TOKYO, March 11 — Many a sordid dealings have no doubt transpired in Tokyo's Red Light district of Kabukicho. But tonight, Japan's Sin City opened its somewhat dubious doors as the cozy venue of Shinjuku FACE played host to Japan's premiere female MMA promotion: Smackgirl.
Boasting one of the most impeccable records in all of MMA, Shinashi has been rebuilding after suffering a brutal knockout against Hisae Watanabe (Pictures) for the DEEP women's title last August. In Shinashi's two bouts since, she has dominated her heavily outclassed competition. Takimoto, who really gave Megumi Fujii (Pictures) a good run for her money last year, served as the flyweight champion's first real test on her road back since the only loss.
The first round saw Takimoto displaying some excellent takedown defense by sprawling out from Shinashi's shots and nullifying her judo throws, often taking Shinashi's back after the failed throw attempts. From here she transitioned to the side of her turtled opponent and landed hard knees and strikes the flyweight champion's body until the action was brought back to the feet after 30 seconds on the mat, as per Smackgirl rules.
Shinashi finally got her speedy judo tosses working in the second frame, very nearly submitting the challenger with a nicely applied armbar during a scramble on the mat. Takimoto really had to think fast to relieve the pressure, throwing her legs overtop her foe's body in an attempt to escape, only to find Shinashi hang on to the technique and fully extended it seconds later.
It seemed like the end was near for Takimoto, but the tough Zendo Kai fighter held out for the final few seconds until the referee stopped the action and stood them up, again per Smackgirl regulations; if Shinashi had just a few more seconds she could have very will scored the submission victory.
The third saw Shinashi transition from a judo toss to a leg submission attempt. Later in the round Takimoto again took advantage of a failed Shinashi takedown, raining down knees to the body before taking the champ's back for a solid rear-naked choke attempt. The final moments saw Shinashi score a takedown and pass to the side.
It was a close fight. Takimoto had the better striking on the feet and great takedown defense, while Shinashi had more submission attempts. The fight went to the judges and Shinashi scored the split decision victory to retain her Smackgirl flyweight title.
Dan Severn (Pictures) protégé Sybil Starr faced off against Madoka Okada in a No. 1-contender's bout, with the winner to challenge for Hitomi Akano (Pictures)'s middleweight title later in the year.
Okada was in the driver's seat of this one right from the start, pretty much totally shutting down her American opponent. After a brief clinch in the corner, the Japanese fighter kept her distance and peppered Starr with stinging punches and low kicks.
The action eventually went to the mat, where Okada passed guard and took mount. From here she spun to the side and applied an armbar, forcing the submission victory at the 2:49 mark of the first.
Mai Mai got the chance to revenge her Feb. 2004 loss to Masako Yoshida (Pictures), as the two locked horns again in this year's Smackgirl Killer Queen Tournament.
After scoring some good right hands, Yoshida spent the rest of her time trying to pull Mai into the guard, often jumping up onto her standing opponent. Once on her back, the Smackgirl veteran did a good job of going for armbars and triangles. Inside the guard, Mai pounded away at the body and managed to defend against all the submission techniques that Yoshida threw at her.
The second saw Mai work to the back after a failed Yoshida takedown attempt, escaping a triangle only a few seconds later after a scramble. Yoshida eventually got the Team Shinagawa fighter to the mat, but was unable to work around her guard.
The stand-up in this bout was fairly even throughout, with both fighters landing good punches. It seem like it was Yoshida who suffered the most from the Smackgirl 30-second ground work rule, often having to give up the submissions she was working for.
This was a very close match, but in the end it was Mai who walked away with the split decision.
On the other side of the Killer Queen Tournament, Eri Kaneya (Pictures) squared off against Yukiko Seki.
Kaneya had a big reach advantage and really controlled action on the mat, scoring takedowns throughout and taking dominant positions such as mount and side-control. Despite the onslaught, the feisty Seki put up a gutsy performance, not allowing Kaneya to sink in submissions and standing up to the hard knees that she received in the clinch.
Seki managed to weather the storm until the final bell, but it was Kaneya who walked away with the well-justified decision.
In the Smackgirl open-weight tournament, Michiko Takeda displayed some excellent judo throws against Smackgirl veteran Tama Chan (Pictures), but unfortunately couldn't really follow up on them before having to stand.
On the feet, Chan scored more damage than her opponent, scoring with an especially nice right hand in the second round. She also served up more submission attempts on the ground. Both fighters pounded it out in the clinch up to the final bell. The fight went to the judges and Chan walked away with the victory.
Yuiga Yuiga displayed some very decent wrestling in her open-weight tournament bout against Hiroko Hiroko, shooting for single- and double-leg takedowns, often getting her opponent to the mat. But despite her dominant wrestling, the tough fighter took a lot of punches and low kicks thanks to a considerable reach disadvantage.
The 30-second ground work rule really aided Hiroko. The Tomoegumi fighter was able to get back to her feet after being taken down and continued to inflict damage from the outside. The fight went the distance and Hiroko took the unanimous victory.