Hiroko Yamanaka

Hiroko Yamanaka
, more commonly known simply as Hiroko (styled in capitals) and nicknamed or Cat's Eye, is a retired Japanese female mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter. She fought for Invicta FC, Strikeforce and Jewels, and was the final Smackgirl Open Weight Champion. Yamanaka announced her retirement on .
Early life
Yamanaka was born on in Kisarazu, Chiba, Japan. Through a personal friend's suggestion, Yamanaka initially took on mixed martial arts for health and fitness purposes only. After time, she found the sport of MMA agreed with her physicality and became more involved, fighting her first official match in May 2006.
Mixed martial arts career
Her first MMA fight was a draw against Mariko Fujimoto in a match with Smackgirl amateur rules on at S-Keep: Eggs Fight 4.
Her next fight was in the Super Gals Mix Cup Open Weight Tournament 1st Round against Rie Murakami, whom Yamanaka defeated by unanimous decision on at Smackgirl: Legend of Extreme Women. This was her professional debut.
Yamanaka would go on to win the Super Gals Mix Cup Open Weight Tournament by defeating Yuiga by unanimous decision on and Michiko Takeda by split decision on .
On at Smackgirl: Queens' Hottest Summer, Yamanaka defeated champion Yoko Takahashi by unanimous decision and won the Smackgirl Open Weight Championship, becoming the fourth and final title holder. Yamanaka was defeated for the first time in a non-title bout as part of the Open Weight World ReMix tournament by Hitomi Akano, who submitted Yamanaka with an armbar on at Smackgirl: World ReMix 2008 Second Round. This was Yamanaka's last fight in Smackgirl since the promotion folded in the following months.
Yamanaka made her debut in the Jewels promotion on , defeating Mayumi Aoki by unanimous decision at Jewels 1st Ring.
At Jewels 2nd Ring on , Yamanaka once again faced Michiko Takeda and defeated her for the second time; this time by TKO at 3:25 of the second round. On , Yamanaka defeated Josh Barnett's student Shannon Hooper by unanimous decision during the event Jewels 3rd Ring.
Yamanaka would avenge her only loss at Jewels 7th Ring when she defeated Hitomi Akano by split decision on . Unlike their first open-weight match, this match was contracted at and, for the first time in her career, Yamanaka had to cut weight; cutting more than 20 lbs. On , Yamanaka defeated Atsuko Emoto by unanimous decision at Jewels 8th Ring. Emoto announced her retirement after the fight.
Debuting with the Shoot boxing promotion, Yamanaka won by forearm choke submission against Australian Muay Thai kickboxing champion Sandy Furner on in an MMA bout at Shoot Boxing: Girls S-Cup 2010. Yamanaka was originally set to face Olympic freestyle wrestling Bronze medal winner Randi Miller, but Miller was forced to withdraw due to injury.
On , Yamanaka was announced as facing Miller at Jewels 11th Ring on December 17. However, the fight was later cancelled. Yamanaka faced Molly Helsel instead and defeated Helsel by TKO in the second round.
Yamanaka faced Bolormaa "Esui" Erdenebileg at Jewels 15th Ring on . She defeated Esui by armbar submission in the second round.
On September 23, 2011, Strikeforce announced that Yamanaka would debut for the promotion against featherweight champion Cris Cyborg. The fight took place at Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Masvidal on . Yamanaka lost the bout via TKO 16 seconds into the first round. On January 6, 2012, the bout's result was changed to a no decision due to Cyborg having tested positive for anabolic steroids.
Yamanaka faced Germaine de Randamie at Strikeforce: Rousey vs. Kaufman on in San Diego, California. She was defeated by unanimous decision.
Yamanaka made her Invicta Fighting Championships debut against Ediane Gomes at Invicta FC 4: Esparza vs. Hyatt on . She was defeated by unanimous decision.
On August 6, 2013, Yamanaka announced her retirement on her official blog, thanking her fans for their support and saying she would like to continue to support her team, Master Japan, in the future.
Submission grappling
Yamanaka made her debut in submission wrestling in the 2006 Smackgirl Grappling Queen Tournament, being defeated by American fighter Roxanne Modafferi by decision. She fought two more times on at Gi grappling 2008, first winning against Akiko Naito and then losing against Sayaka Shioda.
Shoot boxing career
Yamanaka debuted in Shoot boxing on at the 2009 Shoot Boxing Girls S-Cup. She faced Mayumi "Super Benkei" Aoki, whom Yamanaka had previously defeated in MMA, and won the fight by TKO in round one.
On , Yamanaka faced Megumi Yabushita in a shoot boxing match at the 2011 Shoot Boxing Girls S-Cup. She won the fight by TKO (doctor stoppage) after Yabushita suffered a knee injury in round three.
Mixed martial arts record
|-
| Loss
| align=center| 12-3 (1)
| Ediane Gomes
| Decision (unanimous)
| Invicta FC 4: Esparza vs. Hyatt
|
| align=center| 3
| align=center| 5:00
| Kansas City, Kansas, United States
|
|-
| Loss
| align=center| 12-2 (1)
| Germaine de Randamie
| Decision (unanimous)
| Strikeforce: Rousey vs. Kaufman
|
| align=center| 3
| align=center| 5:00
| San Diego, California, United States
|
|-
| NC
| align=center| 12-1 (1)
| Cris Cyborg
| No Contest (overturned by CSAC)
| Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Masvidal
|
| align=center| 1
| align=center| 0:16
| San Diego, California, United States
|
|-
| Win
| align=center| 12-1
| Esui
| Submission (armbar)
| Jewels 15th Ring
|
| align=center| 2
| align=center| 2:20
| Tokyo, Japan
|
|-
| Win
| align=center| 11-1
| Molly Helsel
| TKO (punches)
| Jewels 11th Ring
|
| align=center| 2
| align=center| 3:12
| Tokyo, Japan
|
|-
| Win
| align=center| 10-1
| Sandy Furner
| Submission (forearm choke)
| Shoot Boxing: Girls S-Cup 2010
|
| align=center| 1
| align=center| 1:45
| Tokyo, Japan
|
|-
| Win
| align=center| 9-1
| Atsuko Emoto
| Decision (unanimous)
| Jewels 8th Ring
|
| align=center| 2
| align=center| 5:00
| Tokyo, Japan
|
|-
| Win
| align=center| 8-1
| Hitomi Akano
| Decision (split)
| Jewels 7th Ring
|
| align=center| 2
| align=center| 5:00
| Tokyo, Japan
|
|-
| Win
| align=center| 7-1
| Shannon Hooper
| Decision (unanimous)
| Jewels 3rd Ring
|
| align=center| 2
| align=center| 5:00
| Tokyo, Japan
|
|-
| Win
| align=center| 6-1
| Michiko Takeda
| TKO (punches)
| Jewels 2nd Ring
|
| align=center| 2
| align=center| 3:25
| Tokyo, Japan
|
|-
| Win
| align=center| 5-1
| Mayumi Aoki
| Decision (unanimous)
| Jewels 1st Ring
|
| align=center| 2
| align=center| 5:00
| Tokyo, Japan
|
|-
| Loss
| align=center| 4-1
| Hitomi Akano
| Submission (armbar)
| Smackgirl: World ReMix 2008 Second Round
|
| align=center| 2
| align=center| 3:10
| Tokyo, Japan
|
|-
| Win
| align=center| 4-0
| Yoko Takahashi
| Decision (unanimous)
| Smackgirl: Queens' Hottest Summer
|
| align=center| 3
| align=center| 5:00
| Tokyo, Japan
|
|-
| Win
| align=center| 3-0
| Michiko Takeda
| Decision (split)
| Smackgirl: The Queen Said The USA Is Strongest
|
| align=center| 2
| align=center| 5:00
| Tokyo, Japan
|
|-
| Win
| align=center| 2-0
| Yuiga
| Decision (unanimous)
| Smackgirl: Will The Queen Paint The Shinjuku Skies Red?
|
| align=center| 2
| align=center| 5:00
| Tokyo, Japan
|
|-
| Win
| align=center| 1-0
| Rie Murakami
| Decision (unanimous)
| Smackgirl: Legend of Extreme Women
|
| align=center| 2
| align=center| 5:00
| Tokyo, Japan
|
Submission grappling
Legend:
Shoot boxing record
Legend:
Championships and accomplishments
Smackgirl Open Weight Champion
Super Gals Mix Cup Open Weight Tournament winner
See also
List of female mixed martial artists
References
External links
Hiroko Yamanaka Awakening Profile
Profile at Fightergirls.com
Jewels profile
Official blog
Official blog (old) (Internet Archive)
Official Strikeforce Fighter Profile
1978 births
Living people
People from Kisarazu
Japanese female mixed martial artists
Featherweight mixed martial artists
Mixed martial artists utilizing Muay Thai
Mixed martial artists utilizing shootboxing
Japanese female kickboxers
Japanese Muay Thai practitioners
Female Muay Thai practitioners
Sportspeople from Chiba Prefecture