As Rizin gets more popular and more people get involved in MMA, new young fighters are starting to emerge. One of these is Seika Izawa, a 24 year old graduate student who in a little more than a year has gone from making her pro-debut to facing off against the former number 1 ranked Atomweight in the world and current Super Atomweight Champion, Ayaka Hamasaki, on national TV on the biggest night in Japan. Despite her brief period in the sport so far, she’s already made a gigantic impression. She submitted the Deep Jewels Champion in the first round and in grappling matches she defeated Megumi Sugimoto in under a minute via RNC, Mika Nagano via heel hook, and BJJ blackbelt Emi Tomimatsu with an armbar.
We had a chance to sit down and chat with Seika last month and learn about her background and what she does in her free time. Please enjoy.
Judo, wrestling, and sumo
While Seika has only recently gotten involved in MMA, she’s been active in martial arts for most of her life. When she was four, her mother took her and her brothers to a judo dojo. They had been fighting around the house and this was her solution. Under her strict supervision, Seika was able to succeed in the sport, competing in numerous national tournaments. A couple years after getting in judo, her dad took her to a wrestling school so she could learn more grappling techniques. She took a liking to it and started wrestling as well, going as far as to win a national tournament when she was in junior high school. Later on when she was in college, she continued in judo and briefly branched out into sumo, where she placed 2nd in the national tournament.
Getting into MMA
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted many people in many different ways. For judo athletes in Japan, their ability to compete was put on hold. This affected Seika, who was in the process of giving judo a real try while she was in her last year of graduate school. Unable to compete in judo, she was thinking about transitioning to a coaching role, when she decided she wasn’t ready yet. She still wanted to compete and since judo was no longer an option for the foreseeable future, she decided to switch to MMA. This was in June of 2020.
Four months later Seika made her pro-debut at Deep Jewels 30. At the time, she was living in a $300 month apartment, working a part-time job, and going to graduate school. Despite this busy schedule, she won her pro-debut and was then scheduled to face the interim 52kg (115lb) champion, Miki Motono two months later. A graduate of Tokai University and a member of their prestigious judo team, whose alumni include Saori Oshima and Kana Watanabe, Miki also boasts a strong judo background and as a training partner of Ayaka Hamasaki, she has often been compared to the Rizin champion. Going into the fight, Miki was 5-1, with her only loss coming to the now undefeated UFC fighter Casey O’Neil. In stark contrast, Seika was 1-0 and had only been training for six months. This background is important because it highlights the significance of Seika’s victory and her rapid rise in the sport. In defeating Miki, she defeated the best Straweight in Japan and she did it in her second fight. However, since it wasn’t a title fight, a rematch was quickly scheduled, which Seika won even more dominantly, finishing Miki in the opening round with an armbar.
Sakakibara had been in attendance for the second fight with Miki and rumors began to spread that Rizin was interested in the young prospect. These rumors were fueled even more when it was announced that Seika would be facing Si Woo Park in her next fight. It wasn’t the opponent that interested pundits as much as the weight, 49kg, the same as Rizin’s Super Atomweight division. In what would be the toughest fight of her career to date, Seika used her wrestling and judo to take Park down repeatedly. However, she had a hard time keeping her down and took some significant damage that caused one of her eyes to nearly swell shut. Clearly upset with her performance, she cried during her post-fight speech.
The Future
Seika is trying to bulk up and add muscle so she can become a true Straweight. At the moment, she currently walks around at 53kg (117lbs) but she’s been working with her brother, who is a personal trainer. She’s doing this because she has her sights set on the UFC. While she doesn’t feel ready right now, she wants to become the number one fighter in Japan then go overseas and fight for a promotion like Bellator, Invicta FC, or Road FC, get some good results, then go join the UFC. At the time, when we were speaking to Seika, she didn’t know that she was going to fight Ayaka this year, so it looks like her plan is coming together faster than expected, as a win over Ayaka would clearly make her the number one fighter in Japan.
Unwinding from training and school
Seika is an incredibly busy woman. She trains five hours every morning and then goes to graduate school in the evening, which is slightly easier now due to the pandemic and all of the classes being moved to online. Outside of the classroom, she also has a lot of homework that has to be done. When asked about her schedule, she joked, “I have to practice, read manga, and do homework, I’m very busy.” That’s right, to say that Seika Izawa enjoys manga and anime would be an understatement. Name it and she’s probably read it or seen it, including the likes of Naruto, Bleach, Major, Demon Slayer, Jujutsu Kaisen, Attack on Titan and Dragon Ball, the first manga she got into. Nowadays, her favorite is the volleyball based Haikyu, where she likes the setter Tobio Kageyama. When asked why she likes him, she told us that “to be a great setter you need to be able to communicate, which he isn’t very good at. He has a good sense for the position and is kind of a loner, but with the support of his friends and teammates he grows little by little, which I think is pretty cool.”
Anime and manga aren’t the only ways that Seika unwinds. She also loves sweets, with ice cream being her favorite. She eats it almost everyday, even when she’s cutting weight. Now that she is living in a bigger apartment with her brothers, it sounds like she has a stockpile of ice cream and when she gets home after practice she, in her own words, “I look them all and pick one, this one. It’s like in Pokemon, I choose you!”
Seika Izawa faces Ayaka Hamasaki on December 31st at Rizin 33.
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