The Abe Ani Combat Club is a

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on strike (attack), striking, grappling and ground f ...

gym and training camp located in Japan. The gym is renowned mostly for its female stable of fighters who were regular competitors in the

Smackgirl Smackgirl was a Japanese mixed martial arts promotion focused solely on female fighters. The promotion also held grappling and amateur events along with its main line of professional MMA cards. After financial difficulties throughout 2008 the pr ...

promotion. On its roster are prominent MMA stars such as Megumi “Mega Megu” Fujii and

Hitomi Akano is a retired Japanese female mixed martial artist. She announced her formal retirement from MMA on August 1, 2013. Akano used a song she penned herself called "Between the Sky" as her entrance music. She is a former Smackgirl Middleweight Champ ...

. Owner and head coach Hiroyuki Abe teaches

and former

UFC Heavyweight Champion Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight class ...

Josh Barnett Joshua Lawrence Barnett (born November 10, 1977) is an American mixed martial artist, submission grappler, professional wrestler and color commentator currently signed to Bellator MMA, where he competes in their Heavyweight division. Barnet ...

is a

catch wrestling Catch wrestling (originally catch-as-catch-can) is a classical hybrid grappling style and combat sport. It was developed by J. G. Chambers in Britain . It was popularised by wrestlers of travelling funfairs who developed their own submission ...

coach for the gym.

Notable members

* Hiroyuki Abe *

* Antonio Carvalho *

Megumi Fujii Megumi Fujii (藤井恵 ''Fujii Megumi'', born April 26, 1974) is a retired Japanese people, Japanese mixed martial artist. Biography Fujii started Judo at the age of 3 due to her father's influence and continued Judo at Shukugawa Gakuin Juni ...

* Shinichi Kojima * Hitomi Sakamoto *

Yasuko Tamada is a Japanese female mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter. She previously fought as a flyweight in the Valkyrie promotion and was the only Valkyrie Flyweight Champion. She later fought for Jewels and last competed for Deep. Tamada was once ranked a ...

Ayaka Hamasaki is a Japanese female mixed martial artist, judoka and submission grappler. She is the former Rizin Super Atomweight Champion. She has fought in MMA promotions '' Shooto'', Jewels and Rizin in Japan, and Invicta FC in the United States. Ha ...

* Koyomi Matsushima

Strikeforce controversy

The club was involved in a controversy during the

event '' Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Diaz'', the inaugural fight card for San Jose-based fight promoter Strikeforce under their new

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global ...

broadcast deal on April 11, 2009.

, former

125-pound fighter, was to meet

Chute Boxe The Chute Boxe Academy (, ''Kick-Boxing'') is a Brazilian martial arts academy. It opened as a Muay Thai academy in 1978 in Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil. Head trainer Rudimar Fedrigo later expanded the program in 1991 to include other aspects of mo ...

fighter Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos in the 145 pound weight division. During the initial weigh-ins Cyborg was unable to meet the cutoff, weighing in at 152 pounds. Cyborg reportedly weighed more according to some claims by AACC staff and trainers. Not wanting to risk her health and future against a significantly larger fighter, Akano initially refused to go through with the fight and the

California State Athletic Commission The California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) regulates amateur and professional boxing, amateur and professional kickboxing and professional mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds ...

wouldn't sanction the fight, giving the Brazilian until 8PM to reach 149 pounds. After further negotiation and reported concessions from Strikeforce owner and president

Scott Coker Scott Coker (born October 3, 1962) is an American mixed martial artist, Taekwondoin, former movie stuntman, and combat sports promoter. He is the founder and former CEO of MMA promotion Strikeforce and the current President of Bellator MMA. Bac ...

(which are rumored encompass an increased presence of fight team members on the promotion's cards), she finally agreed to the match at a catchweight of 150 pound, the lightest weight Santos ultimately made. Giving up close to 15 pounds to a vastly larger fighter, Akano lost the fight via

TKO TKO may refer to: Sports * Technical knockout, a professional fighting term * Total Knock Out, a professional wrestling move Music Artists * TKO (band), a rock band from Seattle, Washington * TKO, a pop group led by Katie White Albums * ''TKO ...

in the third round but gained the respect of Showtime commentators for taking the fight despite the disparity. Team members, trainers, and administration rallied around Cyborg following the event. Fellow fighter, and one-time trainer,

blasted Cyborg as well as the Chute Boxe Academy calling them "shameful" and accused Cyborg of cheating. The team's wrestling coach

relayed similar sentiments on his MySpace blog, and manager Shu Hirata also displayed his disgust of the situation in his Sherdog Radio interview with Jordan Breen. All three, however, praised Coker for his professionalism during the negotiations.

References

External links

Official website
{{MMA Team List Mixed martial arts training facilities Sports venues in Tokyo Sports teams in Tokyo

Notable members

Strikeforce controversy

See also

References

External links