Women's MMA Report: Eye poke mars Fujii's retirement bout, Nakai upsets LaRosa

Longtime pound-for-pound leader Megumi Fujii‘s retirement bout ended in disappointing fashion on Saturday night at Vale Tudo Japan 3rd in Tokyo.

“Mega Megu” Fujii was defeated for the second time by Jessica Aguilar in a main-event matchup that was marred by a pair of inadvertent but fight-changing eye pokes in the opening round.

Fujii (26-3) announced earlier this year that she would compete one final time on the VTJ 3rd card before stepping away from the sport. The 39-year-old began her career in August 2004 and won 22 straight fights against many of MMA’s top female fighters from all over the world. She initially contemplated retirement in early 2010, but opted to fight on and competed in the inaugural Bellator 115-pound women’s tournament.

In the finals of the Bellator tournament, Fujii suffered her first defeat when she dropped a contentious split decision to Zoila “The Warrior Princess” Frausto Gurgel. Fujii rebounded with three wins in Japan and returned to Bellator in May 2012. At Bellator 69, she faced off against Aguilar (16-4) for the first time. Aguilar prevailed via a three-round unanimous decision in a fight that many believed Fujii had won.

On Saturday night, Fujii stepped back into the cage for the final time in hopes of avenging her past loss to Aguilar. Early on, both women landed quick punches. Aguilar scored with some nice right hands and Fujii answered with jabs and straight lefts. Aguilar stuffed a takedown and accidentally poked Fujii in the eye in the process.

Time was called, but Fujii was deemed to be fit to continue and action quickly resumed. However, shortly after the restart, Fujii was poked in the right eye once again and her eye immediately began to swell shut. The doctor entered the cage to check on Fujii and a lengthy break of roughly 15 minutes ensued. Fujii was given eye drops, but her eye continued to swell up. Nevertheless, she opted to fight on and the bout finally continued. Fujii pressed forward with punches and Aguilar countered with two- and three-punch combos.

As the fight entered Round 2, Aguilar began to take control of the striking exchanges as Fujii struggled to see the punches that were coming towards her. Aguilar mixed up her strikes with combinations and body kicks, and she landed a series of powerful right hands. The impressive performance put Aguilar ahead on the scorecards, but the judges would not be needed.

Between rounds, the cageside doctor once again checked on Fujii. Believing that the Japanese legend could not see well enough to intelligently defend herself, he called a stop to the fight, giving Aguilar a TKO victory.

Aguilar took no pride in the win, however, and apologized to the crowd in attendance following the fight. She said she did not deserve a win and that she was sorry for how the disappointing fight had played out.

Fujii’s retirement ceremony proceeded as planned following the fight and she will now shift her focus to family life and time away from MMA. Fujii held the top spot in the women’s pound-for-pound rankings for more than three years before she lost to Frausto Gurgel in 2010. Of her 26 career wins, 20 ended inside the distance.

Though her win was not the decisive one that she had hoped for, Aguilar retains her spot atop the 115-pound women’s division and she has now won seven straight fights.

Rin Nakai defeats Tara LaRosa at Pancrase 252

Another former pound-for-pound standout also came up short in recent action in Japan. On Sept. 29, Tara LaRosa (21-4) suffered her second straight loss when she was outpointed by bantamweight Queen of Pancrase Rin Nakai (15-0-1) in a non-title bout at Pancrase 252.

The first round had a lengthy feeling-out process and Nakai stuck to her traditional strategy of circling and kicking from a distance. LaRosa looked to close in and land punching combinations, but Nakai tied her up in a clinch. The fighters traded strikes on the feet during the final minute of Round 1, which was scored 10-10 by all three judges.

Round 2 began with more leg kicks from Nakai, but LaRosa rocked and briefly dropped her with a big right hook. Nakai quickly returned to her feet and tripped LaRosa to the mat. She took LaRosa’s back on two occasions and tried for a rear-naked choke before the bell. Despite dominating more than half of the round on the ground, none of the judges scored it in Nakai’s favor. One saw it 10-9 for LaRosa, while the remaining two had it even at 10-10.

Knowing that she needed a big round in order to secure a victory, Nakai rallied in Round 3. She took LaRosa down and landed a series of hammerfists as she passed to side control. Nakai worked for a nasty kimura from the top and appeared to have LaRosa in serious trouble, but LaRosa held on. Nakai switched to an armbar just before time expired.

Two judges scored the final round 10-9 for Nakai. A third had it 10-8. That was enough to earn Nakai a majority decision win with final scores of 30-28, 29-28 and 29-29.

Having faced considerable amounts of criticism for lackluster performances in past fights, and for a pair of controversial bouts with Danielle West, Nakai at last lived up to some of her hype by defeating one of MMA’s all-time great female fighters. She has now won five straight bouts since fighting to a split draw with West in December 2011.

LaRosa has now tasted defeat in each of her past two professional bouts. In a considerable upset, she also dropped a two-round unanimous decision to Sarah “Cheesecake” Moras in the elimination round of The Ultimate Fighter 18.

Team Rousey evens score at 2-2 in TUF 18 quarterfinal round

UFC women’s bantamweight champion “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey‘s team has bounced back from a shaky start to even the score with Team Miesha Tate on “The Ultimate Fighter 18?, which airs weekly on FOX Sports 1 in the U.S. and Sportsnet 360 in Canada. After back-to-back victories for Team Rousey, the squads are now tied with two wins apiece.

During Episode 4 this past month, former multi-time boxing champion Jessica Rakoczy earned the first win for Team Rousey by knocking out former Strikeforce title challenger Roxanne Modafferi. In Round 1, Modafferi showcased her slick ground game and she dominated the action with submission attempts. However, Rakoczy defended well and Modafferi was noticeably fatigued as the second round began.

Rakoczy landed a series of counter uppercuts in Round 2 and she dropped Modafferi with a left hook. Rakoczy entered Modafferi’s guard and struck from the top. When Modafferi held on, Rakoczy slammed her down with a powerbomb that left Modafferi struggling to remain conscious. Rakoczy dropped a few unanswered punches and the fight was mercifully stopped at the 2:33 mark of Round 2.

Having gained control of the fight picks, Rousey matched up Davey Grant against Team Tate’s late replacement fighter, Louis Fisette. The pair faced off during “TUF 18? Episode 5 this past week. Grant mauled Fisette on the ground with vicious punches and elbows that cut the Canadian fighter in the opening round. Fisette narrowly survived until the bell, but Grant slammed him down early in Round 2. When Fisette gave up his back to escape Grant’s punches, Grant locked on a rear-naked choke for the tapout win at the 1:02 mark of the second round.

This week’s episode will feature one of the most compelling female matchups of the season. Jessamyn Duke looks to make it three in a row for Team Rousey when she takes on fellow Invicta FC prospect Raquel Pennington of Team Tate.

Deep Jewels title tournament kicks off on Nov. 4

A four-woman tournament to determine the first Deep Jewels lightweight (52-kilogram/114-pound) champion begins on Nov. 4 at Deep Jewels 2 in Tokyo. The tournament is comprised of teen prodigy Mizuki Inoue, former Jewels title challenger Emi “Kamikaze Angel” Fujino, former top Jewels star Mika “Future Princess” Nagano and grappling specialist Emi Tomimatsu. Semifinal matchups were determined during a public drawing this past month.

Inoue (6-1) drew the number one and chose to compete in the first semifinal out of the red corner. Nagano (14-8) picked the number two and will fight out of the red corner in the second semifinal. Her opponent will be Tomimatsu (5-7), who drew the number three and chose to face Nagano in a rematch. Nagano narrowly outpointed Tomimatsu in March. That left Fujino (13-6) with the number four, which meant that she will face Inoue for a second time.

Shortly before her pro MMA debut for Jewels in October 2010, Inoue made a big statement when she dominated Fujino in a kickboxing match for the J-Girls promotion. Inoue went on to win the 56-kilogram Jewels Rough Stone Grand Prix and became a two-time Shoot Boxing Girls S-Cup champion at 53.5 kilograms in August. Her most high-profile MMA bout to date came in July when she defeated Bec “Rowdy” Hyatt at Invicta FC 6.

Though she was defeated by Inoue in the pair’s first meeting in kickboxing, Fujino brings a significant experience advantage in MMA into the rematch next month. Fujino has faced many of the sport’s best female fighters during a career that spans back to her amateur debut in July 2003. She came up just short in her bid to capture the Jewels lightweight queen championship from Ayaka Hamasaki, who vacated the belt in August due to lingering injuries.

Nagano has long been one of the most popular female fighters in Japan, but untimely losses have kept her just outside of reach of a major title. At “Jewels: 23rd Ring” in March, she rallied to defeat Tomimatsu in a hotly-contested matchup. Nagano has earned first-round submission wins in back-to-back fights since then. Tomimatsu is coming off of a close decision loss to Kailin Curran at Pacific Xtreme Combat 38. Tomimatsu put on arguably the best performance of her career in defeat and she now looks for a measure of revenge when she faces Nagano again.

The semifinal winners will meet in the Deep Jewels championship final in 2014.

Two female fights set for XFC 26 in Nashville

Former Tuff-N-Uff women’s flyweight champion Cortney “Cast Iron” Casey looks to add another championship belt to her collection when she faces fellow amateur standout Pearl Gonzalez at “XFC 26: Night of Champions 3? on Oct. 18 in Nashville. Casey and Gonzalez are set to compete for the inaugural XFC women’s flyweight title on the card.

Casey (1-0) put together a stellar 6-2 record as an amateur that included four stoppage victories. She won three fights in a three-month span in 2012 and became the Tuff-N-Uff 125-pound women’s champion in the process. In her final amateur fight, Casey submitted Rachael “The Panther” Cummins with a highlight-reel flying armbar. She made her much-anticipated pro debut for XFC in June and earned a first-round submission victory over Kelly Warren.

Gonzalez (1-1) fought eight times as an amateur and compiled an impressive record of 7-1. She finished her opponents in all seven wins and only saw Round 2 once during her amateur career. In February 2012, the Illinois native made her pro debut against former Bellator contender Munah “The Perfect Storm” Holland. Gonzalez’s first pro fight ended in a close and competitive decision loss, but she evened her record earlier this year. At XFC 22 in February, Gonzalez submitted Suzie “La China” Montero late in the first round.

The title fight between Casey and Gonzalez serves as the XFC 26 co-main event.

Also on the XFC 26 card, “Hurricane” Heather Clark (5-4) looks to snap a two-fight losing streak when she faces Brianna “Tha Bull” VanBuren (1-1) in a strawweight bout. Clark has knocked out or submitted her opponents in all five wins to date. In her most recent appearance for XFC, she dropped a decision to current strawweight champion Stephanie “Snowflake” Eggink.

VanBuren went unbeaten as an amateur and she made her pro debut with a one-punch KO victory this past October. On April 19, VanBuren stepped in on short notice to face Eggink at XFC 23. She engaged in a back-and-forth battle with the future champion that ended in a razor-thin decision victory for Eggink. A victory over Clark could propel VanBuren into a rematch with Eggink at some point in 2014. This event airs live on AXS TV.

Jessica Eye faces Sarah Kaufman at UFC 166

Former Bellator standout Jessica Eye makes her highly-anticipated UFC debut on Oct. 19 at “UFC 166: Velasquez vs. dos Santos 3? in Houston. Eye is set to face ex-Strikeforce champion Sarah Kaufman in a bantamweight bout on the preliminary portion of the card.

Eye (10-1) has been one of MMA’s fastest rising stars during the past two years. The popular Ohio native has won seven straight fights. Along the way, she has scored key victories over Angela Magana, Zoila Frausto Gurgel and Carina Damm. As she continues to increase her physical strength, the cut to 125 pounds has become more and more difficult for Eye. She now moves up to 135 pounds for her first fight in the UFC later this month.

Kaufman (16-2) kicked off her pro career with 12 straight wins including nine knockouts. She became the inaugural Strikeforce women’s bantamweight champion in February 2010. Kaufman lost the title in her second defense, but she has won four of five fights since then. In her most recent fight, Kaufman took a split decision win over Leslie Smith at Invicta FC 6. She was initially slated to make her UFC debut against Sara McMann in August. However, McMann was forced to withdraw from the fight and Kaufman now faces fellow UFC newcomer Eye.

UFC 166 takes place on Oct. 19 at Toyota Center in Houston. The bout between Eye and Kaufman airs live during the preliminary card on FOX Sports 1 and Sportsnet 360.

Quick results

Karolina Kowalkiewicz (4-0) def. Simona Soukupova (4-3-1) via unanimous decision at “KSW 24: Clash of the Giants” on Sept. 28 in Lodz, Poland. Soukupova stepped into the fight on short notice for an injured Jasminka Cive. Kowalkiewicz held back control for much of Round 1 and she landed numerous punches on the ground. Soukupova scored with knees and secured a takedown of her own late in the second stanza. In the final round, Kowalkiewicz caught a kick and tripped Soukupova to the mat. She landed knees on the feet and took a close decision win.

Fran Vanderstukken (2-1) def. Aitek Emadi (0-1) via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) at Respect Fighting Championship 10 on Sept. 28 in Wuppertal, Germany. Vanderstukken controlled the fight on the ground and attempted an armbar early on. She took Emadi back down in Rounds 2 and 3 and cruised to a clear-cut decision win on the scorecards.

Talita “Treta” Nogueira (5-0) def. Rosemary “Hurricane” Amorim (1-1) via submission (armbar) at the 3:34 mark of Round 1 at “Circuito Talent de MMA 3: Etapa Guarulhos 2013? on Sept. 28 in Guarulhos, Sao Paulo, Brazil. Nogueira kept her unbeaten record intact with her latest stoppage victory. All five of her wins to date have come via knockout or submission.

Tsui-Jen “Soo Bee Doo” Cunanan (2-1) def. Stacey “Mad Dawg” Sigala (1-1) via submission (rear-naked choke) at the 48-second mark of Round 1 at “Rocktagon MMA 29: Journey of Champions 2? on Sept. 28 in El Paso, Texas. Former Tuff-N-Uff champion Cunanan was competing for the first time since suffering a decision loss in May 2011. Of her six pro and amateur wins, five have ended inside the distance.

Jin Tang (2-1) def. Ekaterina Tarnavskaja (0-4) via KO in Round 1 at an independent event on Sept. 29 in Shenzhen, Guangdong, China. Tang has picked up back-to-back first-round finishes this year. She also holds a notable submission win over current Lion Fight champion Tiffany Van Soest in a 2011 amateur MMA bout.

Anastasia Yankova (1-0) def. Eleonora Tassinari (1-1) via submission (scarf hold armlock) at the 26-second mark of Round 2 at “White Rex: The Birth of a Nation” on Oct. 4 in Moscow. Yankova dropped Tassinari early in the second round and jumped on her fallen opponent. She moved to side control and locked on the submission for the tapout win.

Kaline “The Dark Angel” Medeiros (2-3) def. Rachel “The Black Widow” Sazoff (0-1) via unanimous decision at “CES MMA: Rise or Fall” on Oct. 4 in Lincoln, R.I. Medeiros held top position for much of the fight and she avoided Sazoff’s many submission attempts. Medeiros’ slams, along with her control of the striking exchanges and positional battles, were enough to earn her the victory in her first fight since June 2012.

Amanda Kelly (1-0) def. Hannah Stephens (2-2) via KO (knee) at the 3:40 mark of Round 1 at Cage Warriors Fighting Championship 60 on Oct. 5 in Kentish Town, North London, England. Multi-time Muay Thai champion Kelly opened her pro MMA career with a commanding victory. She battered Stephens with knees and elbows on the feet for the majority of Round 1. A final knee sent Stephens crashing to the canvas and the bout was stopped. With the win, Kelly announced herself as an exciting new addition to the women’s bantamweight division.

Daiana Torquato (1-0) def. Chayani Mendes (1-2) via submission (armbar) at the 3:16 mark of Round 1 at Blufight 5 on Oct. 5 in Blumenau, Santa Catarina, Brazil. Torquato kept her unbeaten record intact with the quick victory. She earned two wins in amateur competition this year.

Tanja Hoffmann (2-3) def. Audrey “Sorel” Kerouche (1-1) via submission (rear-naked choke) at the 54-second mark of Round 1 at “Roundhouse MMA: The Beginning” on Oct. 6 in Berlin. Hoffmann has posted first-round submission victories in both of her fights this year since returning to MMA after a lengthy hiatus.

Amy Cadwell (2-0) def. “Relentless” Hadley Griffith (1-1) via submission (rear-naked choke) at the 3:21 mark of Round 3 at CageSport 27 on Oct. 5 in Tacoma, Wash. Following an extensive amateur career, Cadwell has looked impressive in both of her professional victories this year. In May, she avenged an amateur loss by defeating Invicta FC veteran Cheryl Chan.

Upcoming fights

Carina “Barbie” Damm (18-10) faces Yelka “Princesa Inka” Torres Gallegos (1-0) at 300 Sparta MMA 4 on Oct. 10 in Santiago de Surco, Lima, Peru. Damm has tasted defeat in seven of her past ten fights and she has been no stranger to controversy during that time. Having already tested positive for steroid use in 2008, Damm was suspended by the Ohio Athletic Commission in June for falsifying a pre-fight urine test just prior to her bout with Jessica Eye. Torres Gallegos transitioned from Muay Thai to MMA in 2012 and won her debut via first-round knockout.

Esther Cardenas (0-0) faces Monica Gaitan (0-0) at Arnold Fighters on Oct. 11 in Madrid. Both women make their professional debuts in the fight.

Juliana “Ju Thai” Carneiro Lima (5-1) faces Nicleide dos Anjos (0-0) at “Brasil Fight 7: Minas Gerais vs. Federal District” on Oct. 11 in Divinopolis, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Carneiro Lima opened her career with five straight victories and signed with Invicta FC earlier this year. Her debut for the promotion ended in defeat, however, as she was outpointed by Katja Kankaanpaa at Invicta FC 5. Dos Anjos makes her pro debut in search of an upset victory.

Holly “The Preacher’s Daughter” Holm (4-0) faces Nikki “Knuckles” Knudsen (2-1) at Legacy Fighting Championship 24 on Oct. 11 in Dallas. Holm is widely regarded as one of the very best female strikers in the world today. The former boxing world champion remains undefeated in her MMA career and she is coming off of a head-kick knockout victory in her Legacy FC debut. Alaska’s Knudsen steps into this bout on short notice in place of Erica Paes. She scored a quick submission win in January. This main card bout airs live on AXS TV.

Sylwia Juskiewicz (2-3) faces Weronika Zygmunt (0-0) at Sportow Walki Gala 4 on Oct. 12 in Miedzychod, Poland. Juskiewicz earned a pair of knockout victories in 2012 and now looks to put a halt to a two-fight losing skid. Zygmunt makes her pro debut on the card.

Larissa Moreira Pacheco (4-0) faces Dinha Wollstaein (1-0) at Jungle Fight 59 on Oct. 12 in Rio de Janeir. 19-year-old Moreira Pacheco has submitted all of her opponents to date and won three fights in an 11-week span this year. Wollstaein won her pro debut via one-punch KO.

Bianca “Bibi” Daimoni (2-0) faces Gisele Moreira (0-0) at Floripa Fight 9 on Oct. 12 in Florianopolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil. Daimoni has opened her pro career with vicious first-round knockout wins in each of her first two fights. Moreira competes as a pro for the first time.

Also on the Floripa Fight 9 card, Silvania “Leoa” Monteiro (0-0) faces Daiane Cristines (0-0). Both women make their professional debuts in the fight.

Ashlee Evans-Smith (1-0) faces Fallon “The Queen of Swords” Fox (3-0) at “Championship Fighting Alliance 12: Sampo vs. Thao” on Oct. 12 in Coral Gables, Fla. This bout will crown the first CFA women’s featherweight champion. Evans-Smith made a successful pro debut by defeating Tori Adams in a March rematch. Transgender fighter Fox has finished all three of her pro opponents and remains undefeated in MMA. This championship fight airs live on AXS TV.

Milana Dudieva (8-2) faces Pannie “Banzai” Kianzad (3-0) at ProFC 50 on Oct. 16 in Rostov-on-Don, Russia. This bout was originally set to take place in late August, but the ProFC 50 card was postponed. Dudieva’s eight-fight winning streak was snapped by current UFC fighter Jessica Andrade in her most recent bout in April. She holds notable wins over Sheila Gaff and Danielle West. Sweden’s Kianzad fought three times in 2012 and she is coming off of a pair of TKO wins.

Sherilyn Lim (0-0) faces Ann “Athena” Osman (0-0) at “One FC 11: Total Domination” on Oct. 18 in Kallang, Singapore. Both fighters make their pro debuts in the Singapore vs. Malaysia bout.

Julia Borisova (3-0) faces Vuokko Katainen (0-1) at Fight Night 9 on Oct. 19 in Kuopio, Northern Savonia, Finland. Borisova returns to MMA for the first time since scoring a decision win in May 2011. Hometown favorite Katainen looks to bounce back from a loss in her June pro debut.

Taila Santos (0-0) faces Carolina Karasek (0-0) at JVT Championship 5 on Oct. 19 in Caxias do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Both fighters compete as pros for the first time.

Thaiane Souza (0-1) faces Bruna Vargas (0-0) at Frederico Fighting Championship 2 on Oct. 19 in Frederico Westphalen, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Souza suffered a unanimous decision loss in a June rematch against Janaisa Morandin. Vargas makes her pro debut.

Aline Sattelmayer (3-3) faces Michele Angelo (1-0) at Jabuka Fight 2 on Oct. 19 in Jaboticabal, Sao Paulo, Brazil. Sattelmayer halted a three-fight losing streak by stopping Mylla Souza Torres in August. Angelo kicked off her pro career with a decision win on Aug. 17.

Kate “Shakedown” Bloomfield (1-3) faces Taren Pennell (0-0) at “Dynasty Combat Sports 4: Fight Night at AG Park” on Oct. 19 in Columbus, Neb. Bloomfield is coming off of a TKO defeat in May. Pennell makes her pro debut following a brief stint as an amateur.

Paloma Fabrykant (4-0) faces Gloria Castillo (1-1) at Arrogant MMA on Oct. 20 in Moron, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Fabrykant has finished all four of her opponents and she is currently Argentina’s top female MMA fighter. Castillo earned a first-round submission win in August.

MMAjunkie.com publishes the Women’s MMA Report every few weeks. Its author, Robert Sargent, is a veteran MMA journalist who also runs MMARising.com. Feel free to email us at news [AT] mmajunkie.com with any questions, news tips or suggestions.

(Pictured: Megumi Fujii)