This Sunday at Pancrase 329 in Tokyo, Japan, three women’s bouts are scheduled. In one of these bouts, Sayako Fujita is scheduled to return to action after a three year absence. Her inclusion is interesting for several reasons. First, Sayako fought and defeated Si Woo Park in Park’s pro-debut. Second, Sayako competes at Atomweight, a division that has never had a championship in the promotion and has never gained a lot of traction. However, if the 5-1 fighter can put some good wins together, maybe a division can be formed around her. Karen has said she can make Atomweight and Fujino has as well, meaning some interesting future matchups do exist for Sayako if she continues to do well. (The header photo is courtesy of Akihito Tatematsu)
From Judo to MMA
Unlike Saori Oshima and Seika Izawa who got started when they were 3 and 4 years old, Sayako didn’t start training in Judo until she was in high school. Before this, she had played softball, but discovered that she didn’t like team sports. So once she got into high school, she joined the Judo team, which didn’t have a girl’s team, meaning that she trained with the boys. Training with the boys, she was tossed around like a rag doll in training, but she credits it with helping to develop her physical strength. After high school, she went to Nippon Sports Science University, where she also competed on their team, finishing 3rd at the All Tokyo Student Championships in 2012 at 48kg. All in all, she competed for about 9 years and as a result, her current MMA style is heavily influenced by her Judo experience.
After graduating, she continued to compete for a little bit, started teaching Judo, and gained some weight. So in order to lose weight, she joined a kickboxing gym, which led to an amateur MMA fight. After this, she switched to an MMA gym and about a month later, she made her professional debut against Raika, the former boxing champion. As previously mentioned, Sayako had gained some weight, so unlike her college days where she competed at Atomweight, this match was at Flyweight. She was also very nervous to be making her pro-debut and to be fighting a former boxing champion. In the end, she lost via a KO in the opening round.
From Bodybuilding back to MMA
At this time, Sayako had a hernia and other back problems. She was also suffering from what sounds like some extreme anxiety when it came to fighting. In order to help fix her back, her personal trainer suggested bodybuilding. This is how she ended up finishing third in the beginner’s category at the 2017 Tokyo Open. She was also working on her anxiety. When asked about her back and anxiety now, she told us, “[my back] still hurts at times, but I’ve gotten better at dealing with it…[my fear of fighting] is nothing like when I fought Raika but it’s still there.”
Now, Sayako last fought in 2019, but then, as a result of work and familiar obligations, she wasn’t able to train or compete. When asked about her comeback after 3 years, she told us, ” I’ve been doing physical training for a long time, but it wasn’t until February of this year that I really started practicing again. Until then, I was only able to practice a little in my free time.”
How to Watch
Pancrase 329 will air live on Youtube. Here is the link. To join their Youtube page cost 1,790 yen a month, roughly $12.75 USD. As always, Stewart Fulton and Guy DeLumeau will be delivering the English commentary.
Date: Japan–> September 11, 2022 at 2:45 PM (U.S. EST –> September 11, 2022 at 1:45 AM)
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