Otoha Interview -

With Rizin 28 in the books, Deep Jewels 33 is less than a week away. In non-tournament action, 17 year old and 7 fight veteran Otoha Nagao will be taking on fellow 17 year old and Rizin veteran Eru Takebayashi. This should be an exciting fight as both fighters are aggressive strikers, which is pretty is pretty interesting considering Otoha trains at AACC, a gym know for producing fighters with grappling-oriented styles like Megumi Fujii, Ayaka Hamasaki, and Hitomi Akano. Whatever the case, Otoha is a volume striker who throws combinations, mixing in kicks and punches. However, she has been working on her grappling a lot recently, so it should not be a surprise if she tries to take things to the ground this weekend. Otoha was kind enough to answer some questions before her fight next weekend, so please enjoy! (The above image is courtesy of Akihito Tatematsu)

Deep Jewels 33 will be available on PPV for 2,500 yen.

CJ: Can you tell us about your background in martial arts? When did you get involved in MMA?

Otoha: I wouldn’t really say I had a martial arts background, I only did kickboxing for about 6 months before I started MMA training as well! I started MMA training around September of 2018!

CJ: Do you remember when and why you decided to turn professional?

Otoha: I played a lot of different sports but I was most passionate about soccer. I wanted to be a professional soccer player, but I had to quit for various reasons. Since I hadn’t done anything but sports for a long time, I suddenly had nothing left, so I was at a loss. I was kind of at my wits end when I saw Rizin on TV! I jumped up and started training at a gym and next thing I knew, I was a professional. (lol) Ever since I was little, I always thought that if I wanted to do sports, I should do it professionally.

CJ: Can you talk about your upcoming fight against Eru Takebayashi? What are your thoughts on her?

Otoha: This is the first time since my pro-debut that I’ve had such a long break between fights because of an injury, about 6 months. I feel like if I can fight normally and not get nervous, I can win. She has this image of being a striker, but I am pretty confident that she won’t KO me. I’m also confident that I’ve trained harder than her, so there is nothing for me to be afraid of!

CJ: There are a lot of strong fighters at AACC. What is it like training there and why did you decide to join?

Otoha: I discovered AACC while I was at a kickboxing gym and I was searching for female athletes to train MMA with, so I went to try it out. When I started training at AACC, I started to understand the different levels of ground fighting, but I kind of entered a slump. It was all kind of overwhelming so I wasn’t able to see if I was getting better or where things were going. Recently, I started training at Carpe Diem (A BJJ gym), in addition to AACC in order to get some more practice on the ground and strengthen those skills.

CJ: After your last match (Mika Sakamoto), you said that you really wanted to show how your grappling has improved, but couldn’t because of an injury. How is your injury? Do you still want to show off your grappling in your next match?

Otoha: I will show you what I can do in my next match, so please look forward to it!

CJ: You recently changed your ring name to simply “Otoha”. Why did you change it?

Otoha: There is no deep reason.

CJ: How did the pandemic impact your training?

Otoha: It changed drastically when the first emergency was declared, but now I am able to practice like normal.

CJ: Do you have any goals for your MMA career? Do you want to participate in RIZIN or anything like that?

Otoha: Of course I’d like to compete for RIZIN! I don’t have many goals at the moment, but if I get an opportunity, I’ll take it!

CJ: I have a few non-martial arts questions for you. What are your hobbies, favorite things to do, favorite comics, music, food, if any?

Otoha: Before the pandemic, I used to go to music festivals and live concerts! I also love to eat tasty foods, so I’d go out to eat a bunch of sweets with my friends! But normally , I don’t want to leave my house. lol

CJ: You’re only 17 and you’re a professional fighter, what do your friends think of that?

Otoha: I don’t really know what my friends think about me. lol

CJ: You post a lot of pictures of animals and your pets on your social media, can you talk about your pets?

Otoha: I have a cat, a flying squirrel, and a dog! I think I can like just about any animal if I take care of it and its cute, lol.