Why was this tiny old Japanese lady even fighting Gabi Garcia in the first place?
Fighting in Japan is very different from anywhere else in the world. Ask any Pride FC fan who they thought the best fighter was, and names like Cro Cop, Wanderlei Silva and Fedor will crop up.
The reality, in terms of who sold the most tickets, guys like Bob Sapp and Hong Man Choi were actually the biggest draws. Fighting talent, commitment, pedigree and so many other factors make the greatest fighters. Freak shows sell the most tickets in the East, though.
So who is the current act on the JMMA circus tour? Gabi Garcia, that’s who…
Gabi Garcia
Grappling world champion turned MMA fighter Gabi Garcia is truly a sight to behold. At just shy of 1.9 metres tall, Garcia weighs in at 209 pounds. Considering her unusual size, it’s no surprise that equally matched opponents are hard to find.
That said, there has to be some middle ground. Unfortunately over in Japan, they’d rather match Garcia with women far smaller, far older and far less talented than Garcia. Today she faced a 46-year old pro wrestler/MMA fighter called Megumi Yabushita.
The result was predictably ridiculous, as you can see on the Youtube player after the jump:
In case you were wondering what the fudge just happened, this was a kickboxing bout, so soccer kicks to a grounded opponent are illegal. Although the referee had already docked a point and warned Garcia, the bout was eventually ruled a no-contest.
Seems legit, said nobody. Here’s the rundown of the ‘fight’ by MMARising.com:
“Yabushita tried to dart in and out with punches against her much larger opponent, but Garcia landed huge knees and kicks to the body. She knocked Yabushita down, but landed an illegal soccer kick to a downed Yabushita’s body and was penalized by one point. Action resumed and Yabushita dove for a takedown attempt. Garcia countered with another soccer kick that appeared to dislocate Yabushita’s shoulder. Yabushita was unable to continue and Garcia was given a Red Card. However, rather than disqualifying Garcia, referee Ryogaku Wada ruled the foul unintentional and declared the fight a no-contest.”
That’s not all, Gabi Garcia is fighting gain this month, on July 30’s Rizin FF 6 card, and her opponent, wait for it…has never fought in MMA before! Full fight card below:
Rizin FF 6, July 30, Saitama Super Arena, Saitama, Japan.
Gabi Garcia vs Oksana Gagloeva
Shinju Auclair vs Sheena Star
[Bantamweight GP opening round Bracket A]
Kyoji Horiguchi vs Hideo Tokoro
Anthony Birchak vs Takafumi Otsuka
Keita Ishibashi vs Khalid Taha
Tenshin Nasukawa vs Kizaemon Saiga
Miyuu Yamamoto vs Cassie Robb
Satoru Kitaoka vs Yusuke Yachi
KING Reina vs Seini Draughn
Amir Aliakbari vs Tyler King
Teodoras Aukstuolis vs Karl Albrektsson
