RIZIN FF, headed by former PRIDE FC boss Nobuyuki Sakakibara, today revealed at a press conference the matchups for the three women’s fights on the Grand Prix event in Tokyo, Japan on Sunday, Sept. 25:
Heavyweight: Gabi Garcia vs. Destanie Yarbrough
Strawweight: Kanako Murata vs. Kyra Batara
Rena Kubota vs. Miyuu Yamamoto
The press release oddly referred to Gabi Garcia as a “ninth degree Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt.” Garcia is a nine-time winner of the BJJ world championship, but at 30 is not a 9th degree black belt. What is this, Kenpo?! 😉
The 6-foot-2, 30-year-old Garcia of Porto Alege, Rio Grande Do Sul, Brazil will look for her third consecutive MMA victory following her second round (2:04) submission (armbar) of Anna Malyukova at the RIZIN FF extravaganza on April 17. Yarbrough of Fresno, Calif. is a 5-foot-7, 28-year-old running back for the Women’s Football Alliance squad, the Central Cal War Angels, which finished its 2016 season with a perfect, 7-0 record. The stocky powerhouse led the league last season in both touchdowns and rushing yards.
A lifelong athlete, Yarbrough made an explosive, professional MMA debut on April 1, scoring a 33-second TKO (doctor stoppage) on Crystal Parson.
Yarbrough looked skilled in her MMA debut. Given that pro wrestler Lei’D Tapa with 0 MMA fights rocked Garcia at the last Rizin, Yarbrough appears to have a shot here.
And Yarbrough looks skilled on the gridiron as well.
In the second women’s fight, three-time junior Olympic wrestling medalist and undefeated MMA upstart Kanako Murata (3-0) will square off with Combate Americas MMA star Kyra Mogwai Batara (5-3) in a strawweight fight.
Rounding out the trio of women’s fights, renowned shootboxing champion Rena Kubota (1-0) will fight famed women’s freestyle wrestling pioneer Miyuu Yamamoto (0-0), who will make her long-awaited MMA debut on the same card as her son, Asen Yamamoto (0-1). Miyuu, 42, a member of Japanese wrestling royalty, was married for several years to MMA pioneer Enson Inoue.
In addition, five new fighters have been added to the 16-man open weight tournament that will kick off and headline the September 25 event:
Heavyweight
•Jiri Denisa Prochazka (17-3-1) of the Czech Republic
•Amir Aliakbari (2-0) of Iran
light heavyweight
•Teodorasu Aukstuolis (9-3) of Lithuania
•King Karl Albrektsson (5-0) of Sweden
•Valentine Moldavski (3-0) of Russia
Previously announced fighters in the 16 man Grand Prix include:
•Mirko Cro Cop Filipovic (MMA: 31-11-1, 1 NC; Kickboxing: 23-8, 12 KO’s)
•Kazuyuki Fujita (15-11)
•Former sumo wrestling champion Baruto Kaito (1-0)
The tournament’s first stage matchups will be announced soon.
