is a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

female

mixed martial artist 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 striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

and

kickboxer Kickboxing is a combat sport focused on kicking and punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is practiced for self-defense, gener ...

Background

Nomura was born on in

Ishikawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu island. Ishikawa Prefecture has a population of 1,140,573 (31 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,186 km2 (1,616 sq mi). Ishikawa Prefecture borders Toyama Prefectu ...

, Japan.

Martial arts training

While attending the

Takaoka University of Law is a private university in Takaoka, Toyama, Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, ...

, Nomura achieved third place in 1996 and second place in 1998 at the All Japan Student Judo Championships in the -56 kg and -57 kg categories, respectively. At a

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ; pt, jiu-jitsu brasileiro ) is a self-defence martial art and combat sport based on grappling, ground fighting ( ne-waza) and submission holds. BJJ focuses on the skill of taking an opponent to the ground, control ...

Asia Open held on September 11 and 12, 2010 at the Tokyo Budokan, Nomura won first place in the blue belt category.

Mixed martial arts career

Nomura made her professional MMA debut with the

Jewels A gemstone (also called a fine gem, jewel, precious stone, or semiprecious stone) is a piece of mineral crystal which, in cut and polished form, is used to make jewelry or other adornments. However, certain rocks (such as lapis lazuli, opal, an ...

promotion on at '' Jewels 7th Ring''. She defeated Yuko Kagoshima by technical

submission Deference (also called submission or passivity) is the condition of submitting to the espoused, legitimate influence of one's superior or superiors. Deference implies a yielding or submitting to the judgment of a recognized superior, out of re ...

after the referee stopped the fight when Nomura caught Kagoshima with an

armbar An armlock in grappling is a single or double joint lock that hyperextends, hyperflexes or hyperrotates the elbow joint or shoulder joint. An armlock that hyper-extends the arm is known as an armbar, and it includes the traditional armbar, p ...

in the second round. In her second fight, Nomura participated in

Deep Deep or The Deep may refer to: Places United States * Deep Creek (Appomattox River tributary), Virginia * Deep Creek (Great Salt Lake), Idaho and Utah * Deep Creek (Mahantango Creek tributary), Pennsylvania * Deep Creek (Mojave River tributary), ...

's event ''Club Deep Toyama: Barbarian Festival 8'' on , defeating Abe Ani Combat Club member Rina Tomita by

unanimous decision A unanimous decision (UD) is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts and other sports involving striking and submission in which all three judges agree on which fighter ...

. In an upset, Nomura defeated Jewels hotshot Saori Ishioka by unanimous decision during the first round of the Jewels Lightweight Queen tournament on at ''

Jewels 9th Ring ''Jewels 9th Ring'' was a mixed martial arts (MMA) event held by MMA promotion Jewels. The event took place on at Shinjuku Face in Kabukicho, Tokyo, Japan. Background On , Jewels announced that the event would hold the first round of the Jewel ...

''. At ''

Jewels 11th Ring ''Jewels 11th Ring'' was a mixed martial arts (MMA) event held by MMA promotion Jewels. The event took place on at Korakuen Hall in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan. The event hosted the Jewels Lightweight Queen tournament semi-finals and final along with ...

'' on during the semi-finals of the Lightweight Queen tournament, Nomura suffered her first professional defeat via unanimous decision at the hands of eventual tournament champion

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 ...

. Nomura was scheduled to face Ji Yun Kim at Jewels 12th Ring on in

Tokyo, Japan Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.4 ...

, but the event was cancelled after the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami earlier in the day.

Kickboxing career

Nomura had a shoot boxing match at ''

Jewels 10th Ring ''Jewels 10th Ring'' was a mixed martial arts (MMA) event held by MMA promotion Jewels. The event took place on at Shin-Kiba 1st Ring in Koto, Tokyo, Japan. It hosted the opening round of the second Rough Stone Grand Prix. Background On , Jewel ...

'' on , where she defeated Yoshimi Ohama by unanimous decision.

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 3-1 ,

, Decision (0-3) ,

, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 , Bunkyo,

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 3-0 , Saori Ishioka , Decision (3-0) ,

, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 , Kabukicho,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 2-0 , Rina Tomita , Decision (3-0) , Deep: clubDeep Toyama: Barbarian Festival 8 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 , Toyama,

Toyama Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Toyama Prefecture has a population of 1,044,588 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,247.61 km2 (1,640.01 sq mi). Toyama Prefecture borders Ishikawa Prefecture to th ...

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 1-0 , Yuko Kagoshima , Technical Submission (armbar) , Jewels 7th ring , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:35 , Kabukicho,

, Japan ,

Kickboxing record

''Legend'':

References

External links

Sakura Nomura Awakening Profile
*
Profile
at Fightergirls.com
Official blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nomura, Sakura Japanese female mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing kickboxing Mixed martial artists utilizing judo Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Japanese female kickboxers Japanese practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Female Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners Japanese female judoka 1976 births Living people Sportspeople from Ishikawa Prefecture