Jewels: “18th Ring” takes place on March 3rd at Shin-Kiba 1st Ring in Tokyo, Japan. The 10 bout all-female event features an intriguing matchup between Takayo Hashi and Roxanne “The Happy Warrior” Modafferi.
Hashi (13-4) began her career in 2004 and has notable wins over Hitomi Akano and Amanda Buckner, however, she currently is in the midst of a three-fight losing streak. In February 2010, she fought Sarah Kaufman for the vacant Strikeforce Bantamweight Championship, losing a 5-round unanimous decision in a lackluster performance. November she dropped down to the Super Flyweight division and fought for the DaMMage Fight Championship against Tara LaRosa, again losing in a 5-round unanimous decision. In her last bout in May 2011, she lost via a KO slam to Cat Zingano late in the third round. Modafferi (15-9) has fought a who’s who in women’s MMA and owns victories over such notables as Jennifer Howe (twice), Marloes Coenen, Vanessa Porto and Tara LaRosa, currently however, she is marred in a four-fight losing streak of her own. In July 2010, she battled Sarah Kaufman for the Srikeforce Bantamweight Championship, losing via a KO slam late in the third round. In February and July of 2011, she lost via unanimous decision to Rosi Sexton and Hitomi Akano respectively, and at the BlackEye Promotion Breast Cancer Beatdown event in October, she was submitted by Barb Honchak via a third round rear-naked choke. Both fighters find themselves in a must-win situation if they intend to get back in the mix of elite fighters.
Current Fight Card:
Takayo Hashi (13-4) vs Roxanne “The Happy Warrior” Modafferi (15-9)
Mika “Future Princess” Nagano (8-6) vs Emi “The Kamikaze Angel” Fujino (10-5)
Yuko “Amiba” Oya (6-2) vs Emi Tomimatsu (4-4)
Ayame “Iris” Miura (4-0) vs Celine “Hell-Girl” Haga (1-10)
Mizuki Inoue (2-1) vs Alexandra Chambers (2-0)
Satomi Takano vs Miyuki Irie – Amateur MMA
Yui Takada vs Satoko Ozawa – Pro Kickboxing
Wano Sato vs Reina Matsuda – Amateur Kickboxing
Miki vs Akiko Someya – Amateur Kickboxing
Miyoko Kusaka vs Mina Kurobe – Grappling Match
**Rankings info supplied by the Unified Women’s MMA Rankings.
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