Megumi Fujii - MMA

Retired female MMA fighter Megumi "Mega Megu" Fujii was born on April 26th,1974 in Okayama Prefecture, Japan.
She has black belts in Judo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and is known for her submission moves, notably the Inazuma Toe Hold submission which has been pretty much renamed "The Megulock".
Megumi had a 26-3-0 MMA record, with 19 of those wins coming from submission.
On October 5th, 2013 she fought her last bout against Jessica Aguilar , which she lost via Technical Decision (majority).

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Yana Kunitskaya MMA

Well she may not have defeated Cris Cyborg at UFC 222, but Yana Kunitskaya showed that she was a force to be reckoned with.
She put up a hell of a fight against the unstoppable UFC Women's Featherweight Champion.
Early on when Yana turned a punch into a takedown , I imagine a few people were a little stunned.
Cris won of course, but Yana didnt go down easy.
Yama's MMA record stands at 10-4-1.

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Bellator 190 Results - Lara defeated Ovchynnikova

Last night, Alejandra Lara defeated Lena Ovchynnikova via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 4:09 of Round 3
That makes Alejandra Lara 7-1-0 now and drops Lena to 12-5-0.

Lena Ovchynnikova vs Alejandra Lara - MMA

Tonight at Bellator 190, one of my favorite MMA fighters Lena "Hunter" Ovchynnikova (12-4-0) will be taking on Alejandra "Azul" Lara (6-1-0).
As you know I stopped predicting fights a LONG time ago but this should be a good one.
The fight takes place at the Nelson Mandela Forum in Florence, Italy.

Nicdali Rivera-Calanoc - Women Fighters

I haven't done anything on MMA fighter Nicdali "The Night Queen" Rivera-Calanoc since 2102.
Currently she has a 9-9-0 record and though she announced her retirement in 2014, she has come back for two more fights, winning her last one against Ronni Nanney at FCF - Freestyle Cage Fighting 51 on March 12th, 2016.
Oh yeah...she is also a model.

Jessica Alba - Celebrity Women Fighters

I haven't done a celebrity Martial Arts entry here in a while, so here is one.
I know that I read that Jessica Alba did Tae Bo a few years ago.
But then I read that she was actually in Tae Kwon Do.
Now I have heard that she practices Krav Maga.
And she was also quoted in an interview recently as saying, "I've learned a bunch of different disciplines in martial arts"
So I guess she is good.

By the way....
Jessica Alba has had enough of your crap Johnny!

Rachael Ostovich - Women Fighters

Female MMA fighter Rachael Ostovich likes to dress up like Wonder Woman and fight people.
No...really.
She is five foot three, 126 pounds and has a 4-3-0 MMA record.

Back to the Wonder Woman thing...
I have to give her props because she cares enough to do a photo shoot pose imitating one of my favorite WW pics ever, done by Alex Ross.

Though she doesnt always dress up like Wondy....

Yana Kunitskaya vs Tonya Evinger at Invicta FC 20

Tonight at Invicta FC 20 at the Kansas City Scottish Rite Temple, in Kansas City, Missouri, Yana Kunitskaya will be taking on Tonya Evinger.
Yana is 9-2-0 and Tonya is 18-5-0.

Also on the card is....

Angela Hill vs Kaline Medeiros
Herica Tiburcio vs Simona Soukupova
Ashley Yoder vs Amber Brown
Jessy Jess vs Pam Sorenson
Lynn Alvarez vs J.J. Aldrich
Stephanie Egger vs Alexa Conners
Miranda Maverick vs Samantha Diaz

Andrea Lee - MMA Fighter

Female MMA fighter Andrea Lee was born on February 11, 1989 in Atlanta, Texas.
She currently fights for Invicta FC in the Flyweight division.
But at the moment, she is on a nine month suspension.

The Nevada State Athletic Commission gave her the nine month suspension after she tested positive for diuretics after a submission loss to Sarah D’Alelio at Invicta FC 16 on Mrach 11th, 2016.
Nine months is not bad since the standard suspension for drug violations is two years.
But the suspension is retroactive to the date of FC 16 which means she'll be eligible to fight again on December 11th, 2016.

Her current MMA record is 4-2-0.

Marloes Coenen vs Julia Budd Cancelled

On May 20th, 2016, at Bellator 155: Carvalho vs Manhoef at the CenturyLink Arena in Boise, Idaho they were supposed to have the inaugural Bellator MMA women's featherweight title between Marloes Coenen and Julia Budd.

However, Julia had to pull out due to injury and now former UFC fighter Alexis Dufresne will have a 3 round non-title bout against Coenen.

Marloes is 23-6 and is the former Strikeforce women's bantamweight champion.
She has constantly ranked number two on the Unified Women’s Mixed Martial Arts Rankings, right behind Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino.

WMMA Featherweights Ranking - February 2016

Say what you will...
Love her or hate her....
Cris "Cyborg" Justino is still at the top of the WMMA Featherweights.
People keep harping on that failed drug test in 2012, but that was 4 years ago and she still has a 14-1-1 record and that one loss was in 2005. \
She also has a 2-1-0 Kickboxing record and a 7-1-0 Submission grappling record.

Featherweights (136-145 pounds)

1. Cris "Cyborg" Justino (14-1, 1NC) – Invicta FC Champion
2. Marloes Coenen (23-6)
3. Julia Budd (8-2)
4. Latoya Walker (5-0)
5. Arlene Blencowe (7-5)
6. Faith Van Duin (5-2)
7. Charmaine Tweet (7-5)
8. Peggy Morgan (4-3)
9. Amanda Bell (4-3)
10. Gabrielle Holloway (5-4)

11. Cindy Dandois – 12. Megan Anderson – 13. Daria Ibragimova – 14. AJ Jenkins – 15. Jessy Miele

You can see the whole list here:
https://wmmatoday.wordpress.com/unified-wmma-rankings/

Invicta FC 6 Results-Female MMA

Yeah I know I am slow doing this but Invicta FC 6: Coenen vs. Cyborg has already come and gone and now Cristiane "Cyborg" Justino is the first Invicta FC featherweight champion.
I imagine there was strict drug testing so yes, The Cyborg did indeed defeat Marloes Coenen, the #1-ranked 145-pound female fighter according to the WMMA Rankings.
And she did it drug free.

But even thought that was the main event, which was far from all that happened that night...

Claudia Gadelha defeated Ayaka Hamasaki
Lauren Taylor defeated Sarah D'Alelio
Leslie Smith defeated Jennifer Maia
Jessica Penne defeated Nicdali Rivera-Calanoc
Joanne Calderwood defeated Norma Rueda Center
Mizuki Inoue defeated Bec Hyatt
Miriam Nakamoto defeated Duda Yankovich
Tecia Torres defeated Rose Namajunas
Emily Kagan defeated Ashley Cummins
Livia von Plettenberg     defeated Kathina Catron

Happy that Jessica Penne won but sad that Duda Yankovich lost.
Well I'm sad that Nicdali Rivera-Calanoc lost too but she was fighting Jessica and unless they had a draw, somebody had to lose!

Fight of the Night went to Leslie Smith vs Jennifer Maia
Knockout of the Night went to Miriam Nakamoto who took Duda out via TKO with knees and punches in 2:08 of the first round.    
Submission of the Night went to Jessica Penne who submitted Nicdali with a RNC at 4:57 of the first round.

Cristiane Cyborg Santos Defeats Marloes Coenen

Photo credit: Dave Mandel for Sherdog.com

Last night at Strikeforce: Miami, female mixed martial artist Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos defeated Marloes Coenen and successfully defended her Strikeforce women's lightweight championship.
Santos pretty much dominated the entire match.
I said Marloes needed to take her down, and she did try, but it almost looked like at times that she was trying to take down an oak tree.
Santos blocked every attempt.
The fight did go longer than the Cyborg / Carano fight, and a lot of people (including me) thought that "IF" Marloes could drag the fight out, she might have a chance.
This was not the case as Cris kept coming at her like her killer robot namesake.
The highlights for me.....
When Maroes was trying to take Cris down and Santos basically lifted her up and tossed her across the mat.
Remember what I said about power in the last entry?
And when Marloes nailed her with a punch, and Cris shrugged it off with seemingly no effect.
That punch landed and I thought "Whoa, this might be the beginning of the end".
Nope, it looked like it had no effect and it didn't.

So who can stop the Cyborg?
Erin Toughill?
I'd love to see that...but after last night, I have my doubts.
I really think the only way someone is gonna beat Cris is to take her down and submit her.
With 12 wins by submission, Marloes was a good...make that great...contender for that, but it didn't happen.
I seriously think the only way anyone is gonna take Cris out is get her down, get behind her and clamp a RNC on her.
That or a baseball bat....

Female MMA - Angelica Chavez

On November 25, 2009 at the Albuquerque Convention Center, at the “Duke City Fall Brawl 2″, female MMA fighter Angelica Chavez from Albuquerque, took on “Ms. Luck” Alyx Luck from Cheyenne, Wyoming.
Angelica took a few shots from her taller opponent early in the round, but scored a take down, clamped on an armbar and forced a submission out of Alyx.
Alyx complained to the ref afterwards that she never submitted, but her argument fell on deaf ears as the hometown crowd was already cheering their girl winning.

The five foot tall, 112 pound Angelica is a third Degree black belt in Kajukembo.
She has gotten some criticism from fight fans because of pulling out of fights at the last minute.
Angelica has had last minute cancellations with Rosary Califona, Brandy Nerney and Natasha Kreiger.
She also had a canceled fight against Michelle "The Karate Hottie" Waterson.
Those cancellations and the disputed submission make me wonder and have caused some female mixed martial arts fans to call her a "fake fighter".
So far she has had three pro fights and won all three by submission.
A win over Stephanie Palmer via a keylock in February, a win over Meghan Wright via a guillotine choke in March and the win over Alyx.
So far, none of her matches have gone much over a minute and a half.

Of course since I'm such a big conspiracy theory follower, I can see how easy a conspiracy would start here.
Angelica Chavez is very attractive which of course leads to Gina Carano comparisons.
So who's to say her camp isn't canceling fights with fighters that might beat her to keep her 3 and 0 record intact?
If it gets close, have the ref rule in her favor? After all, all three of her pro fights have been in her hometown.

But you also have to look at the fact that Angelica had a 14-0 Amateur record (with 10 knockouts) before turning pro.
Were all 14 fights fixed?
Her dad (and her martial arts teacher), Melcor Chavez is a Grand Master, so Angelica has been learning martial arts since she could pretty much walk.
So this young lady does have the martial arts cred to get into a ring with just about anyone.

14-0 Amateur record, 3-0 Pro record, lifetime of martial arts training....so what do you think?
Is she for real or not?

Female MMA - Angelica Chavez posted to http://femalemixedmartialartists.blogspot.com/ on Dec 12th, 2009.

Female MMA - The State of the Art

In the aftermath of the Gina Carano-Cris Santos fight, I was looking around for inspiration for today's entry.
Here is a sample of the headlines I ran across.....

Do women belong fighting in mixed martial arts?
Baltimore Sun

Does women's MMA have a future?
Baltimore Sun
(Do I sense a pattern with the Baltimore Sun here?)

Carano's loss to 'Cyborg' hurts women's MMA
FOXSports.com

Strikeforce postmortem: Is Santos' win good for women's MMA?
ESPN

Though growing, women's MMA not equal to men's
Florida Today

Female MMA is far from accepted yet.
I keep hearing terms like "not as good as the guys", "lack of depth", "women shouldn't be fighting each other".
And of course "she's ugly, she looks like a man, I don't like her."

Wow.
I thought we had outgrown that kind of thinking.
No Cris Santos is not gonna get in the cage with Brock Lesnar.
Just like Laila Ali has no business in the ring with Mike Tyson.
But that doesn't mean Santos isn't great in her division.
Maybe the WWE and their Diva division has poisoned the minds of sports fans to where they think that a woman cannot be just as good as a man.
(perhaps Lisa Marie Varon will change that idea)

These ladies work just as hard as their male counterparts and should be treated with the same respect.
I'm not saying we should praise sloppy execution in either division.
The women should be (and from what I have seen are) held to the same standards.
But no matter how good some female MMA stars are, they will be judged less than the guys and thats just not right.

Gina Carano vs. Cristiane Cyborg Santos Result

http://mmafrenzy.com/

In the Strikeforce Female 145-Pound Championship, Gina Carano vs. Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos

Cyborg wins at the end...and I mean very end.. of the first round.
It was like 4:58 of a 5 minute round.

Well I said Cris would win......
You could see where the power was too.

Jessica Bednark and Tuff-N-Uff Productions

On July 10th, 2009, Tuff-N-Uff made Las Vegas history with an all female MMA card.
The show was at the packed Orleans Arena, and 20 female mixed martial artisits battled it out in the ring.
According to Barry Meyer, president of Tuff-N-Uff Productions, it was the largest attended female MMA event in Las Vegas history.
You can read a full write up on the event here.

A really good thing about this even is that a portion of the proceeds from this event went to help Jessica Bednark.
In case you didn't know, Jessica is a pro MMA fighter who suffered a ruptured artery in her brain while training back in May.
Jessica has no health insurance, and her boyfriend's brother Derek Gould, is collecting donations.
Derek can be reached at derekwgould@yahoo.com, and donations can be sent to 15824 Neon St. NW, Ramsey, MN 55303.
A paypal account has also been set up for Jessica, and paypal donations can be sent to helpforjessica@twincities.mn.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Jessica and I pray for a complete and total recovery for this brave young lady.

Sarah Kaufman Versus Miesha Tate Tonight

Here are some articles about tonight's MMA bout between Sarah Kaufman and Miesha Tate....

First, an article from Fanhouse:

Miesha Tate Out to Prove She's More Than Just a Pretty Fighter
Miesha Tate (5-1) went from training for a fight against a well-known, less experienced opponent in Kim Couture (1-1), to a lesser-known, more experienced opponent in Sarah Kaufman (8-0). It was a bitter pill to swallow for the up-and-coming female MMA star, but one that she ultimately realized could benefit her career even more in the long run.

You can read the full article by Ariel Helwani here

Then an article from Sports Illustrated:

Female fighter Tate ready to shine
Here's how close Miesha Tate came to completely missing out on a career as a professional female fighter: It was down to wrestling or basketball. A high-school freshman in Tacoma, Wash., she and her best friend had always played sports together. But in the winter season, their school only offered basketball or boys' wrestling. Tate couldn't play basketball and her best friend was barely 5-feet tall. It wasn't a difficult decision, the way Tate remembers it now.

You can read the full article by Ben Fowlkes here

So for a change, one of the female MMA bouts on a card is generating quite a bit of press.
I think it's kinda safe to say that Miesha is the underdog here.
But underdogs have won before.

Sarah Kaufman faces Miesha Tate at Strikeforce: Challengers

It has been confirmed now that Sarah Kaufman ( 8-0 ) will step in to replace Kim Couture in match with Miesha Tate at the May 15th, Strikeforce: Challengers.
Not a lot of notice for the as of yet undefeated fighter who last fought on April 23, winning by TKO in the second round.
But Sarah stepped right up, and interestingly, her intial offer was made via the forum at mixedmartialarts.com, also known as The Underground.
I wonder if that's a first?

More on the Kim Couture, Miesha Tate Fight

I mentioned the upcoming Kim Couture / Miesha Tate fight in my last entry.
Here is an article from Beau Dure over at USA TODAY about the fight, and rumors of unrest between Tate, Couture and Cris "Cyborg" Santos......

Lacking stars, depth, women's MMA has yet to deliver a big hit
By Beau Dure, USA TODAY
Kim Couture has only two professional mixed martial arts bouts, but she's ready for a step up in competition after her last opponent.
"I don't know if you saw the last fight, but that's kind of what happens when I fight someone with an equal record," Couture (1-1) says of the first-round knockout of Lina Kvokov, who appeared to have stage fright.
Couture next fights Miesha Tate, who has a 6-1 MMA record and experience in international grappling competition. The bout on Strikeforce's Challenger Series card May 15 in Fresno features two fighters with an acute interest in pushing women's MMA forward after a couple of missteps (Showtime, 11 p.m. ET).

You can read the full article here