Emi Fujino

Emi Fujino
Emi Fujino
Born	Toyohashi, Aichi Prefecture, Japan
Occupation(s)	Professional wrestler, kickboxer, mixed martial arts fighter
Known for	Mixed martial arts career, Pancrase Women's Strawweight Champion, Shooto Women's Strawweight Champion

is a Japanese professional wrestler, kickboxer, and mixed martial arts fighter, recognized by the nickname Special Attack Angel (特攻天女).

Background

Hailing from Aichi Prefecture, Japan, Fujino began practicing catch wrestling and various other martial arts disciplines after completing her university education, initially motivated by fitness goals.

Early career

Fujino made her professional debut at Smackgirl-F: Next Cinderella Tournament 2nd stage & SG-F7 on , where she secured a unanimous decision victory against Seri Saito. Her second triumph came at Cross Section on , submitting Eri Takahashi with an armbar in the second round. On , Fujino continued her winning streak at Smackgirl 2006: Legend of Extreme Women, defeating Mai Ichii by unanimous decision.

Her fourth bout resulted in a first-round straight armbar submission over Madoka Okada at Smackgirl 2007: Will The Queen Paint The Shinjuku Skies Red? on . She maintained momentum by submitting Anna Saito with a rear naked choke in the first round at K-Grace on , followed by a unanimous decision win against Yukiko Seki at Smackgirl 2007: Queens' Hottest Summer on .

At Cage Force EX: eastern bound on , Fujino achieved her seventh consecutive victory via unanimous decision against Yuko Yamazaki. She then narrowly defeated Mei Yamaguchi by split decision at Smackgirl 7th Anniversary: Starting Over on .

Fujino’s undefeated run ended when she was bested by women's MMA legend Megumi Yabushita through unanimous decision at Demolition 080721 on .

Valkyrie

Fujino’s debut in the Valkyrie organization occurred at its inaugural event, Valkyrie 01, on , where she lost by unanimous decision to seasoned competitor Tomomi Sunaba.

In a repeat encounter from 2007, Fujino was defeated again by Mei Yamaguchi via unanimous decision during the Valkyrie women's featherweight tournament held at Valkyrie 02 on .

Suffering her fourth straight loss, Fujino was edged out by Kyoko Takabayashi through a majority decision at Valkyrie 05 on . She bounced back quickly with a rapid submission win over Anna Saito at Valkyrie 08 on , forcing a rear-naked choke in less than thirty seconds.

Facing Megumi Fujii at World Victory Road Presents: Soul of Fight on , Fujino was handed a unanimous decision defeat.

Jewels

Fujino’s introduction to Jewels came against Celine Haga at Jewels 17th Ring on 2011-12-17, where she earned a unanimous decision victory. She followed up with another unanimous decision win over Mika Nagano at Jewels 18th Ring on 2012-03-03. Challenging Jewels champion Ayaka Hamasaki at Jewels 22nd Ring in Tokyo on 2012-12-15, Fujino was defeated by unanimous decision.

On 2013-05-19, Fujino made her Pancrase debut at Pancrase 247. Originally set to fight Monica Lovato, she instead faced Amber Brown due to Lovato’s injury and secured a second-round submission victory via neck crank. At Deep Jewels 1 on 2013-08-31, Fujino submitted Hyo Kyung Song with a rear-naked choke in the second round. In a rematch during the lightweight title tournament opening round at Deep Jewels 2 on 2013-11-04, Fujino lost to Mizuki Inoue by unanimous decision.

Making her North American MMA debut against Jessica Aguilar at World Series of Fighting 10: Branch vs. Taylor on 2014-06-21, Fujino was defeated by unanimous decision.

Deep Jewels and Road FC

Upon returning to Japan, Fujino competed against Ayaka Miura at Deep - Jewels 6 on November 3, 2014, securing a unanimous decision win. She followed this by facing Emi Tomimatsu at Deep - Dream Impact 2014: Omisoka Special on December 31, 2014, where she again earned victory via unanimous decision.

Fujino made her Road FC debut versus Jeong Eun Park at Road FC 023 on May 2, 2015, prevailing by majority decision. She then challenged Mizuki Inoue for the Deep Jewels Strawweight title at Deep - Jewels 9 on August 29, 2015, but was defeated by unanimous decision.

On November 23, 2015, Fujino submitted Nori Date with a rear naked choke in the first round at Deep - Jewels 10. Later, she faced future UFC strawweight champion Zhang Weili at Rebels 45 on August 7, 2016, suffering a second-round TKO loss.

Fujino then competed against another future UFC strawweight contender, Yan Xiaonan, at Road FC 034 on November 19, 2016; the match concluded as a no contest due to an accidental head clash. On March 11, 2017, she secured a second-round rear naked choke submission over Natalia Denisova at Road FC 037.

Back in Japan, Fujino achieved a first-round submission victory against Hyun Ju Baek at Deep 79 Impact on September 16, 2017. She also earned a unanimous decision win over Aline Sattelmayer at Road FC 044 on November 11, 2017.

Pancrase

In early 2018, Fujino signed with Pancrase and returned to action against Sharon Jacobson at Pancrase 296 on May 20, earning a unanimous decision victory.

She next faced former Pancrase strawweight titleholder Viviane Araújo at Pancrase 298 on August 5, losing by TKO in the third round.

At Pancrase 304 on April 14, 2019, Fujino defeated Kseniia Guseva via unanimous decision. Later that year, she fought Edna Oliveira Ajala at Pancrase 308 on September 29 and won by TKO after Ajala withdrew due to a wrist injury.

Fujino claimed the Pancrase Women's Strawweight Championship by submitting Hyun Ji Jang with a rear-naked choke in the third round at Pancrase 311 on December 11, 2019.

Rizin FF

Fujino was booked to face Ayaka Hamasaki at Rizin 30 on September 19, 2021; she lost the bout by unanimous decision.

Loss of Pancrase title

During her defense of the Pancrase Women's Strawweight Championship against Karen at Pancrase 326 on March 21, 2022, Fujino was taken down and struck with elbows in the fourth round. A severe cut caused excessive bleeding that led the referee to halt the fight, resulting in Fujino relinquishing her title.

She was set to compete against Song Hye Yun at Pancrase 329 on September 11, but the match was postponed due to visa complications for Song. The bout was rescheduled for Pancrase’s Neo-Blood Tournament Finals (28th edition) on October 9; however, Fujino instead faced Ayaka Watanabe and secured a unanimous decision win.

At Pancrase 333 on April 30, 2023, Fujino was defeated by Edna Trakinas via unanimous decision. She bounced back with a first-round rear-naked choke submission over Shiho Mori at Shooto 2023 Vol.5 on July 23. Continuing her momentum, Fujino earned a majority decision victory against Momoka Hoshuyama at Shooto 2023 Vol.6 on September 24.

On November 19, 2023, Fujino fought Megumi Sugimoto at Shooto 2023 Vol.7; the contest concluded in a majority draw.

Professional wrestling career

Fujino made her professional wrestling debut with the Ice Ribbon promotion, facing off against Emi Sakura. Her last bout concluded in a time limit draw against Mai Ichii on May 3, 2010.

Kickboxing and Shoot boxing career

Fujino launched her kickboxing journey at the shoot boxing event Takeshi Road -bushido- The Fifth on , where she was forced to retire before the third round due to a broken nose, resulting in a TKO loss to Girls S-Cup champion Rena Kubota.

Competing under J-Network's J-Girls kickboxing division, Fujino suffered a unanimous decision defeat to 16-year-old Mizuki Inoue at J-Girls Catch The Stone 9 on . She later secured a unanimous decision victory against Nozomi Satake at J-Girls Catch The Stone 11 on .

On , Fujino participated in the 2011 Shoot Boxing Girls S-Cup tournament but was eliminated in the first round by Seo Hee Ham via majority decision.

Making a return to J-Girls at J-Girls 2012: Platinum's In The Ring Final on , Fujino achieved a swift knockout win over Ruri in just 44 seconds.

Championships and accomplishments

Shooto
- Shooto Women's Strawweight Championship (one reign; current titleholder)
Pancrase
- Pancrase Women's Strawweight Championship (one reign; former titleholder)

Mixed martial arts record

Kickboxing and Shoot boxing record

|- style="background:#cfc;" |2012-11-18 |Win | align="left" | Ruri |J-Girls 2012: Platinum's In The Ring Final |Tokyo, Japan |KO (punches) |1 |0:44 |- bgcolor="#FFBBBB" |2011-08-19 ||Loss | align="left" | Seo Hee Ham |2011 Shoot Boxing Girls S-Cup |Tokyo, Japan |Decision (unanimous) |3 |2:00 |- style="background:#cfc;" |2010-10-17 |Win | align="left" | Nozomi Satake |J-Girls: Catch the Stone 11 |Tokyo, Japan |Decision (unanimous) |3 |2:00 |- bgcolor="#FFBBBB" |2010-07-25 ||Loss | align="left" | Mizuki Inoue |J-Girls: Catch The Stone 9 |Tokyo, Japan |Decision (unanimous) |3 |2:00 |- bgcolor="#FFBBBB" |2009-11-18 |Loss | align="left" | Rena Kubota |Shoot Boxing 2009 - Bushido 5th |Tokyo, Japan |TKO (doctor stoppage) |2 |2:00

|- Legend:

External links

Emi Fujino profile on Awakening
Emi Fujino profile at Road FC