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When it comes to female involvement in Japanese martial arts, few have been more of a pioneer than Mei Yamaguchi.

When word spread that ONE Championship would be bringing a show to Japan for the very first time, ONE: A NEW ERA, Yamaguchi made it her mission to find her way on the card in some capacity.

“I was in the press conference for ONE: A NEW ERA, and I really wanted to compete on the card,” she says. “I really wanted to get the chance to fight in front of my hometown.”

Yamaguchi got what she asked for when her bout with Pankration World Champion Kseniya “The Tigress” Lachkova was added to the already stacked supercard.

Despite a pair of losses to current ONE Women’s Atomweight World Champion Angela Lee, Yamaguchi sits in the thick of the division’s title picture.

Yamaguchi closed 2018 with a dominant unanimous-decision victory over the Philippines’ Jomary Torres at ONE: DESTINY OF CHAMPIONS in December.

While Lee has gotten the better of Yamaguchi in their two matchups, both bouts have been difficult for the Singaporean champion. The most recent meeting between the two women took place at ONE: UNSTOPPABLE DREAMS in May 2018, and Yamaguchi appeared to push Lee to her limit.

Though she’s had two failed opportunities to defeat Lee, Yamaguchi still believes she can topple her rival.

“The third time’s the charm. I definitely want to win the [atomweight] belt,” she explains.

Time may be running out for Yamaguchi to defeat Lee for the atomweight title however. Lee is already scheduled to compete on the ONE: A NEW ERA card, but she is moving up to strawweight to challenge Xiong Jing Nan for her ONE Strawweight World Title.

If Lee is successful in winning the title in that division, she’ll become the first female martial artist to win World Titles in two different weight classes. Also, there is a chance she won’t come back down to atomweight to compete, depending on how she feels at strawweight. Would Yamaguchi be willing to move up to challenge her?

“I want to challenge for the atomweight title again, as well as the strawweight title,” Yamaguchi says.

“I am ready to fight Xiong Jing Nan or Angela Lee – whoever is ready. I want to knock them out with hard punches.”

At 35 years old, Yamaguchi is showing no signs of leaving her gloves in the cage. She’s been a martial artist for 12 years, and during that time, she’s accomplished a great deal despite standing just five-feet tall and getting a relatively late start in the sport as a professional.

Yamaguchi is also as tough as they come. Despite enduring 11 losses in her career, no opponent has been able to finish her.

The main card of ONE: A NEW ERA is already jam-packed with explosive matchups. But the addition of Yamaguchi to the card is icing on the cake.

ONE: A NEW ERA takes place at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, Japan on Sunday, 31 March.

In the main event, ONE Lightweight World Champion Eduard “Landslide” Folayang defends his title against Japanese legend Shinya “Tobikan Judan” Aoki in a highly-anticipated rematch.

In addition, there will be three co-main events. ONE Light Heavyweight and Middleweight World Champion Aung La N Sang defends his middleweight title against Ken Hasegawa. ONE Women’s Strawweight World Champion Xiong Jing Nan puts her title on the line against Angela Lee. Reigning ONE Bantamweight World Champion Kevin Belingon takes on Bibiano Fernandes for the third time to determine who is the true king of the division.

The heavily featured card also showcases the promotional debuts of Demetrious Johnson and Eddie Alvarez. It’s going to be an amazing show, one that the whole world will not want to miss.

The post Mei Yamaguchi Wants to Impress at ONE: A NEW ERA to Earn Another Title Shot appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

With another year coming to a close, everyone embarks on their annual year-end traditions. Many gather with family and friends at this festive time of year, exchanging gifts and holiday cheer. Some concoct a new strategy for keeping their New Year’s resolution, for real this time. Others overindulge in delicious food and drink too much egg nog.

But fight fans are different. Now is the time to look back and reflect on the past 12 months, and then argue about who had the best knockout, submission, or fight of the year. In this installment of the annual year-end awards from LowKickMMA, we pick and rank the ten best scraps of 2016.

From title shots and super fights with sky-high stakes to undercard tussles that unexpectedly turned into thrilling wars, these were the all-time classics of 2016. Read on for the must-see list of brawls to show that uninitiated family member this holiday season.

10. Michael Bisping vs. Dan Henderson

UFC 204 on October 8, 2016 – Manchester, England:

“The Count” began his unlikely title reign with a most unlikely defense, and it turned into one of the best fights of the year. Many fans and pundits – and other top contenders – maligned Henderson getting a title shot after going 3-6 in his previous nine fights. But the story was too good to pass up.

Bisping sought revenge on the man to hand him his most devastating loss, the infamous, brutal knockout at UFC 100. “Hendo” had been hinting at retirement for some time, and when the fight was announced, he claimed that it would be his swan song. The narratives were set: would Bisping redeem himself or suffer another humiliating loss to his greatest rival? Would Hendo finally capture the UFC belt that had eluded him during his hall of fame career and go out on top?

The bout was extremely tense from the outset. The stakes could not be any higher, a loss for either man a crushing blow. As many expected, the champion had success with his diverse and high-volume kickboxing, while the challenger had his bazooka right hand cocked. Toward the end of the first round, Henderson detonated his famed “H-Bomb” on Bisping’s chin, but the Brit hung on, clinging to consciousness as his American counterpart hammered him relentlessly.

The pattern repeated in round two. Bisping got out to a lead before being felled by another massive right hand. Again, he refused to go away. Henderson failed to connect with a third “H-Bomb” and thus saw his lead slip away over the final three rounds. Observers were split as to who should emerge with the victory, many even scoring the fight a draw. When the judges’ scores were announced, it was Bisping who escaped with his title reign intact.

The post Top 10 Most Exciting MMA Fights Of 2016 appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.