Molly Helsel brought in as sacrificial lamb for HIROKO

Molly Helsel

So JEWELS announced today that Randi Miller has dropped out of her match with HIROKO on the Dec. 17 Korakuen Hall show due to injury and will be replaced by veteran Molly Helsel. First, I don't believe Randi Miller is injured. I think she agreed to the match and then changed her mind. But JEWELS matchmaker Shigeru Saeki announced it anyway thinking he could shame her into coming. He's a snake and he does things like that. That didn't work. The last time JEWELS got desperate for an opponent for HIROKO, they brought in Aussie kickboxer Sandy Furner who at least was the correct size though inexperienced in MMA. So that was a mismatch. I had heard of fighters who were contacted about that match but were ultimately nixed for being too small. This time they've decided to throw that out the window. The fight is contracted for 65kg which is way out of Molly's weight class. And she has never fought anyone anywhere near the size of HIROKO. HIROKO is 5'11" and it's not like she's a scrub. She's a very powerful striker and has improved her ground game. Molly's record is 8-11-1 and her last fight was a loss to Aisling Daly at the Nov. 28 Cage Warriors show. That was at 125. Looking at her record, I don't think she has ever fought at 145. And HIROKO's natural weight is 170. Anyway you slice it, this is a mismatch. Fans always ask me about what is good or bad for women's MMA. And the thing that is worst is obvious mismatches. Sometimes they're understandable but not in this case. I would prefer to see Shigeru Saeki squirm in front of a packed Korakuen Hall trying to explain what happened with Randi Miller. The good news is this match is not a main event. JEWELS just wants HIROKO to fight on the show. She's one of their stars but it's obvious they have no opponents for her. She needs to come to the US already. JEWELS also announced an exhibition match featuring the star of the film Karate Girl Rina Takeda. They also announced two amateur grappling matches, one with the teen Utake Yuasa and the other with former JD Star pro wrestler Emi Tomimatsu. Emi works as a trainer for JEWELS. I don't expect any additions to this show.