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| Rin Nakai, Tara LaRosa |
PANCRASE announced today that Queen of PANCRASE champion Rin Nakai will face women's MMA legend Tara LaRosa on the Sept. 29 show at the Yokohama Bunka Gym. This is PANCRASE's 20th anniversary show so it's pretty stacked. The fight is contracted for 62kg and is scheduled for three five minute rounds. This is a non-title match. Tara LaRosa is a pioneer of women's MMA. But this isn't Bodog in 2007. She was the best female fighter in the world at that time. Her last fight was an embarrassing loss to Vanessa Porto at the Oct. 2012 Invicta show. It's OK to lose but not like that. She missed weight for that fight but that fight was ten pounds lighter so I don't see that as an issue here. But we all know what happens to gaijin fighters who miss weight in PANCRASE. Tara was also part of the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter but obviously didn't make the cut into the final six if she booked a fight elsewhere. The big change Tara made after that loss was to move to New Mexico to train at Jackson's. This is her first fight since moving there so no one knows if it helped her. And no matter what she says, Tara doesn't know either. But we're going to find out. Rin is ten years younger. She's very quick and deceptively strong. In her last fight, she broke Brenda Gonzalez' arm. I know some get their shorts in a knot over Rin's cosplay nonsense and sexy costumes. I don't care about that stuff when I evaluate fighters. She is unbeaten for a reason. Some look at her and go "Oh, she's short" and then don't take her seriously because of the sexy stuff. That is a mistake. She trained in judo as a teen and was a competitive gymnast as a child. Looks can be deceiving. I'm a big Tara LaRosa fan but I dunno about this. Time is a cruel mistress.
Actually 8 make it into house on TUF. Which means LaRosa lost her fight and is gone by the first episode. I hear she was beaten easily. I can't believe fans thought she'd win.
ReplyDeleteRin is undefeated because she fights no one and Pancrase protects her like hell. She is mediocre at best, but they make money on her by marketing her like a porn star. Creepy. Pancrase knows LaRosa is shot and is hoping to play off her TUF appearance. Rin's Japanese fans actually think she can beat Rousey, so Pancrase will keep feeding the lie.
Rin is a better fighter than fans here think because they are so turned off by the "creepy" stuff, most haven't taken the time to watch her. That "creepy" stuff appeals to the main market in Japan for women's MMA and women's wrestling, the dirty old men. That's how bad the fight business is in Japan. PANCRASE didn't mention TUF in the press release. They don't care about that. Their interest in Tara is that she fought in Japan in 2005 and was Bodog champ once upon a time. Nostalgia.
ReplyDeleteSadly, Frank you are right. Time is a cruel, hard mistress. As I know all to well at the age of 51. I am a fan of Tara LaRosa as well, but this could go badly for her. Still, I will wish her nothing but the best.
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