The first round match ups of the Smack Girl World ReMix tournaments were decided on February 5th. At the press conference held at Muse Academy of Music in Tokyo, for the match-ups of the open-weight tournament, four Japanese fighters drew cards in front of the reporters. The result was Hitomi Akano vs. Megumi Yabushita and Tama☆chan vs. Atsuko Emoto.

Tama☆chan (middle) is always trying to be an entertainer, even in front of her master Megumi Yabushita (right) and her first round opponent Atsuko Emoto (left).

Yabushita met Akano once back in November 2004 in the G-Shooto show. It was the pro debut fight for Akano therefore veteran Yabushita controlled the entire fight and won in a decision. However since then former judo elite Akano's talent blossomed. She became Smack Girl champion, and now she is one of the top female fighters in the world at 135 lbs & under. At the press conference Yabushita stated, "Both myself and Akano are from judo. I think she is going to look for throws and submissions but I want to do my type of a fight and want this one to be more exciting than the other first round bout." Akano was absent on this day due to her work schedule. "The other first round bout" is going to be Yabushita's disciple Tama☆chan against a pro-wrestler / MMA fighter Atsuko Emoto. Those two also met once before back in October 2005 but it was in a grappling bout, and Tama☆chan won in a decision as well. However this time Emoto is ready, "Three years since that bout I have been training hard. This is a big chance for a revenge for me." On the other end, Tama☆chan was entertaining as usual, "I wanted to fight Emoto-san. She is a grappler but I want to see how a Pro-wrestler can take a hit. Please make sure to make a dentist appointment on the day after the show."

For the lightweight tournament (52 kg), Smack Girl wanted to see Japanese vs. non-Japanese match-ups, so these will be following the first round bouts which were decided by the promoter:

Megumi Fujii vs. Cindy Hales

Kyoko Takabayashi vs. Michelli Tavarez

Saori Ishioka vs. Su Hi Ham

Edge vs. Lis Ward

At the press conference held back in January, undefeated Megumi Fujii (13-0) said, "If possible I would like to fight someone I've never fought before" and she got her wish. This is going be her first encounter with Cindy Hales. Fujii lost to Felicia Oh in last year's ADCC world championship, and Cindy has tapped Felicia out in a pro grappling tournament. Cindy lost to Megumi's disciple SAYAKA in the ADCC world championship so this is not just a battle between two super grapplers; this is the type of a fight that the fans can enjoy from different perspectives.

'Lisa Ward, Cindy Hales, and Edge in the Lightweight Tournament! Akano and Emoto are in the Open-weight!'- Jan. 25, 2008

(from left to right) Hitomi Akano, Megumi Fujii, and Atsuko Emoto.

Smack Girl announced three additional lightweight entries and two open-weight entries for the World ReMix Tournament scheduled to begin on February 14th. Lisa Ward, Cindy Hales, and Edge for the lightweight and Hitomi Akano from AACC and Atsuko Emoto from team Tougyu / Sora for the open-weight tournament.

Megumi "Mega Megu" Fujii who is already confirmed for the lightweight tournament, with her teammate Akano, attended the press conference held at Tokyo Fitness in the Suidobashi district of Tokyo. Megumi first talked about her reason for entering this tournament, "When I heard Smack Girl is gathering strong fighters form all over the world, I decided to enter this tournament. I would like to be able to say 'It was a breeze' with a smile after the tournament, so I am going to keep training hard with my team mate Akano." Then Megumi talked about two fighters in the tournament she faced in the past, "Michelle's punch was so hard that you just want to look away and she is physically strong. Lisa's strength is different from Michelle's. She has got this explosive instantaneous force. She fights with a little too much reliance on her power, but she has got every element necessary for MMA."

The open-weight is going to be a six-woman tournament. There are two first round bouts in this February show with two additional non-Japanese fighters, and then two semi-final bouts in the April show. Megumi's team mate Akano talked about her goal for this tournament, "Last year I got a few losses in a row so I want to stick up good wins and make this year a good year. I would like to fight fighters who defeated me overseas in Japan. I can condition myself better here than overseas." Obviously she is hoping to see names like Amanda Buckner in the April show.

SMACKGIRL WORLD ReMix TOURNAMENT 2008 Opening Round
Thursday February 14th, 2008
At Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
Doors Open - 17:30
Fight Starts - 19:00

Confirmed Cards (Subject to Chagne):

Lightweight Tournament First Round 5 min / 2R

Megumi Fujii (Japan / AACC) vs. Cindy Hales (U.S.A. / Gracie Barra Seattle)

Lightweight Tournament First Round 5 min / 2R

Michelle Tavarez (Brazil / Nova Uniao) vs. Kyoko Takabayashi (Japan / ALIVE)

Lightweight Tournament First Round 5 min / 2R

Lisa Ward (U.S.A. / United Fight Team) vs. Edge (Japan / Angura)

Lightweight Tournament First Round 5 min / 2R

Su Hi Ham (Korea / CMA Korea) vs. Saori Ishioka (Japan / Karate Zendo-kai)

Open-weight tournament First Round 5 min / 2R

Hitomi Akano (Japan / AACC) vs. Megumi Yabushita (Japan / Freelance)

Open-weight tournament First Round 5 min / 2R

Tama☆chan (Japan / Age♂Age☆) vs. Atsuko Enomoto (Japan / Freelance)

56 kg & Under Bout 5 min / 2R

Madoka Okada (Japan / Angura) vs. Sakura Nakamura (Japan / Karate Zendo-kai)

50 kg & Under Bout 5 min / 2R

Masako Yoshida (Japan / Age♂Age☆) vs. Asami Odera (Japan / REDIPS)

Middleweight Bout 5 min / 2R

HARUMI (Japan / Age♂Age☆) vs. Megu (Japan / Kareate Zendo-kai)

Ticket Prices:
SRS - 10,000 yen
RS - 7,000 yen
A - 5,000 yen
B - 3,000 yen
C - 1,500 yen
*500 yen more at the door.