Japanese fight sports activities veteran “Krazy Bee” Miyuu Yamamoto will step into the boxing ring for the primary time as knowledgeable at 51 years previous when she faces Australia’s Michelle Mack on March 28 in Sydney. The bout can be contested at a catchweight of 51.0 kilograms over six rounds of two minutes every.
At age 51 Miyuu Yamamoto Jumps from RIZIN to the Ring for Professional Boxing Debut
Yamamoto introduced the choice following her MMA retirement at RIZIN 45 on December 31, 2023, the place she misplaced to undefeated tremendous atomweight champion Seika Izawa through rear-naked choke within the second spherical. The 49-year-old on the time informed officers she had continued coaching in boxing all through her retirement from combined martial arts.
In an official assertion launched by the occasion website, Yamamoto revealed the depth of her connection to boxing all through her fight sports activities profession. “Even once I was doing MMA, I discovered myself watching boxing always,” she stated. The three-time freestyle wrestling world champion defined that boxing had turn into such a big a part of her life that she continued coaching after leaving MMA, believing she would ultimately compete within the sport.
Yamamoto initially approached the opportunity with modest expectations. “At first, I thought I would have no regrets if I could do just one match,” she stated. However, her mindset shifted once the fight was confirmed. “Now that the match has been decided, that feeling has completely changed. All I have now is the resolve to win this match,” she said.
The decision represents another chapter in a career defined by late-blooming athletic achievements. Yamamoto started her MMA profession at 41 years previous in 2016 after an intensive wrestling background that included world championships in 1991, 1994, and 1995. She compiled a 6-8 skilled MMA report totally inside RIZIN Combating Federation, competing in opposition to prime atomweight fighters together with Ayaka Hamasaki, Search engine marketing Hee Ham, and Kanna Asakura.
Her father, Ikuei Yamamoto, represented Japan in wrestling on the 1972 Munich Olympics. Her late brother, Norifumi “Child” Yamamoto, grew to become a Japanese MMA legend earlier than his dying in 2018. Her sister, Seiko Yamamoto, gained 4 consecutive world wrestling championships from 1999 to 2002. Her eldest son, Arsen Yamamoto, additionally competes as a combined martial artist in RIZIN.
Whereas Yamamoto’s boxing debut at 51 is phenomenal, it falls wanting the official report for oldest feminine skilled boxing debut. Patricia Trejo Ruiz of Mexico holds the Guinness World Document, having began her skilled boxing profession at 51 and preventing till age 54.
Yamamoto trains at Krazy Bee gymnasium, the ability established by her late brother. She presently resides in Guam together with her husband Kyle, who owns espresso outlets on the island. Michelle Mack, the Australian opponent, not too long ago introduced her return to competitors on social media, noting the battle would function an “skilled professional MMA worldwide opponent” at a catchweight.
Yamamoto expressed hope that her pursuit would encourage others. “If this problem may give individuals the energy to take yet another step ahead in their very own lives, there could be nothing that makes me happier,” she stated.
