Sawada to defend title, looks to show improvements -

This Saturday at the Toyosu Pit in Tokyo, Japan, Shooto’s Atomweight Champion Chihiro Sawada will defend her title for the first time against Miku Nakamura. Going into this bout, Sawada has emerged as one of Japan’s top prospects. A decorated amateur wrestler armed with a karate background, Sawada was highly touted when she made her pro-debut back in 2021 and despite going to a draw in that bout, she has since been flawless, winning her next 5 in a row, including a 52kg bout in Thailand for One Championship and a bout in Miami for Combate Global. Ahead of Saturday’s bout, we had the opportunity to talk to Sawada about her upcoming bout and her goals for the future.

A rematch, for the title

Across the cage from Sawada on Saturday will be Miku Nakamura, who is currently riding a 4 fight win streak and earned this title shot with an impressive performance against Mayu Kawanishi back in May. One of the more active fighters in Japan, Miku is a staple of Shooto, having already fought for the promotion 12 times since making her promotional debut in 2020. With so many fights under her belt, it won’t surprise you to find out that Miku and Sawada have faced each other before, back in November of 2021 in what was Sawada’s 2nd pro-fight. Sawada won that fight, her first pro victory, via majority decision after 2 rounds, with one of the judges ruling it a draw. Now, 2 years later, the two are set to face off again.

Motivated and hungry, Sawada aims to show improvements

When asked about her upcoming fight, Sawada told us that what she wants to do most, is show the improvements she’s made since her last fight back in May. In fact, throughout our conversation it became clear that she’s very motivated to improve. Having trained abroad and fought outside of Japan, she know’s what it takes to be a world class fighter and seems determined to build herself into one. When asked about what improvements she specifically wants to show, she told me that in the past, she’s gotten sloppy in her fights, because she gets anxious and this has led her to being reckless. In response to this, she’s worked on remaining calm so that she can control the fight and win decisively.

Another improvement she’s been working on, is taking her wrestling and karate skills and combining and adapting them to MMA. In the past, she told us, she felt like she had to go for the takedown immediately, but now, she can strike and she can do the techniques she’s been working on in practice in the actual fights, when it matters. With that in mind, while she acknowledges that her opponent this weekend is an aggressive striker who likes to come forward, she isn’t afraid to strike with her, telling us that she can see herself striking with Miku and defending herself on her feet.

However, while Sawada does want to show the improvements she’s made, she told us that she knows she still has a long way to go.

Training with her brother, looking to follow in his footsteps

While AACC is famed for its high-level female talent, Sawada spent a majority of the practice we witnessed training with her brother, fellow MMA fighter Ryuto Sawada. When asked about this, she commented that he’s strong and technical so he’s able to pressure her and help her grow. Also, they’ve been training together for so long that while he’s more powerful than her, there is a lot of trust between them, so she doesn’t have to worry about getting injured.

As she’s mentioned in the past, her ultimate goal is to follow in her brother’s footsteps and go to One Championship. Having already fought for them once in their Friday Night Fight series and now-training with One veterans like her brother and Zenny Huang, she’s completely focused on it. It is her primary motivation. With the promotion returning to Japan next year, and Chatri saying they will hold 2-4 events in Japan in 2024, Sawada told us she would very much like to be on one of these shows.

However, before Sawada can go off to One Championship, she has to defend her title this Saturday. The fight and event will be aired live on Abema.