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

mixed martial arts 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, inc ...

(MMA) fighter. She previously fought as a

flyweight Flyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing above 49 kg (108 lb) and up to 51 kg (112 lb). Professional boxing The flyweight division was the last of bo ...

in the

Valkyrie In Norse mythology, a valkyrie ("chooser of the slain") is one of a host of female figures who guide souls of the dead to the god Odin's hall Valhalla. There, the deceased warriors become (Old Norse "single (or once) fighters"Orchard (1997:36) ...

promotion and was the only Valkyrie Flyweight Champion. She later fought for

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 ...

and last competed for

Deep Deep or The Deep may refer to: Places United States * Deep Creek (Appomattox River tributary), Virginia * Deep Creek (Great Salt Lake), Idaho and Utah * Deep Creek (Mahantango Creek tributary), Pennsylvania * Deep Creek (Mojave River tributary), ...

. Tamada was once ranked as the #6 female atomweight (96-106 lb) fighter in the world according to the Unified Women's Mixed Martial Arts Rankings.

Grappling career

Tamada started fighting in the grappling tournament Girl Fight Challenge (GFC) on . She managed to make it to the finals of a

Smackgirl Smackgirl was a Japanese mixed martial arts promotion focused solely on female fighters. The promotion also held grappling and amateur events along with its main line of professional MMA cards. After financial difficulties throughout 2008 the pr ...

grappling tournament on where she lost to

Yasuko Mogi Yasuko (written: , , , , , , , , or ) is a feminine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese empress *, Japanese manga artist *, Japanese swimmer *, Japanese empress consort * Yasuko Harada (原田康子, 19282009), ...

. Tamada won a Smackgirl tournament on by defeating Naomi and was runner-up in 2006 and 2007. Her last grappling bout was at Gi Grappling 2008.

Mixed martial arts career

Tamada made her professional debut in MMA with a split decision victory against Maho Muranami. Her next fights resulted in four losses and two draws. She rebounded with seven consecutive wins. After a draw in Valkyrie's first event, she won her next three fights. At ''Valkyrie 06'', she became Valkyrie Flyweight Champion by defeating Naoko Omuro in her most impressive performance to date. At ''Valkyrie 08'' on , in an upset, Tamada was defeated by

Naho Sugiyama , also known by her nickname or Sugi Rock, is a Japanese female mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter. She has competed professionally since 2009. In 2011, she became the first Jewels featherweight champion. Besides Jewels, Sugiyama has also competed ...

via unanimous decision in a non-title bout in which Sugiyama dominated Tamada during the three rounds. Tamada faced

Kikuyo Ishikawa is a retired Japanese female mixed martial artist. She won the 2010 Jewels Rough Stone GP in the -48 kg category. Ishikawa was the first female mixed martial artist from Okinawa. She announced her retirement from MMA on . Background Ishika ...

in the opening round of the Jewels Featherweight Queen tournament at '' Jewels 16th Ring'' on in Tokyo. She was defeated by unanimous decision. Tamada then faced Sachiko Yamamoto at ''

Jewels 17th Ring ''Jewels 17th Ring'' was a mixed martial arts (MMA) event held by promotion Jewels on at Shinjuku Face in Kabukicho, Tokyo, Japan. The event featured the semi-finals and final of the Jewels Featherweight Queen tournament, which determined th ...

'' on . She was defeated by split decision. On , Tamada faced

in a non-title rematch at ''Jewels 19th Ring'' in Osaka, Japan. She was defeated by majority decision. Tamada faced Naoko Omuro for a third time at ''Jewels 20th Ring'' on . She defeated Omuro by technical submission due to an armbar in the second round. Tamada next faced Satomi Takano at ''Jewels 22nd Ring'' on . She defeated Takano by unanimous decision. Tamada competed against Yukiko Seki for the third time at ''Deep Jewels 1'' on . She defeated Seki by unanimous decision. Tamada made her US debut for Invicta Fighting Championships on September 6, 2014. She faced

Michelle Waterson Michelle Eileen Waterson (born January 6, 1986) is an American mixed martial artist and model who competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). She is the former Invicta FC Atomweight Champion. Between 2013 and 2014, she was ranked the ...

for the Invicta FC Atomweight Championship. Tamada lost the fight via TKO in the third round which was the first time she had ever lost via TKO.

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 17–13–3 , Reina Kobayashi , Decision (split) , DEEP Nagoya Impact: Kobudo Fight 28 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 , Kasugai,

Aichi 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 Prefectu ...

Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 17–12–3 , Aya Murakami , Submission (armbar) , DEEP Tokyo Impact 2021 ~2nd Round~ , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:33 ,

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 , , - , Loss , align=center, 17–11–3 , Mizuki Furuse , Decision (unanimous) , Deep Jewels 28 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 17–10–3 , Kotori Tamiya , Decision (unanimous) , Deep Jewels 26 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 16–10–3 , Madoka Ishibashi , Decision (unanimous) , Deep Jewels 23 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 15–10–3 ,

Kanna Asakura Kanna Asakura ( ja, 浅倉栞南); born October 12, 1997 in Chiba, Japan is a female Japanese mixed martial artist. She competes in the Atomweight (106 lb) division and is currently signed with the Rizin Fighting Federation. She is the #6 ran ...

, Decision (unanimous) , VTJ 7th , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:00 ,

Urayasu, Chiba 260px, old Urayasu is a city located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 170,533 in 81,136 households and a population density of . The total area of the city is . Urayasu is best known as the home of the Tokyo ...

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 15–9–3 ,

, TKO (knee & punches) , Invicta FC 8: Waterson vs. Tamada , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:58 ,

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, 15–8–3 , Yukiko Seki , Decision (unanimous) , Deep Jewels 1 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 , Kabukicho,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 14–8–3 , Satomi Takano , Decision (unanimous) , Jewels 22nd Ring , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Koto Koto may refer to: * Koto (band), an Italian synth pop group * Koto (instrument), a Japanese musical instrument * Koto (kana), a ligature of two Japanese katakana * Koto (traditional clothing), a traditional dress made by Afro-Surinamese women * K ...

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 13–8–3 , Naoko Omuro , Technical Submission (armbar) , Jewels 20th Ring , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:05 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–8–3 ,

, Decision (majority) , Jewels 19th Ring , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 , Taisho-ku,

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–7–3 , Sachiko Yamamoto , Decision (split) ,

, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 , Kabukicho,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–6–3 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , Jewels 16th Ring , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–5–3 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , Valkyrie 08 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 12–4–3 , Naoko Omuro , Decision (unanimous) , Valkyrie 06 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 11–4–3 , Yukiko Seki , Decision (unanimous) , Valkyrie 05 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 10–4–3 , Fujuko Hamada , Decision (unanimous) , Valkyrie 04 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 9–4–3 , Misaki Takimoto , Decision (unanimous) , Jewels 2nd Ring , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 , Kabukicho,

, Japan , , - , Draw , align=center, 8–4–3 , Naoko Omuro , Draw (majority) , Valkyrie 01 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 8–4–2 , Fukuko Hamada , Decision (unanimous) , Deep: 36 Impact , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 7–4–2 , Kayo Nagayasu , Decision (majority) , Shooto: 6/26 in Kitazawa Town Hall , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 , Setagaya,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 6–4–2 , Maho Muranami , Decision (unanimous) , Smackgirl: Starting Over , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 , Bunkyo,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 5–4–2 , Yuka Okumura , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Zst: Swat! Rx1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 7:34 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 4–4–2 , Masako Yoshida , Decision (unanimous) , Smackgirl: Summerfest 2007 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 3–4–2 , Kayo Nagayasu , Decision (unanimous) , Shooto: Battle Mix Tokyo 2 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 2–4–2 , Yukiko Seki , Decision (unanimous) , Smackgirl: Legend of Extreme Women , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 , Bunkyo,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 1–4–2 , Ayumi Saito , Decision (unanimous) , Smackgirl: Women Hold Their Ground , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 , Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 1–3–2 , Masako Yoshida , Decision (majority) , G-Shooto: G-Shooto 06 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 , Setagaya,

, Japan , , - , Draw , align=center, 1–2–2 , Kayo Nagayasu , Draw , G-Shooto: G-Shooto 05 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 , Kabukicho,

, Japan , , - , Draw , align=center, 1–2–1 , Eri Kaneya , Draw , G-Shooto: G-Shooto 04 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 , Kabukicho,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 1–2–0 , Masako Yoshida , Decision (split) , Smackgirl: Shimokita Experiment League , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 , Setagaya,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 1–1–0 , Yuki Furudate , Decision (split) , G-Shooto: Plus03 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 , Setagaya,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0–0 , Maho Muranami , Decision (split) , G-Shooto: Plus02 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 , Setagaya,

, Japan ,

Championships

* Valkyrie Flyweight Champion (2010)

References

External links

*
Yasuko Tamada
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 current ...