 Thaty Bergamaschi (3-0 in 2015) 

Kanna Asakura (2-0 in 2015) 

Amber Brown (1-0 in 2015)

WMMA Press

·              Gina Begley – Pro WMMA Now / Bluegrass MMA

·              Pedro Henrique – Da Made Ferro MMA (Brazil)

·              Charlie Jewett – CJ’s Report (covering Asian MMA)

·              Yael Grauer – Sherdog.com

·              MarQ Piocos – WombatSports.com

·              Elias Stefanescu – Ground and Pound (Germany)

·              Kristin Ursy – Women’s MMA Round-up

Mizuki Inoue Interview

Hakushinkai Gym

I recently had the opportunity to travel to Toyohashi and to visit with Mizuki Inoue and her coach Sadanori Yamaguchi. During my time there, we discussed some of Mizuki's past fights, her future, and Yamaguchi's background and teaching philosophies. Yamaguchi may not be well known in America, but it is no coincidence that Mizuki (9-3) is the Deep Jewels Champion and two-time Girl's S-Cup Champion, that Yukari Yamaguchi (1-0), his 17 year old daughter, sucessfully made her pro-mma debut this year, is the J-Girls champion and is also a Girl's S-Cup Champion, and that Naoki Inoue (4-0), Mizuki's 18 year old younger brother, made his debut and won four fights this year.

Below are some excerpts from our conversation.

Mizuki and Yamaguchi-Sensei

CJ: It being January, what are your goals for 2016?

Mizuki: I want to win all my fights.

CJ: How many times do you want to fight?

Yamaguchi: Seven times.

Mizuki: Can I do it (laughter)? I want to fight seven times (laughter)

CJ: How about Shoot Boxing?

Mizuki: If I have the opportunity to compete in the Girl's S-Cup or in Shoot Boxing, I would like to do that as well.

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CJ: Your next fight is against Lacey Schuckman, did you see her last fight?

Mizuki: No, I didn't.

CJ: So you didn't see that she said she wants to fight you after she won?

Mizuki: She did? I didn't know that (laughter) What does that mean? Does she think I'm strong and it will be a good fight or does she think she'll win?

Yamaguchi: It means she thinks she'll win, that you are weak.

Mizuki: Does she think I'm weak? Well that doesn't make me very happy then....

Mizuki: I didn't see her last fight, but I saw her fights with Hamasaki and Waterson. She has a long reach and uses it well. She's also pretty good on the ground. That being said, I think I can take her down if I want to and I can strike with her. I think she'll probably try to push me up against the cage and clinch with me.

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CJ: Can you talk about your fight with Alexa Grasso? Some people think it might have been the best fight in Invicta last year.

Mizuki: I thought her punches had good power and she used her reach effectively. My plan was to take her down while she was kicking. I was sure that I lost the first 2 rounds, so I knew I needed to submit her in the 3rd round, so I tackled her and tried my best. I'm kinda happy to hear the people enjoyed the fight, but I lost, so I'm actually not that happy about it. 

Mizuki and Alexa photo courtesy of Sherdog

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CJ: Do you want to fight in the UFC and if so when?

Mizuki: I don't know when, but it is a goal of mine.
Yamaguchi: She'll be ready in about 2 or 3 years. Our targets are Joanna and Claudia.

Next to the heavy bad are two signs, one says Joanna and the other Claudia.

CJ: I heard you've gotten to train with Joanna a little bit.
Yamaguchi: I grappled a little bit with her before her title fight with Carla.
CJ: What do you think of her?
Yamaguchi: She is a monster.
Mizuki: Yes, lol, she is, she has power and speed.
Yamaguchi: I don't know who will win a rematch between her and Claudia, it is difficult to see who will win.
Mizuki: I agree.

CJ: You've already beaten a couple fighters in the UFC and lost a split to Karolina who just beat the number 5 ranked Randa Markos.
Mizuki: I've beaten a couple but I've also lost to Karolina. Next time, I will win. I'm happy that I beat Bec and Alex but have they done well in the UFC? Have they won or lost? If they do well then I've beaten them, but there are stronger people, and I am not 100% confident about facing them yet.
CJ: Anyone that you would like to fight in particular?
Mizuki: I want to fight Karolina again and Carla.
CJ: Why Carla?
Mizuki: She was the former champ, of both Invicta and the UFC.

Yamaguchi: What about Rena?
Mizuki: Rena? (laughter), No way!
Yamaguchi: Why not, she is famous and a big name here in Japan?
Mizuki: In Shoot Boxing or MMA?
Yamaguchi: Don't you think you'd win?
Mizuki: (thinking) (smiles) Yes, I'd like to fight Rena, in Shoot Boxing and in MMA.

Mizuki: Before I enter the UFC, I want to be the Invicta Champ, that way I can be confident that I will do well.

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CJ: Your daughter has been fighting for awhile now, is she going to be competing more and more in MMA now that she has a kickboxing and a Shoot Boxing championship?
Yamaguchi: She's been doing MMA since she was little so she wants to be a champ in it as well. I think right now she is concentrating on kickboxing, that she likes it a little more at the moment, but she will be competing in some MMA matches for Deep and VTJ if the chance arises.

Yukari Yamaguchi, photo courtesy of LadyGo!

CJ: I read that you were influenced by Ichihara's loss to Royce Gracie at UFC 2, can you talk about that?
Yamaguchi: I was part of the same karate-dojo system as Ichihara and at the time I thought he was stronger than me, but he couldn't do anything against Royce. Now, I mix karate with BJJ because I realized that karate alone wouldn't win you fights necessarily, you need to know how to take some one down and grapple. After that fight, I studied BJJ for about a year and a half here in Toyohashi. BJJ is really good and is important. I learned the process, position before submission. The positions were really important to learn. I think karate used to have all these things, because it was real fighting, kind of like mma, now it has been changed into sport karate, I think karate used to look like mma, except with everything allowed, i.e. eye pokes and groin strikes.

CJ: Mizuki competed in a number of BJJ tournaments last year, was that a goal of yours?
Yamaguchi: Mizuki did not have a lot of fights last year, so she did a lot of BJJ competition. She wanted to strike to, but just didn't have the chance to.

Hakushinkai Gym

CJ: A lot of your fighters are really young but already have really good head movement.
Yamaguchi: If you get hit in the head a lot, its bad (laughter), so I have the kids I train move their heads and not get hit to minimize that. From when they are little they learn head movement and  how to block shots. In the Karolina fight, people criticized Mizuki for being too defensive, but she avoided getting hit cleanly to the head. A fighter's life (the time when they compete) is short, so they need to protect themselves. I worry about the heads of my students so I train them how to avoid getting hit.
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CJ: What is an average day for you (Mizuki) like?
Mizuki: I wake up very early and go to work at the convenience store, then I come to the gym and train, then I take a nap, then I come back to the gym and train again, then I go to bed.

CJ: You've talked about how you enjoy Karaoke before, any new songs you are singing?
Mizuki: I haven't had time to go, but when I used to go, I would sing Exile and J Soul Brothers.

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Mizuki: Recently, I've lost a couple of fights, before those fights, I thought I was going to win, but now I know I will win, I must win. If you support me, it would mean a lot.
Yamaguchi: She's lost a couple but I know she'll win, she's strong. Please support us.

I'd like to thank Mizuki and Yamaguchi-sensei for taking the time to talk with me. You can watch Mizuki fight Lacey Schuckman for Invicta FC on UFC Fight Pass on January 16th.

On January 16th, Mizuki faces Lacey Schuckman

Here is an earlier post about Mizuki and Yukari

Glimpse

Narrator: “A duel between the best in Japan”

Narrator: “Little Tiger said you are going to need an ambulance.”

Saya “I will not be the one riding in an ambulance”

Little Tiger “There is no point talking about that comment to those who do not understand, I will show them, it will become obvious to them.

Saya: “Since I was little, I’ve always thought that it looked fun, so I practiced very hard.”

Saya: “I have a dream to become a world champion. I went to the origin and watched Muay Thai. I saw the Muay Thai that I love the most, it seemed obvious to go there if I wanted to be a world champion.

Narrator: “Do you think Little Tiger is running away from you?”

Saya: “ Many times.”

Little Tiger: “How to respond…I have not done that, hearing that has gotten annoying.”

Narrator: “What do you think of your opponent?”

Saya: “She used to have good low kicks, but…(laughter)

Little Tiger: “I think she’s been fighting since she was little, and she is good at Muay Thai.”

Saya: “I want to cut her (laughter)

Little Tiger: “A lot of my supports are coming and I will be the one standing when it is over. A lot of her supporters will be there to see it.

Deep Jewels 8

Shizuka Sugiyama vs. Ji Yeon Kim

Emi Tomimatsu vs. Ayaka Miura

Yuko Oya vs. Misaki Takimoto

Tournament Semi-Finals

Mei Yamaguchi vs. Mina Kurobe

Satomi Takano vs. Tomo Maesawa

Tournament Finals

semi-final winner vs. semi final winner

DJ 7 Grappling Tag Match

The tournament and reserve match will not be all that is going on at DJ 7. There will also be a grappling tag match. If I understand the rules correctly the match will be 10 minutes long or the first to 3 submissions.

The teams will be;

Emi Fujino and Sachiko Fujimori

vs

Ayaka Hamasaki and Yuko "Amiba" Oya

Matches set for DJ 7

A lottery was held, to set the matches for the tournament. Whoever drew 1 got to pick where they went on the bracket first and whoever picked 8 got to pick last.

Yukiko Seki drew number 1. So she placed her name on the board. Tomo Maesawa drew number 2 and chose to fight Yukiko Seki in the opening fight.

Masako Yoshida drew number 3 and placed her name on the board. Satomi Takano drew number 4 and chose to fight Masako Yoshida.

Ayaka Miura drew number 5 and placed her name on the board. "V.V" Mei drew number 6 and chose to fight Ayaka Miura.

This left Emi Tomimatsu and Mina Kurobe to fight each other.

Yukiko Seki vs. Tomo Maesawa

Masako Yoshida va. Satomi Takano

Ayaka Miura vs. "V.V." Mei Yamaguchi

Emi Tomimatsu vs. Mina Kurobe

Video of the Lottery

Emi Fujino Blog

I'm worried about an important friend of mine who feels guilty when they eat, it reminds me of my eating disorder.

So I thought I'd out myself as an example for those troubled people.

This is when I was refusing food

From when I was a kid, I loved to eat and I ate a lot, so up till around junior high school I ate well and had a good physique.

But, once I got to high school I developed a complex about my body, so I started dieting.

Since I didn't have a lot of knowledge, I just restricted how much I ate.

Before that I had been a person who ate a lot so when I all of a sudden stopped eating I lost a lot of weight.

More than being hungry, I was happy about losing weight, so I didn't stop.

Even thought I was living in a dorm, I started dieting with my younger sister since we went to and from school together, we were the sisters who were only skin and bone.

Eventually my parents were summoned to the school, because of my radical diet.

During those days, to me now it is unbelievable, I weighed around 38kg (84lbs).

My grip strength in my left hand was less than 7kg (15lbs).

After that I went through a cycle of overeating.

Especially once I entered college, when I was living by myself, and the chance to go out drinking increased, I began binge eating.

I would drink, have dinner, then I wouldn't have a break, I'd go to 3 beef bowl shops, then I'd buy even more at the convenience store.

At the first shop, I'd get the extra large portions too.

I would throw up so I could eat, it was like bait.

I didn't want to feel guilty about eating until I was full, so I'd throw up so I could eat.

Because of this and that then I would rebound. But when I'd rebound since I didn't like myself, the complex would cause me to stress, and that stress would lead me to overeating, it was a vicious circle.

From that place, I had my chance to break the circle, my dad saw how fat I had gotten and introduced me to a trainer, and I started receiving personal training.

Because I knew I would keep going through my dietary cycle, I didn't have a choice but to work out.

In the beginning, I hated working out, but my personal sessions started to become more enjoyable, so I started going to the gym twice a week. Also, since I had to make appointments, when I didn't want to go I still had this driving force making me go.

Since I started exercising my body, it became a habit, oddly enough my overeating also started to die down. When I would work out, I didn't think about an excessive amount of things, it was like a reset for my mind, during a moderate workout I also got my autonomic nerves in order.

Eventually I got the chance from my personal trainer to start doing martial arts.

Now my complex about being fat is underfoot, and I don't think about it at all (lol)

People can say whatever they want about my body or my weight.

Of course there were issues of overeating, but now I don't have the feelings of guilt, I know how to reset from overeating now.

Best of all, eating is fun so I'm happy.

That's the best.

Eating is important.

Now if I want to lose weight, I have the knowledge on how to do it properly.

I can also give a little advice.

Not to ramble, before I start to feel guilty, lets work out together.

I'll be waiting at the gym.