Having undergone knee surgery last October, Mizuki Inoue is nearing the end of her recovery. When last we spoke to her, she had moved to Las Vegas to undergo rehab at the UFC Performance Institute. Now she is nearing the end of that physical therapy and has already started a strength and conditioning program. She is also training again. Taking advantage of being in the fight capital, she has been training with the former UFC Straweight champion, Jessica Andrade.
Just a few months ago, Mizuki described the depressing effect recovery can have, when it seems like no progress is being made and there is no end in sight. In her case, this was likely compounded by the fact that it wasn’t her first injury. In fact, she has had three surgeries in three years, which explains why she only fought once in 2019, once in 2020, and not in 2021. However, her rehab appears to have gone well and she is even running in training, something that she hasn’t be able to do in over 4 years. In addition, lingering injuries have also been addressed that were impacting how she fought. Now that she is nearing the end of her recovery, we are told she may be ready to fight by the end of the year or early next.
In addition to her recovery, Mizuki had some decisions to make. Primarily, was she going to stay in Las Vegas when her rehabilitation ended or was she going to return to New York City. When we last spoke to her, she hadn’t made up her mind yet. Now that New York appears to be back up and running, she’s decided to return to the Big Apple. Once back, she will be training at Serra-Longo. She will also be able to spar with the UFC’s Katlyn Chookagian and Erin Blanchfield, as well as Invicta FC’s Julian Decouresy and Lindsey VanZandt, all of whom live relatively nearby.
In many ways, Serra-Longo has become like a family to the now 27 year old fighter, who hasn’t been home for several years, kept state-side by surgeries and now the pandemic. However, a member of her actual family, her brother, current Rizin fighter Naoki Inoue will also be moving back to New York and the two will be sharing an apartment. This will be in contrast to when the two lived with their manager, his family, Ulka Sasaki, and his wife.
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