Shizuka Sugiyama off DJ 5 Card

It was announced today by BoutReview, that Sugiyama's opponent Hyo Kyung Song was injured in her last fight.  The fight took place on 7/26 for Road FC. Details of the injury are not known. The timing of the injury could not be worse as it is very close to the event. The report stated that a replacement for Song was not able to be found and that Sugiyama will not be fighting on the card. This is unfortunate news as Sugiyama was making her debut to 125 and now the card has lost some of it's star power.

UPDATE

A substitution was found by Sugiyama's management preferred canceling the match

V.V Mei Highlight

S-Cup Matches Set

The matches for the Girls S-Cup have been finalized as well as the participants. The matches were moved around a bit. Initially Ai Takahashi was going to face Madoka Jinnai and that match fell through. A reason for this has not been given. She will now face off against a Thai fighter named Nong Em. Also changed was the matches in the 50kg tournament. The matches including Ticha, Christina, Eduarda and Kai Ting were changed, probably to match the order that was issued on the above image.

I have listed the complete card as well as the promotional video released today below

2014.8.2 SHOOTBOXING Girls S-cup2014 from SHOOTBOXING on Vimeo.

50kg Tournament

Rena 

vs

Simone Dommelen

Ticha Rongrien

vs

Eduarada Lima

Christina Jurjevic

vs

Kai-Ting Zhuang

Lorena Klijn

vs

 Jiwaen Lee

48kg Tournament

Mio

vs

Momi

Mei Yamaguchi

vs

Yukari Yamaguchi

Single Matches

55kg

Ai Takahashi

vs

Nong Em Tor. Vitaya

48kg

Yuuki Kira

vs

Union Akari

48kg

Michi Nakamura

vs

Tomomi Souda

50kg

Arisa

vs

Maki Goto

55kg

Naoko Okada

vs

Mai Iwata

New Champions: Little Tiger and Chihiro

Photo Courtesy of J-Girls

There were a number of fights over the weekend and two champions were crowned.  With a record of 8-3-1, 20 year old Chihiro Kira fought her way through the J-Girls Pinweight Tournament and became the inaugural champion. In what was a close contest, Chihiro was able to take advantage of her opponent's aggressiveness and land counter strikes as she charged. The rounds were comprised of Matsushita charging forward with strikes and Chihiro stepping out of the way and countering. She would then attack and go back on the defensive. Reports indicate it was a heated fight with both fighters landing lots of shots.

In Thailand, Little Tiger won her 7th championship, the WBC Interim 102lb Championship. Other championships include: 2009 J-Girls Atomweight Champion, 2011 WPMF Japanese Atomweight Champion, 2012 WPMF Mini-Flyweight Champion, 2012 WMC Flyweight Champion, 2013 Pattaya Stadium Mini-Flyweight Champion, 2013 WPMF Pinweight Champion, 2014 WBC 102lb Champion (interim). Little Tiger is an active fighter and should be expected to fight several times before the end of the year. A potential fight with Saya Ito could be in the works.

Also in Thailand, the young PhetJee Jaa fought in an interesting bout. She fought against a boy. Thai Boxer Sylvie von Duuglas-Ittu wrote an interesting piece on it and posted a video of the fight. You can find that on her blog here. For more information on the rare talent, she has other articles on her blog as well that I would recommend.

J-Network: J-Fight&J-Girls 2014 4th

(07/27/14, Tokyo, Japan)

Chihiro Kira defeated Emi Matsushita

Split-Decision

(30-29, 29-28, 28-29)

Chihiro becomes the inaugural J-Girls Pinweight Champion 

Anna Shiratsuki defeated Miho

Unanimous Decision

(30-28, 30-27, 29-28)

Anna earned the right to fight for the Mini-Flyweight Title

Suek Fairtex WBC Muay Thai

(7/26/14, Pattaya, Thailand)

Little Tiger defeated Faacheangrai S.Sakonthon

Majority Decision

(48-47, 48-47, 48-48)

Little Tiger becomes the WBC 102lb Interim Champion

Su Jeong Lim MMA Debut

Korean Kickboxer and Muay Thai fighter Su Jeong Lim is set to make her MMA debut on August 15th. Known in Japan and Korea for her good looks and exciting fights, Lim has put together a 17-5 Muay Thai record and a 6-2 Kickboxing record. During that time she defeated Shoot Boxing star Rena, fought in the Girl's S-Cup, took bronze at the IMFA World Muay Thai Championships in Bangkok and competed for K-1.

Nicknamed the "Beautiful Fighter", Lim is also an actress. She has appeared on Korean TV and in a Thai movie called Chocolate. Another interesting fact about Lim is that she once competed on the Japanese TV show Flames Sports Competition. This show has been known to have female fighters fight 3 male comedians. Some miscommunication occurred where Lim thought it was completely fake and set up for a variety show and as a result she was seriously injured by the male comedians, who consisted of 1 who's fought for K-1 and 2 long time MMA practitioners. This led to South Korean outrage and a deal of controversy.

Lim will be making her MMA debut on August 15th for Revolution 2: Start of the Revolution.

Career Thus Far

Professional

• 2009 King of the Ring Grand Prix Champion
• 2008 Southern Thailand Middleweight Champion
• 2006 South Korea Muay Thai Bantamweight Champion
• 2006 Neo Fight Bantamweight Champion
• 2004 Rookie of the year of the Korean Muay Thai Association

Amateur

• 2007 IFMA World Muaythai Championships in Bangkok, Thailand  -54 kg

Emi Tomimatsu Blog: An Unexpected Accident

Finally it's the end of the rainy season!!

It's way to hot, even though I don't swim I'm thinking of going to the pool!

Even though I don't have a suit (´Д` )

Speaking of that, I'm thinking of going on a vacation after my fight! Slowly the deadline to buy my tickets is coming! If you're worried about it, buy your ticket now!!

Of course, I'm not scamming!! I'm steadily sending out the tickets!

But, near the end of the final spurt, while I was getting hyped up I ran into an unforeseen accident!

Yesterday, while I was driving my car…

I heard a bang!!

The impact on me was big!!

So I moved to the shoulder of the road, put on my hazards and got out of the car, a motorbike rear-ended me!! It caved in my license plate and bumper!!

It was some sushi-delivery bike!

Once before at Sumida River I had an accident into the front of a wall, I slightly injured a person but I was able to settle it out of court.

Ahh! I'm in another accident!!

Of course this time it wasn't my fault. I called the police, I called my insurance and I they made me a medical certificate. My neck got hurt. I think it's whiplash...

I've been trying to take car of myself and I got in an accident. It's really scary. I'm really happy it didn't develop into something serious. It seems that whiplash peaks for about 3 to 4 days, so I can't do anything unreasonable.

It's a jumping disaster! It seems clear that I'm in the middle of an unlucky year! I need to purify myself!

I'm thinking that if I don't find a way to purify myself that I may get seriously injured.

So, I got this from the doctor

I received this cream that I'm supposed to spread…

It's not Banterin!

It's not Indian medicine!!

It's Idomethine cream!!! (lol)

It's printed on there pretty well!!!

Anyway I'm going to try my best to not force it!

So I got home the same day and there was a flyer from the same sushi delivery in my post!!!

It's harassment! (lol)

But, I did have sushi for lunch (´Д` )

Girl's S-Cup 48kg

The matches for the 48kg tournament have been announced. It wasn't announced but I also couldn't help but notice that Ai Takahashi's opponent has transitioned from Madoka Jinnai to TBA. 

Block A

Mio

vs

Momi

Block B

V.V Mei Yamaguchi

vs

Yukari Yamaguchi

Known contestants for the 50kg tournament

Rena

Lorena Klijn

Simone Dommelen

Christina Jurjevic

Tica

Kiru Bee

Non-Tournament Matches

55kg 3Rx3M

Ai Takahashi

vs

TBA

48kg 3Rx2M

Kira Yuki

vs

Eneos

48kg 3Rx2M

Michi

vs

Tomomi Soda

50kg 3Rx2M

Asari

vs

Maki Goto

55kg 3Rx2M

Naoko Okada

vs

TBA

An Optimistic Rin Nakai

"Taking what's been handed down over generations"

I'd really like to thank those at the Judo Dojo who practiced with me today m(_ _)m

Things get passed down from the Sensei (Master of the Gym) to the students (pupils)…

A father passes things down to his children…

Over time a Sempai (senior) passes things down to a Kouhai (junior)…

The small life grows up to support the future

Because of that "Taking what's been handed down over generations" is an amazing feeling.

A thing like Judo, a place like Muneta Dojo, there is a degree of depth, I feel like it's an incredibly full container

If it wasn't so magnificent, it wouldn't be the national sport of Japan.

I've received a lot of love and the actions of  supporting hearts, I don't know how to express it, I have so many feelings of gratitude.

Everyone, really, thank you very much m(_ _)m

I will not fail to pass on what I've learned,

I'm, even now aiming towards my next fight, I won't, I can't do anything but train with all my might

It's the mission that I've imposed on myself

Everyone who's supported me, to those who've given me power, when I feel these feelings even when I'm sad, they make me stronger, the cheer me up!

*m(_ _)m = bowing person

Kiru Bee Joins the S-Cup

A Taiwanese boxing champion named Kiru Bee has joined the Girl's S-Cup. I don't know anything about her except that she is a boxer. It will be interesting to see how she handles kicks, clinching, throws and the submissions. The only boxer who I can think of that did fairly well in Shoot Boxing was Satoru Suzuki. Despite his success, he tended to struggle against strong kickboxers or grapplers. She joins a field in which she will be the only non-kickboxer/muay thai practitioner.

Ticha Joins S-Cup

5 of the 8 contestants for the 50kg tournament have now been announced.

Representing Thailand will be Ticha 

(ティーチャー・ローンリェン・ギーラーコーラート)

Ticha is the WMC Women's Junior-Flyweight Champion and her fights have been aired regularly on Thai television. According to the release from Shoot Boxing, she is a south-paw with a solid front and middle kick. However, she truly shines is the clinch where she has used her knees to great effect. The press release also stated that Ticha has been on quite a streak recently and that as a result, the gamblers at her fights are having a hard time because people aren't betting against her. In addition to joining the S-Cup, she also has desires to transition over to some boxing matches.

UPDATE:
Upon some digging, it appears that she has changed her fighting name and used to go by the name Ticha Kor.Adison. She fought against Little Tiger 2 years ago and lost via Unanimous Decision. She is ranked 4th in the World by the WPMF.

She joins a tournament that is becoming more and more interesting.

Lorena Klijn

Holland

WPKL European Champion

3-2 Shoot Boxing Record

Rena

Japan

3 Time S-Cup Champion

21-3-1 Shoot Boxing Record

Simone Dommelen

Holland

WKT Holland Champion

Making Debut

Christina Jurjevic

Australia

0-2 Shoot Boxing Record

Ticha

Thailand

WMC Jr Flyweight Champion

Making Debut

Courtesy of Lady Go!

Rin Nakai Blog: "I am a poor person from the country side"

The following is from Rin Nakai's Blog 7/20

________

I am like a rare animal found on the Seto Island Sea, and my background music is that of a perverted erotic thong

Actually, I am a poor person from the country side

There is no one to train with in my gym, the countryside is worn-out and the gym's are shrinking/depopulating…

In contrast with that

World famous super stars and rich celebrities, they often throw big pool parties with lots of famous people

There are mega-gyms with state-of-the-art facilities and top-class coaches who are always there

In these gyms there are top-class fighters who have an abundance of sparring partners…

They also have a lot of big sponsorships attached to them

It's like light and day

I've be apart from that since the beginning, I just thought I wanted to update my blog, but I couldn't think about anything else, I think about it every day

I can't fight at a level like the UFC in my current environment/circumstances, I really want time and a way to improve my environment…even though I've talked about it, I can't make you understand it,  I wonder why

Retirement has entered my scope and I've started thinking about it

Saya Ito's Next Fight

Rising star Saya Ito is looking to have a busy 2014. Having debuted in April, the 15 year old has fought 3 times and will be fighting again on August 12th. Having amassed an amateur record of 78-12-3, Ito's professional debut was much anticipated and so far she has failed to disappoint. Despite going 1-1-1, her level of competition has been very high, even more when you consider her age. She has faced off against former J-Girl's Champion Haru Tajime, who holds wins over Chiharu, J-Girl's Champion Momi and 14-2 Hye-Young Park. A former WPMF Champion herself, Ito will be going to Thailand next month to compete at The Queen's Cup, an event which she has competed at before. If Ito can stream some wins together, a potential fight with Little Tiger could be not that far off for the WPMF Championship, a fight that she has expressed interest in.

 A video of Ito on TV when she was 11

Rin Nakai Article: 5//21/07

The following is an article following Rin Nakai's 2nd fight. 

As her fight approaches, more articles will be translated.

When she was an amateur she trained at public facilities, now she is under the guidance of Coach Usami. They met last summer. Usami once flourished as an amateur wrestler, after that he started competing in MMA and became "Wild Usami". He fought in the Pro Shooto ring. Nakai had heard and knew the name Usami. So at the time, she wanted to go and see what training with him would be like.

"From when he first started training me, I thought that he was very strict when it comes to Martial Arts, one could say he had absolutely no compromise, I thought he was a scary person" (laughter)

When Rin looks back she remembers that in the beginning it didn't go well.

However as time went on, his unbending attitude towards Martial Arts started to influence her.

"I thought that if I train with this person,  surely I'll get stronger, so I wanted to learn from him"

When she came to train the first time, Usami felt and thought to himself that this is the kind of kid that can get strong.

"When I sparred with her and saw her form, I thought she could quickly become a talent in Martial Arts. It was her mental/spiritual level. She didn't hold back on her partners and had a very strong heart. She also had wonderful material/physical attributes. She was solidly built and she had soft muscles. She was well suited for Martial Arts. I thought to myself that I want to teach this kid."

Nakai thinks that meeting Usami was necessary. Usami had been operating a gym for several months in his hometown of Imaji, and he knew how strict he had to be with pro fighters remembered Nakai. 

"Be serious and come to practice with determination" he told Nakai. When she heard that, Nakai's heart was decided to return and train with Usami. 

"No matter how strict, I was going to push through it!" Nakai told herself. So she started taking the 1 hour drive to and 1 hour back trip every day to train. 

When Nakai looks back at how she felt back then

"I wanted to go and do Martial Arts, I was determined! Even though I hadn't stuck with Judo, no matter how strict this got I was going to  keep on training! During that time I was was resolute, I believed in myself and that feeling got stronger"

Since she had returned from college, about 1 year had passed. She was approaching her 20th birthday, and she made a decision while she was 19.

"My fresh start, it will be my Pro-Debut fight, so on October 1st, in Osaka at Umeda Stella Hall there was a MMA event called Pancrase 2006 Blow Tour, in the 2nd fight in the Pancrase women's division I entered into my Pro-Debut. My opponent had been fighting for more than 5 years and was a veteran, Ayaka Ito. I decided that I wanted to win or lose quickly. During a brawl, I hit her with a right hook and she started bleeding from the nose. At 1:25 of the 1st round the doctor stopped the fight because the opponents nasal bone was badly damaged."

 The inexperienced Nakai thought it had been a difficult victory, perhaps she had to high of expectations, however she won her debut by TKO.

When she left the pro-debut ring, "I was surprised because I hadn't been nervous at all"

"In my debut, Usami gave me my victory. He is truly amazing." 

Usami said,

"We trained for all possible situations, she went into the fight with power/strength and won, I think she has a lot of potential"

After her victory Nakai did a series of backflips in the ring.

Because of her gymnastics training, it was a magnificent performance, the 800 people in attendance erupted in cheers.

"Since I won, I was so happy, I didn't want to get down from the ring yet, so I thought I'll do some flips (laughter). Some old skills. When everyone got excited and started clapping it made me happy as well. So I thought to myself that I will do this when I win from now on, I want to give the crowd something to remember."

After the fight Usami said to Nakai

"This day is your true beginning"

On that day's victory, Nakai thought to herself, that she really wanted to become strong in martial arts.

"There is nothing to do for me but this"

"My second life" is kind of exaggerated but, but this is where I wanted to depart from again. I only have a little experience, so I want to get better quickly. I started to look forwards to it."

On 5/19, Nakai had her 2nd fight for Smackgirl

Arisa to make Shoot Boxing debut

Photo Courtesy of LadyGo!

Former pro-wrestler Arisa will be making her Shoot Boxing debut at the Girl's S-Cup. She will not be participating in the tournament. She will be taking place in a one-fight match and will be the opening fight of the night. While one may think that a pro-wrestler will transition well into actual combat sports, Arisa appears to have a solid background in Shoot Boxing. Apparently, during her time as a pro-wrestler she was actually training at one of Ceaser's Shoot Boxing gyms. She's been training at a Shoot Boxing gym since she was a little girl with her father. After retiring from wrestling to concentrate on school, it appears that she has started going to the gym again with her father. So unlike most people debuting in Shoot Boxing, she should be quite comfortable with the rules. She will be making her debut against Sama Gotou, who will also be making her debut.

Photo Courtesy of Shoot Boxing

Momi added to S-Cup

The final addition to the 48kg 4 person tournament has been announced. At 20-9-6, Momi has been one of the more active fighters on the Japanese scene and that doesn't look to change. Fresh off of a draw against Saya Ito, she will be looking to make her mark in the tournament. She has continually fought stiff competition including champions like Chiharu, Little Tiger and Erika Kamimura. More relevant to this tournament though is her victory over 2 time tournament winner, Mio. The two faced off early last year and Momi walked away with the UD. She is also the J-Girls Mini-Flyweight Champion.

Breakdowns

"V.V" Mei Yamaguchi

  

Karate background

Dynamic throws 

(1 and 2 point throws)

Submissions

2x's S-Cup Finalist

Mio

Technical Kickboxer

Prefers Punches

Capable of throws

2x's 48kg Champion

Yukari Yamaguchi

Karate background

Grappling Ability

Trains with 2x's Champion

S-Cup Debut

Momi

Strong punches

Agressive

J-Girl's Champion

Experience

DJ 5 Update: Ayaka Miura vs Satomi Takano

In another announcement, Deep Jewels has informed us that Satomi "Sarami" Takano will be facing Ayaka Miura in a grappling match. At 24 and 23, Takano and Miura are two interesting up and comers. Takano, who trains out of Club Barbarian, sports a 3-4 record. Despite losing 2 in a row, Takano has looked good in her last 2 fights. She lost a split-decision to previous champion Naho Sugiyama and lost to Saori Ishioka in her last fight. The Ishioka fight was by far the most entertaining fight on the Deep Jewels 4 card and Takano did significant damage to Ishioka with a punch, which may injured Ishioka's orbital bone. Miura, a Judoka, made her professional debut at DJ 4 and left an impression on the viewers. She took her aggressive opponent down and rendered her unconscious with a beautiful arm triangle choke. She hails from Tribe Tokyo and looks to be one of Ryo Chonan's prized students. I was hoping to see these two in MMA matches but a grappling match between the two should be interesting. Especially if a fight between the two materializes down the road. Another interesting factor is that the match will be at 48kg (105). If Miura is dropping down to 105 permanently, it only further adds to the deep division in DJ.

Deep Jewels 5

115 Title

(C) Emi Tomimatsu vs Mizuki Inoue

105

Ayaka Hamasaki vs Naho Sugiyama

125

Shizuka Sugiyama vs Hyo Kyung Song

Yuko "Amiba" Oya vs Sachiko Fujimori

105

Masako Yoshida vs Mina Kurobe

Grappling Rules

105

Saori Ishioka vs Yukiko Seki

Grappling Rules

105

Ayaka Miura vs Satomi Takano

Simone Dommelen Added to S-Cup

Yet another addition to the Girl's S-cup has been announced. Simone Dommelen who is 15-0 with 7 KO's to her record looks to be an interesting addition to the main tournament at 50kg. With her addition, 4 of the 8 fighters in the tournament have been named. With 1 from Japan, 1 from Australia and 2 from Holland, this looks to be a truly international tournament. In several of their press releases, Shoot Boxing has stated that they are looking for some of the best fighters in the world. In the past, Shoot Boxing has brought in fighters from China, Taiwan and Thailand and I think it would be a fair assumption that something like that can be expected in this tournament as well. Simone is the first fighter to be announced for the tournament that has not competed in Shoot Boxing before. It will be interesting to see if she is able to adapt to the rules.

Song Ga-Yeoun vs Emi Yamamoto

Following last week's announcement that Song Ga-Yeoun will be making her debut on the August 17th Road FC show, her opponent has now been named. She will be facing off against Emi Yamamoto. The fight will be a 47.5kg (105lb) Catchweight Special Match. I could not find any existing record for Emi Yamamoto, so it is safe to say that this will be her debut as well. Road FC is becoming more and more popular in Korea and will be looking to increase that popularity with a star like Ga-Yeoun. Ga-Yeoun will attract fans because she is a ring girl turned fighter and because she is on a reality show in Korea. I had the chance to see her shadow box and train in Tokyo by coincidence and it left an impression on me. If she does well at 105, maybe a potential fight with Ham Seo Hee for a Road FC 105lb title could happen?

Weekend Striking Report

Photo Courtesy of LadyGo!

There were a couple of match-ups this weekend and from all reports they were some pretty entertaining fights. I've compiled the results from the events that went down. Andy Souwer, Saya Ito, Momi, Kaew Fairtex and a slew of other fighters saw action. 

During a highly anticipated match, the 15 year-old stand-out Saya Ito fought J-Girls Champion Momi in only her 3rd professional fight. In the 1st round, Ito landed a solid middle kick and knee combination. Momi fired back with left and right hooks. In round 2, Momi moved forward with left and right hooks and Ito tied her up in the clinch. From the clinch Ito threw a number of knees and Momi returned a few as well. In round 3, Ito landed some middle kicks and clinched with Momi. During the clinch she was able to throw Momi to the ground. Momi also worked her kicks and hooks. In the end one judge ruled the fight for Ito and the other 2 ruled it a draw.

On Krush 43, Pro-Wrestler turned Kickboxer Syuri faced Kanako Taniyama. In the 1st round, Taniyama landed front kicks to the body and the face of Syuri. Syuri punched from a distance and surprised Taniyama at the end of the round, landing with a spinning back fist. In round 2, Taniyama moved around quickly but appeared to be breathing from her mouth. This might be due to Syuri having the round times extended to match that of the men's. Syuri had a lot of distance to close, so when she did she threw punches and left middle kicks, which landed. In round 3, Taniyama continued to pester Syuri with her persistent use of the front kick, when Syuri would flinch she would also come in with punches. Taniyama also started clinching a lot, in order to rest, which allowed Syuri to land a left knee. Syuri won by unanimous decision.

Picture by 井原芳徳

MuayLock 2014 2nd

Tsuyoshi M16 defeated Taiju Shiratori

TKO, 4R 2:23, Doctor Stoppage

Saya Ito vs Momi

Majority Draw

(29-28, 30-30, 29-29)

Hideki Kuze defeated Atsufumi Tachisawa

Unanimous Decision

(30-27, 30-27, 30-28)

Hayato defeated King Masa

Unanimous Decision

(30-28, 30-29, 29-28)

Shunta Okamoto defeated Hiroto Iwasaki

Unanimous Decision 

(30-28, 30-28, 30-28)

Jet Izumi defeated Miiri Sasaki

Unanimous Decision

(30-29, 29-28, 29-28)

Hunter Van Hoose defeated Masahiro Ihara

Unanimous Decision

(30-28, 30-28, 30-28)

Krush 43

Naoki Terasaki defeated Hiroya

KO, 1R 1:29, Right Hook

Terasaki is the new Champion

Nobuchika Terado defeated Vedat Uruc

KO, 1R 1:08, Right Straight

Syuri defeated Kanako Taniyama

Unanimous Decision

(29-28, 30-29, 30-29)

Yutarou Yamaguchi defeated K-Jee

Unanimous Decision

(29-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Shimano Kotaro defeated Toushi

KO, 2R 2:31, Right Straight

Namito Izawa defeated Ryuji Horio

Majority Decision

(30-29, 29-28, 29-29)

Ryusei defeated Yuuta Sashikubi

Unanimous Decision

(30-28, 30-28, 30-28)

Chikara Iwao defeated Yusho Kamemoto

Unanimous Decision

(30-28, 30-27, 29-28)

RISE 100

Kaew Fairtex defeated Kousuke Komiyama

Unanimous Decision 

(28-26, 28-26, 28-26)

Picture by 久保与志

Makoto Uehara defeated Zelg Galesic

KO, 1R 1:55, Right Hook

Uehara proposed to his gf in the ring, she said yes

Picture by 久保与志

Andy Souwer defeated Yasuhiro Kido

Unanimous Decision After 1 Extension Round

Round 3 (29-29, 28-29, 28-28)

Extension Round (9-8, 9-8, 9-8)

Picture by 久保与志

Samo Petje defeated Hinata

KO, 2R 2:02, 3-Downs, Right Hook

Magnum Sakai defeated Kengo Shimizu

Unanimous Decision

(29-28, 29-28, 30-28)

This was Magnum Sakai's retirement match.

Danilo Sanolini defeated Yuichiro Nagashima

2R, Disqualification

He caught a kick and caused Sanolini to fall on his back

He was injured and couldn't continue

Hisaki Kato defeated Hiroki Maeda

Unanimous Decision

(50-47, 50-47, 50-47)

Murat Aygun defeated Raomaru

KO, 1R 1:42, Right Straight

Yu Hirono defeated Souichiro Miyakoshi

Majority Decision

(30-29, 30-29, 29-29)

Keisuke Niwa defeated Takeo

Unanimous Decision

(30-27, 30-27, 30-28)

Tapplon Forcegym defeated Naoki

Unanimous Decision

(30-27, 30-28, 30-28)

Riki Goushuu defeated Tatsuya Inaishi

Majority Decision

(30-28, 29-28, 29-29)

Tenshin Nasukawa defeated Tomo Arimatsu 

KO, 1R 0:58, Left High Kick

Shizuka Sugiyama Moves Down, Deep Jewels 5

Photo from Lady Go!

Some additional announcements about the upcoming Deep Jewels 5 card have been made. What sticks out the most, is that Shizuka Sugiyama will be moving down a weight division. After a tough loss to Hashi, she will be looking to find success at 125. I agree with the move as she seemed undersized, especially in her last fight. Also announced was that Saori Ishioka will be competing in a grappling match with Yukiko Seki. I would have liked to see her in a MMA match, but perhaps her also being scheduled for some sort of fight at the end of the month has something to do with her not wanting to compete in MMA. 

Deep Jewels Card Updates:

5min 2r

Shizuka Sugiyama vs Hyo Kyung Song

5min 2r

Amiba vs Sachiko Fujimori

5min 2r

Masuko Yoshida vs Mina Kurobe

4min 2r 

Grappling Rules

Saori Ishioka vs Yukiko Seki

UPDATE:

Saori Ishioka may have suffered an eye injury in her last fight, which explains the grappling rules

Song Ga-Yeoun Road FC Debut

Road FC ring girl, Song Ga-Yeoun will be at Road FC 17, however this time, it will be as a fighter. The 19 year old will be making her professional debut on 8/17. Her opponent has yet to be announced. In a statement about her debut, it was mentioned that she is an amateur Kickboxer, is training under a member of the national wrestling team and is a part of Doo-Won Seo's team. I had the opportunity to see her shadow boxing in Tokyo and it looked very crisp. Putting her on the card is also nifty for publicity as Ga-Yeoun is part of a South Korean Reality Show called Roommate.

With her being introduced into Road FC and Road FC putting on fights with Ham Seo Hee and Celine Haga, it looks like they are experimenting with building and developing a women's division in Korea.

"V.V" Mei Yamaguchi Enters 48Kg Tournament

As I had predicted would happen, "V.V" Mei Yamaguchi will be taking part in the inaugural 48kg tournament at the Girl's S-Cup this August. The 48kg tournament will be comprised of 4 fighters, of which Mio and Mei have been announced. The other 2 will be comprised of top Japanese fighters. It is worth noting that the last time Shoot Boxing held a Japanese fighters tournament, this also included a fighter who frequently fight in Japan Ham Seo Hee, so she should not be eliminated based off of that.

Mei is a fan-favorite and a true veteran of Shoot Boxing. Having made it to the final round 2 times, Mei knows what it takes to move on in the tournament. What is interesting to consider is that in her previous appearances, Mei was fighting in a higher weight division against taller opponents. Now that Mei is fighting at 48kg, it will be interesting to see how she does against people nearer her size. Having practiced Karate since she was 7, and now teaching out of her own gym, Mei has an interesting striking style. She tends to stick to the outside and hop in and out with strikes. However, it is not her striking that stands out in Shoot Boxing. Mei is, in my opinion, the best thrower in Shoot Boxing history. It is safe to assume that if she can grab her opponents, they will be going for a ride.

A memorable match where she threw her opponent countless times

UFC Japan Video

Below are  two videos that aired on TV in Japan to promote the event. The videos talk about the main event, the Japanese fighters and reveals several of their opponents. The videos have a very Japanese feel to them and I found them very interesting and fun to watch. Always fun to see how fights are promoted in another country.

Enjoy

Part 1 contains, Horiguchi, Yamamoto, Akiyama and the Main Event

Part 2 contains Rin Nakai and Gomi

Girl's S-Cup Details

Last week, some details about this year's Girl's S-Cup were released and now some more information has trickled in. As has become fairly usual, there will be two, one-day tournaments going on at the event, with a/some additional fights. There will be a 4 person tournament and a 8 person tournament.

Rena

The larger tournament, which will to many be the main focal point of the event, will pit 8 opponents from around the world against each other in a one-day tournament. Not all 8 opponents have been named, but Rena, Lorena Klijn and Christina Jurjevic were reported earlier this week. I have not been able to locate an exact weight for this tournament, but most of the fighters have competed in Shoot Boxing at around 53.5 kg. Last years champion, Mizuki Inoue is not expected to compete as she will be fighting for the Deep Jewels Championship the following Saturday. Even thought the other 5 contestants haven't been mentioned, it is hard to not think of Rena as the favorite going into the tournament. She has won every tournament she ever entered. Her familiarity with the rules and experience in the tournament is deeper than anyone else. She has already defeated Lorena Klijn, but Klijn is a very physically strong fighter so it will be interesting to see how she does.

Rena with Teammate Mio

The information that was revealed this week, concerns more with the 4 person tournament. Several years ago the JKS-48 tournament was started. The purpose of the tournament was to promote girls 18 and under at 48kg. The real purpose of the tournament was to promote Rena's stablemate, Mio and try to turn her into a star. She won the JKS 48 tournament 2 years in a row. Well now that Mio has turned 19, the format has changed a little bit. It does not appear that there will be an age restriction for the tournament and it will comprise of 4, Japanese 48kg fighters, with Mio being the only official participant as of now. "V.V" Mei is listed as being part of the card and no details about her participation have been released. With Mei having dropped to 48kg recently, it would add a lot of credibility to the 4 person tournament if she was added. The real question is if Shoot Boxing wants to make this a competitive tournament or if they would rather build of Mio's record and accolades. In an ideal situation, this tournament would look something like Mio, Ham Seo Hee, Erika Kamimura and Mei Yamaguchi. However with Ham being Korean she is out and with Kamimura's long absence and dislike of Shoot Boxing, this is unlikely. It will be interesting to see who else enters the tournament.

The following is a translation of Shoot Boxing's announcement;

This will be the 6th Girl's S-Cup. This tournament, that is held every two years (for this division), the 2010 and 2012 Champion, who is going for her 3rd consecutive, the World Queen Rena will be participating as the defending Champion. The "Female Beast" from Holland, Lorena Klijn and the "Beautiful Sniper" Christian Jurjevic from Australia, who have compete in past SB Tournaments are who we are starting with, after that Queens/Champions from many nations will also be added to this 8 person, one-day tournament.

In addition, Mio, who has won 2 consecutive JKS 48 Tournaments will be participating in a different tournament, starting this year there will be a 48kg Japanese Tournament. Including Mio, there will be a 4 person, one-day tournament consisting of Japan's top-fighters. Concerning the other athletes, they will be announced in due time.

Rin Nakai Article From Beginning of Career

The following is an article written about Rin Nakai in May of 2007, when Rin was preparing for her 2nd fight, for Ninomiya Sports;

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At Minamidaini JHS (Island of Shikoku) they don't have a Judo Club, so Nakai had to go train at a dojo 3 days a week. It was during this time, starting with her 1st year student that she started going to the Japan JHS Judo Tournament, when she was a 3rd year student she placed 5th in 48kg.

At this point Nakai thought, "If I can get 5th in the country going to the dojo 3 days a week, I can rank even higher in high school if I start going every day, right?"

In high school, in order that she could go all out in Judo, she went to school in Tokyo, Tokai University Takanawadai Junior and Senior High School. She left her home and went to go live in a dorm. Nakai tells me that she wasn't nervous, "I was fairly confident. My parents told me to bloom into a person so I looked forward to it. I didn't even get homesick (laughter)"

During her time in high school, she wasn't able to get a hold of a title but she ended up being ranked 3rd at 52kg. Upon her graduation, like so many Judoka, her goal and aspiration was to go to the Olympics. So when she graduated she was invited to Teikyo University, a school known for female Judoka. After entering school, during her first year she tragically suffered a severe injury.

Being extremely troubled, she resigned from school and returned home to Shikoku. It was the biggest setback of her life, up to that point.

"When I came home, I fell into a substantial slump. I became like a shut-in and withdrew, for about 6 months, without doing anything, I was just in the house, I no longer had any confidence, all I could do was dwell on what would I do now…"

Her motivation to get back on her feet came from her parent's words. They told her that she was spending all of her time in the house because she was troubled, she was in a jam, that she needed to do something. They recommended that she at least go outside and run every day. So she started running and while she was running her mind became at ease and allowed her to think about things. Her parents told her that to try to go to school will cost money. She also began to think that she was only 19, doing nothing right now isn't serving any purpose.

She also started to think to herself about what she was going to do. It wasn't too late to go to college and study. Baseball players, soccer players, athletes, they are all similar. They have a pride in their craft, when they were young they dreamt about it, because of those dreams they yearn for it even more.

"I thought that I can't do anything but sports and that I want to bloom into a person. Then it all came together. A light went on in my head, Martial Arts. I had always liked watching PRIDE and HERO'S on TV. In those rings there were a lot of Judoka who flourished. I didn't have the skills yet but I wanted to try to do it."

During that time WMMA still had a ways to go, it was a little thing, but right now it is more popular than ever. 

Nakai is an extremely fascinating and charming person.