Shizuka Sugiyama: Notes On Her Time Abroad

Shizuka Sugiyama is now over four months in to her year-long stay in Sydney, Australia. When we first heard she would be studying abroad, our biggest fear here at Pancake was that she would not be training and would be super rusty when she got back. Thankfully, along with continuing her studies in English, Sugiyama has also been continuing her studies in BJJ. She has hooked up with Gracie Oceania, and specifically a blue belt Laura Ng who operates a blog, skillfully named iheartbjj.com. Read more »

Best Women’s MMA Rivalries: Shinashi vs. Watanbe

Here is a treat for all of you. What was the best rivalry in women’s MMA? For me, any discussion on that topic has to mention the following two fighters: submission expert Satoko Shinashi and kickboxer Hisae Watanabe. Their rivalry consisted of two epic fights that both ended violently.

In two earlier events, held a month apart, both fighters finished each of their respective opponents, Shinashi with submissions and Watanabe by strikes. The interesting aspect about these finishes is that they were accomplished under the horribly limited rule-set of Smackgirl. Not only did they have to wear larger gloves, they were also given 10 count knockdowns, were not allowed to ground and pound, and were only given 30 seconds for any grappling on the ground! Read more »

Megumi Yabushita Judo KO

Now, I love slick submissions, but seeing someone get knocked out in a MMA fight is a similar but different kind of joy. I also like throws and take downs, but because its difficult and against the rules (for good reason) to slam someone on to their head or neck, its very rare that they end fights. If a take down does end a fight, it might be an arm, shoulder, or other injury that results – not knocking the fighter unconscious.

Thankfully Megumi Yabushita spent years doing Judo and was set up against  novice Korean fighter Seong Kim – resulting in the following amazing knockout.

Preview: Jewels 12th Ring

Jewels 12th Ring is set to happen March 11, and the main-event is one to pay attention to. Ayaka Hamasaki, Megumi Fujii’s protege and Jewels Lightweight Queen Champion, was set to fight veteran Lisa Ward, but due to a calf injury, Ward has been replaced by fellow 2010 Bellator semi-finalist, and American Top Team fighter, Jessica Aguilar. It will be interesting to see how they match up, especially if the fight goes to the ground.

Shizuka Sugiyama will also be fighting again in this event, and she has gained a spot back on the poster alongside Mika Nagano. Sugiyama will be fighting Mayumi “Super Benkei” Aoki, who shares a two-fight losing streak. We’re hoping Sugi will pull out this win before she departs to Australia where she will be studying abroad for a year.

View the full event card and PV after the break.

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Team Fight Chix and the Struggles of Women’s MMA in Japan

Female athletes in all sports have a harder time compared to their male counterparts when it comes to getting respect and recognition for their work. In the MMA world, this fact hits even harder due to the already low salaries and lack of mainstream respect and understanding that all fighters face. That said, there have been positive changes in recent years. Both Bellator and Strikeforce had women’s tournaments, and Strikeforce is home to stars like “Cyborg” Santos, Marloes Coenen, Miesha Tate, etc, but this is still not enough.

The rise of Women’s MMA in the United States has been in tandem with the rise of the sport in general. The same relation is true in Japan except in the opposite direction. As MMA and K-1 lose their luster and struggle to get TV deals, many mid-level fighters find themselves working a day job and training at night in often undersized gyms. Furthermore, Japan is, put simply, a patriarchal and sexist society where women in all parts of society are oppressed or discriminated against, and the culture is strict on placing gender role expectations on them. Read more »

Preview: Jewels 11th Ring

Tomorrow will bring Jewels 11th Ring, which will seek to crown the first Jewels Lightweight Queen Champion as well as Rough Stone Grand Prix Champions. As noted before, Shizuka Sugiyama is making a comeback during this event, and she will be facing Mongolian fighter Esui, who she was slated to fight in Jewels 9th Ring.

Continue after the jump for the complete card and PV. Read more »