nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

d , is a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

female

kickboxer Kickboxing is a combat sport focused on kicking and punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is practiced for self-defense, general ...

and

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

. Inoue has fought in the kickboxing promotion J-Girls and MMA promotion

Jewels A gemstone (also called a fine gem, jewel, precious stone, or semiprecious stone) is a piece of mineral crystal which, in cut and polished form, is used to make jewelry or other adornments. However, certain rocks (such as lapis lazuli, opal, a ...

. She won the 2010 Jewels -56 kg Rough Stone Grand Prix tournament at 16 years of age, becoming one of the youngest female champions in a major MMA promotion. On , Inoue became the 2012 Shoot Boxing Girls S-Cup 53.5-kilogram tournament champion. She repeated this feat on .

Background

Inoue was born on in

Aichi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Aichi Prefecture has a population of 7,552,873 () and a geographic area of with a population density of . Aichi Prefecture borders Mie Prefecture to the west, Gifu Prefectur ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. She started training

karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...

fourth grade Fourth grade (also called grade four, equivalent to Year 5 in England and Wales, and Year 4 in Australia) is a year of Elementary education in some countries. In North America, the fourth grade is the fifth school year of elementary school. Stud ...

when she accompanied her brother to his karate lesson. A year later, Inoue joined Hakushinkai Karate and also began training mixed martial arts (MMA). At 11 years old, Inoue met her karate and current main coach, Sadanori Yamaguchi, who is also the head of Hakushinkai Karate in

Toyohashi, Aichi is a city in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 377,453 in 160,516 households and a population density of 1,400 persons per km2. The total area of the city was . By area, Toyohashi was Aichi Prefecture's second-lar ...

. He was the one who encouraged her to start MMA as he himself became interested in MMA after watching fellow karateka Minoki Ichihara, a Daido Juku champion, fall to

Royce Gracie Royce Gracie (; born 12 December 1966) is a Brazilian retired professional mixed martial artist, a UFC Hall of Famer, and a Gracie Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. A member of the Gracie family, he is considered to be one of the most influential figures i ...

during

UFC 2 ''The Ultimate Fighting Championship Part II'' (later renamed ''UFC 2: No Way Out'') was a mixed martial arts (MMA) event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on March 11, 1994, at Mammoth Gardens in Denver, Colorado, United States. The eve ...

. At 15 years old, Inoue debuted professionally in shoot boxing prior to MMA due to believing that she had to be 18 years old to compete in MMA.

Kickboxing and shoot boxing career

After several amateur bouts in kickboxing, Inoue made her debut in professional

combat sport A combat sport, or fighting sport, is a competitive contact sport that usually involves one-on-one combat. In many combat sports, a contestant wins by scoring more points than the opponent, submitting the opponent with a hold, disabling the oppon ...

s in shoot boxing on at ''Shoot Boxing Osaka 2010 Alpinisme: "Young Caesar vol. 2"''. She faced Kanako Oka and was defeated by majority decision. Inoue next competed at the kickboxing event ''J-Girls Catch The Stone 9'' on , where Inoue, in an upset, defeated

Emi Fujino is a Japanese female mixed martial artist, kickboxer and professional wrestler, occasionally nicknamed . Background Fujino was born on in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. After graduating from college, she started training in Japanese style of catch ...

via

unanimous decision A unanimous decision (UD) is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts and other sports involving striking and submission in which all three judges agree on which fighter ...

after three rounds. At this event, Inoue began using the

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or projecting ...

Mizuki instead of her real name, which she used in her previous amateur kickboxing bouts. Despite having professional matches already, at the event ''Krush.9'' on , Inoue, for the last time, had an amateur rules match against Kanako Taniyama, losing against Taniyama via

majority decision A majority decision (MD) is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts and others sports involving striking. In a majority decision, two of the three judges agree on which ...

after two rounds. Returning to professional competition, on at ''J-Girls Catch The Stone 10'', Inoue defeated Anna Saito by unanimous decision after three rounds. Inoue faced Nozomi Satake in the opening round of the 2011 J-Girls bantamweight tournament at ''J-Girls Catch The Stone 12'' on . She defeated Satake by majority decision. Inoue faced Madoka Jinnai in the J-Girls bantamweight tournament semi-final round at ''J-Girls Catch The Stone 13'' on . She defeated Jinnai by unanimous decision after one extension round. Inoue faced Natsuka in a shoot boxing match at '' Jewels 14th Ring'' on . She defeated Natsuka by unanimous decision. Inoue suffered her first professional loss in a kickboxing rules match at ''J-Girls 2011: Born This Way 2nd'' on when she was defeated by Yukino Oishi via majority decision in the J-Girls bantamweight tournament final. At ''Shoot Boxing 2012: Road To S-Cup, Act.1'' on , Inoue faced Shoot Boxing Japan women's flyweight champion

Ai Takahashi (born September 14, 1986) is a Japanese singer and actress formerly associated with the Hello! Project and is best known as the leader of Morning Musume and Hello! Project until 2011. She is also a former member of its popular subgroup Mini Moni ...

. In an upset, Inoue defeated Takahashi by unanimous decision after one extension round. Inoue faced Mina at ''Shoot Boxing 2012: Road To S-Cup, Act.2'' on . She won the fight by referee stoppage in the third round to advance to the Shoot Boxing Girls S-Cup 53.5 tournament final. Inoue faced Ai Takahashi once again in the 2012 Shoot Boxing Girls S-Cup 53.5 tournament final on . She defeated Takahashi by unanimous decision after six rounds to become the first Shoot Boxing Girls S-Cup 53.5 champion. On , Inoue entered the 2013 Shoot Boxing Girls S-Cup 53.5 tournament. She defeated Izumi Noguchi, Miyo Yoshida and Ai Takahashi in one night to become the 2013 Shoot Boxing Girls S-Cup 53.5 champion.

Grappling matches

On , Inoue faced Yukiko Suzuki in a grappling match at ''Jewels 21st Ring''. She defeated Suzuki by technical submission due to an armbar in just 56 seconds. Inoue faced

Rikako Yuasa ; born 12 April 1991) is a submission grappler and Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) black belt competitor. Regarded by some as one of the greatest Japanese BJJ fighters, Yuasa is a World, European and Asian champion in coloured belt and a four times bla ...

in a grappling match at ''Deep Jewels 1'' on . She was defeated by unanimous decision.

Mixed martial arts career

Jewels

At just 16 years old, Inoue debuted in MMA at ''

Jewels 10th Ring ''Jewels 10th Ring'' was a mixed martial arts (MMA) event held by MMA promotion Jewels (mixed martial arts), Jewels. The event took place on at Shin-Kiba 1st Ring in Koto, Tokyo, Koto, Tokyo, Japan. It hosted the opening round of the second Rough ...

'' on during the 2010 Rough Stone Grand Prix -56 kg tournament, submitting the more mature

Abe Ani Combat Club The Abe Ani Combat Club is a mixed martial arts gym and training camp located in Japan. The gym is renowned mostly for its female stable of fighters who were regular competitors in the Smackgirl promotion. On its roster are prominent MMA stars ...

member Emi Murata with an

armbar An armlock in grappling is a single or double joint lock that hyperextends, hyperflexes or hyperrotates the elbow joint or shoulder joint. An armlock that hyper-extends the arm is known as an armbar, and it includes the traditional armbar, pr ...

in the second round. On at ''

Jewels 11th Ring ''Jewels 11th Ring'' was a mixed martial arts (MMA) event held by MMA promotion Jewels (mixed martial arts), Jewels. The event took place on at Korakuen Hall in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan. The event hosted the Jewels Lightweight Queen t ...

'', Inoue defeated the more experienced Asako Saioka via technical submission (referee stoppage, armbar) to win the 2010 Rough Stone GP -56 kg tournament. Inoue faced Jewels champion

Ayaka Hamasaki is a Japanese female mixed martial artist, judoka and submission grappler. She is the former Rizin Super Atomweight Champion. She has fought in MMA promotions ''Shooto'', Jewels and Rizin in Japan, and Invicta FC in the United States. Hamasaki ...

in a non-title bout at '' Jewels 16th Ring'' on in Tokyo. She was defeated by unanimous decision. Inoue returned to Jewels to face Australian fighter Alex Chambers at '' Jewels 18th Ring'' on . She defeated Chambers by submission due to an armbar in the first round. On , Inoue faced Hyo Kyung Song at ''Jewels 22nd Ring''. She defeated Song by submission due to an armbar in the second round. Inoue was next scheduled to face Mi-Jeon Chan at ''Jewels 23rd Ring'' on . However, Chan suffered an injury and Inoue instead faced Seo Ye Jung. She defeated Jung by submission due to a rear-naked choke in the first round. Inoue made her North American debut against Bec Hyatt at '' Invicta FC 6: Coenen vs. Cyborg'' on . Inoue won the fight via unanimous decision. In a rematch at ''Deep Jewels 2'' on , Inoue faced

in the opening round of the Deep Jewels lightweight title tournament. She won the fight by unanimous decision. On , Inoue faced Emi Tomimatsu to determine the inaugural Deep Jewels lightweight champion. Mizuki Inoue finished the match at 3:57 of the 3rd round via armbar, but was disqualified for not being able to make weight. Emi Tomimatsu was crowned the new champion.

Invicta Fighting Championship

Inoue was scheduled to face

Milana Dudieva Milana Dudieva (russian: Милана Дудиева; born August 4, 1989) is a Russian mixed martial artist who formerly competed in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Mixed martial arts career Dudieva made h ...

on March 24, 2018, at Invicta FC 28: Morandin vs. Jandiroba, however Morandin pulled out of the fight with Jandiroba, allowing Mizuki to step up into the main event which was for the vacant Invicta FC strawweight championship which she lost via split decision. Inoue was scheduled to face

Heather Jo Clark Heather Jo Clark (born September 19, 1980) is an American mixed martial artist who competed in the Strawweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), and currently competes for Invicta Fighting Championships (Invicta). Mixed mart ...

on November 16, 2018, at Invicta FC 32: Spencer vs. Sorenson. It was reported that Clark pulled out from the event and she was replaced by

Viviane Pereira Viviane "Sucuri' Pereira (born August 8, 1993) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and competes in strawweight division. She last competed for Invicta Fighting Championships. Professional mixed martial artist since 2013, Pereira has also fought ...

. At the weigh-ins, Inoue weighed in at 116.4 pounds, 0.4 pound over the strawweight non-title fight limit of 116. She was fined 25 percent of her purse, which went to her opponents Pereira and the fight proceeded to a catchweight bout. Inoue won the fight via unanimous decision.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Inoue faced Yanan Wu, replacing Luana Carolina, on August 31, 2019, at

UFC on ESPN+ 15 ''UFC Fight Night: Andrade vs. Zhang'' (also known as'' UFC Fight Night 157'' or ''UFC on ESPN+ 15'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on August 31, 2019 at Shenzhen Universiade Sports ...

. At the weigh-ins, Wu weighed in at 128 Ibs, 3 pounds over the non-title fight limit. Wu was fined 30% of her purse to Inoue and the bout proceeded at catchweight. Mizuki won the fight via split decision. Inoue was scheduled to face

Tecia Torres Tecia Lyn Torres Moncaio (born August 16, 1989) is an American mixed martial artist who is currently competing in the strawweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of October 24, 2022, she is #8 in the UFC women's straww ...

on March 28, 2020, at UFC on ESPN: Ngannou vs. Rozenstruik. Due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, the event was eventually postponed . Inoue faced

Amanda Lemos Amanda Oliveira de Lemos (born May 22, 1987) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the Strawweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As of November 8, 2022, she is #3 in the UFC women's strawweight rankings, and as o ...

August 22, 2020 at

UFC on ESPN 15 ''UFC on ESPN: Munhoz vs. Edgar'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 15'' and ''UFC Vegas 7'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on August 22, 2020, at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, ...

. She lost the fight via unanimous decision. In November 2020, Inoue underwent surgery to repair an

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are also called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation ...

injury.

Mixed martial arts record

, Loss , align=center, 14–6 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC on ESPN: Munhoz vs. Edgar , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 14–5 , Wu Yanan , Decision (split) , UFC Fight Night: Andrade vs. Zhang , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Shenzhen Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major sub-provincial city and one of the special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern province ...

, China , , - , Win , align=center, 13–5 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , Invicta FC 32: Spencer vs. Sorenson , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Shawnee, Oklahoma Shawnee ( sac, Shânîheki) is a city in Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 29,857 in 2010, a 4.9 percent increase from the figure of 28,692 in 2000. The city is part of the Oklahoma Cit ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–5 ,

Virna Jandiroba Virna Carole Andrade Jandiroba (born May 30, 1988) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist (MMA), who currently competes in the strawweight division of the UFC. She is a former Invicta Fighting Championships (Invicta) Strawweight champion. As of ...

, Decision (split) , Invicta FC 28: Mizuki vs. Jandiroba , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 12–4 ,

Lynn Alvarez Lynn Alvarez (born September 6, 1985) is an American mixed martial artist. She competes in the strawweight division for Invicta FC and has competed for Bellator. Mixed martial arts record , - , Loss , align=center, 6–5 , JJ Aldrich , ...

, Submission (armbar) , Invicta FC 18: Grasso vs. Esquibel , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:00 ,

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 11–4 , Nori Date , Submission (armbar) , Deep: Jewels 11 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:12 ,

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 10–4 , Lacey Schuckman , Submission (armbar) , Invicta FC 15: Cyborg vs. Ibragimova , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:41 ,

Costa Mesa, California Costa Mesa (; Spanish for "Table Coast") is a city in Orange County, California. Since its incorporation in 1953, the city has grown from a semi-rural farming community of 16,840 to an urban area including part of the South Coast Plaza–John Wa ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–4 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , Deep: Jewels 9 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 8–4 ,

Alexa Grasso Karen Alexa Grasso Montes (born August 9, 1993) is a Mexican mixed martial artist who competes in the flyweight division. She is currently signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of March 29, 2022, she is #5 in the UFC women ...

, Decision (unanimous) , Invicta FC 11: Cyborg vs. Tweet , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 8–3 ,

Karolina Kowalkiewicz Karolina Kowalkiewicz (born 15 October 1985) is a Polish mixed martial artist. She currently fights for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). She is the former KSW Women's Flyweight Champion. Mixed martial arts career Early career Kowalki ...

, Decision (split) , Invicta FC 9: Honchak vs. Hashi , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Davenport, Iowa Davenport is a city in and the county seat of Scott County, Iowa, United States. Located along the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state, it is the largest of the Quad Cities, a metropolitan area with a population of 384,324 and a ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–2 , Emi Tomimatsu , Submission (armbar) , Deep: Jewels 5 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:33 , Tokyo, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–2 , Emi Tomimatsu , DQ (overturned) , Deep: Jewels 3 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:57 , Tokyo, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 7–1 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , Deep: Jewels 2 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 6–1 ,

Bec Rawlings Rebecca Anne Rawlings (born 11 February 1989) is an Australian mixed martial artist and bare-knuckle boxer, who currently competes in the flyweight division. She was ranked as a contender strawweight (106-115 lb) fighter according to the ...

, Decision (unanimous) , Invicta FC 6: Coenen vs. Cyborg , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–1 , Seo Ye Jung , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Jewels 23rd Ring , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:43 , Tokyo, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 4–1 , Hyo Kyung Song , Submission (armbar) , Jewels 22nd Ring , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:14 , Tokyo, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 3–1 , Alex Chambers , Submission (armbar) , Jewels 18th Ring , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:32 , Tokyo, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 2–1 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , Jewels 16th Ring , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 , Tokyo, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Asako Saioka , Technical submission (armbar) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:59 , Tokyo, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Emi Murata , Submission (armbar) ,

, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:58 , Tokyo, Japan ,

Kickboxing and shoot boxing record

''Legend'':

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

Invicta Fighting Championships Invicta Fighting Championships, also known as Invicta FC, is an American professional mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion dedicated to Women's mixed martial arts that was founded in 2012 by Janet Martin and Shannon Knapp. The promotion is currentl ...

**Fight of the Night (Two times) vs.

and

* Deep Jewels ** Strawweight Champion (one time; current) ** 2010 Jewels Rough Stone Grand Prix 56 kg tournament winner *

MMAJunkie.com MMA Junkie is a news website that covers the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA). It was founded in 2006, and is owned by Gannett Company since 2011. The site and its content have been featured in ''Time (magazine), Time'' magazine'', ''ESPN The Ma ...

**2015 February Fight of the Month vs.

Shoot boxing

* Girls S-Cup **2012 Shoot Boxing Girls S-Cup 53.5 kg tournament winner **2013 Shoot Boxing Girls S-Cup 53.5 kg tournament winner

References

External links

*
Mizuki Inoue
at

Invicta FC Invicta Fighting Championships, also known as Invicta FC, is an American professional mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion dedicated to Women's mixed martial arts that was founded in 2012 by Janet Martin and Shannon Knapp. The promotion is currentl ...

Mizuki Inoue
at AwakeningFighters.com

at Shoot boxing (archived)

at J-Girls * *
Official blog
(inactive) {{DEFAULTSORT:Inoue, Mizuki 1994 births Japanese female kickboxers Japanese female mixed martial artists Living people People from Toyohashi Sportspeople from Aichi Prefecture Japanese female karateka Strawweight mixed martial artists Flyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing karate Mixed martial artists utilizing shootboxing Ultimate Fighting Championship female fighters