Billed height 1.55 m (5 ft 1 in) Role Mixed martial artist Billed weight 54 kg (119 lb) Height 1.55 m | Debut April 20, 1997 Weight 54 kg Name Sumie Sakai | |
 | ||
Residence Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States Ring name(s) Sumie SakaiYellow Michinoku Ranger Trained by TV shows Suna no Ue no Koibitotachi | ||
Combat fc jessica aguilar vs sumie sakai
Sumie Sakai (坂井 澄江, Sakai Sumie, born November 24, 1971) is a Japanese professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. She currently resides in the United States, appearing with professional wrestling promotions in the northeastern United States such as Women's Extreme Wrestling and Chikara.
Contents
- Combat fc jessica aguilar vs sumie sakai
- MMA UWC 7 REDEMPTION Iman Achhal to Battle MMA Fighter and Pro Wrestler Sumie Sakai
- Early life
- Japan
- United States
- Mixed martial arts
- In wrestling
- Championships and accomplishments
- References
MMA UWC ® 7 - REDEMPTION - Iman Achhal to Battle MMA Fighter and Pro Wrestler Sumie Sakai
Early life
As a young woman, Sakai practiced judo. From 1995 to 1997, she halted her practice of judo to work with senior citizens at the Kasugamachi Care Center in Kanazawa, Ishikawa.
Japan
Sakai became involved in wrestling when her friend and fellow judo practitioner, Megumi Yabushita, invited her to join the wrestling industry. Sakai trained under Jaguar Yokota and made her debut on April 20, 1997 with the Yoshimoto Ladies Pro Wrestling promotion, facing Yabushita in the Korakuen Hall in Tokyo. She went on to form a tag team with Yabushita named Yabusaka (ヤブサカ).
Later in 1997, Sakai began wrestling for Yokota's JDStar promotion, where she won both the JDStar Junior Championship and the JDStar Queen of the Ring Championship. She also won the Women's Championship of the affiliated American Wrestling Federation and the Tag Team Championship of the affiliated Trans-World Wrestling Federation. In 1999, she suffered a broken leg while wrestling Lioness Asuka. While rehabilitating, Sakai became enamored of American professional wrestling, and resolved to one day wrestle in the United States.
While in Japan, Sakai faced several prominent male Japanese wrestlers, including Dick Togo, The Great Sasuke and Jinsei Shinzaki. She furthered her training under Bison Kimura, Cooga and Lioness Asuka.
United States
Sakai wrestled her first match in the United States in 2002. In May 2002, she began a three-month tour of the US, where she feuded with Mercedes Martinez in New England Championship Wrestling. While in the promotion, she and Martinez traded the North American Women's Championship, but Sakai was champion when she returned to Japan. In 2003, she left JDStar and relocated to the United States.
In December 2003 and January 2004, Sakai appeared with Ring of Honor, defeating Alison Danger and losing to April Hunter. She returned to Ring of Honor on August 20, 2005, losing to Lacey at Do or Die 5.
On April 17, 2005, Sakai organised "WE LOVE SABU", a pair of shows held at the Differ Ariake Arena in Tokyo. "WE LOVE SABU" was organised in support of Terry "Sabu" Brunk, an American wrestler who had been afflicted with a serious virus in the summer of 2004, with the proceeds of the show going towards paying Sabu's medical bills. The show featured Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling alumni such as Masato Tanaka and Extreme Championship Wrestling alumni such as The Sandman. Sabu eventually made a complete recovery, returning to the ring on May 21, 2005.
In 2009, Sakai began training with Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Bill Scott. She currently holds a blue belt.
In 2012, Sakai joined Kurt Pellegrino's Mixed Martial Arts Academy in Belmar, NJ to better her BJJ and pursue her MMA career.
Mixed martial arts
Sakai made her mixed martial arts debut on October 14, 2006, fighting American kickboxer Amy Davis in a bout promoted by Tom Supnet of the "Primal Tribe Fighting Club" as part of the Xtreme Fight Series II event. The bout ended in a no contest at the end of the first three-minute long round after Davis suffered an arm injury and was unable to continue as a result of an armbar applied by Sakai.