Ward, Tavares, Marquez arrive in Tokyo for Smackgirl show

Smackgirl held a press conference today upon the arrival of Ginele Marquez, Lisa Ward & Anna Michele Tavares for the World REMIX Tournament on the Apr. 25 Smackgirl show. Marquez was accompanied by trainer Josh Barnett. He was in town to announce one of his own fights but he trains several female fighters too. Marquez' opponent will be Atsuko Emoto. Barnett said that though Emoto is better known for her Bullfight Sora pro wrestling character, she has proven to be adept at MMA. He believes that Smackgirl's abolition of the 30 second ground rule will help Marquez because she has strong training in jiu jitsu & submission wrestling. Barnett said training with Megumi Fujii has helped Marquez and Marquez is hoping for a quick win.





Lisa Ward & Anna Michele Tavares will face each other in the Lightweight World REMIX Tournament. Ward said she had a quick win in the first round and is hoping to do the same thing in this match. When asked about each other, Ward said Tavares is strong in jiu jitsu but Ward is stronger and more physical and knows Tavares' weak point. Tavares said Ward is very strong and this will be a tough match. Ward figures that Megumi Fujii will win her semi final match over Ham Seo Hee and is looking forward to facing Fujii in the final. Apparently Lisa's father died recently and she wants to dedicate this victory to him. The show will be very interesting.