Sumiko Inaba (born February 6, 1991) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Women's Flyweight division of the

Bellator MMA Bellator MMA (formerly Bellator Fighting Championships) is an American mixed martial arts promotion (entertainment), promotion founded in 2008 and based in Santa Monica, California, owned and operated as a subsidiary of television and media cong ...

. As of December 13, 2022, she is #8 in the Bellator Women's Flyweight Rankings.

Background

After graduating King Kekaulike High School, Inaba studied nursing before she discovered mixed martial arts while attending boxing classes to get into shape. She has a daughter, Kiyarah-Lei, who was born around 2009.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

She went 6-1 as an amateur, including four TKOs and one submission. After the pandemic put her career in the travel industry on hiatus, she put her full-time efforts into training. She decided to go professional in 2020 and landed an endorsement with Hilo-based Waiakea Water Company.

Bellator MMA

After a successful amateur career, Inaba signed with

. She made her professional MMA debut against Jessica Ruiz on November 5, 2020 at Bellator 251. In her sophomore performance, Inaba faced Kristina Katsikis on May 21, 2021 at Bellator 259. She won the bout via third round TKO. Inaba faced Randi Field on October 16, 2021 at Bellator 268. She won the bout via arm-triangle choke in the second round. Inaba faced Whittany Pyles on April 23, 2022 at

Bellator 279 ''Bellator 279: Cyborg vs. Blencowe 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA held on April 23, 2022, at the Neal S. Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. Background The main event featured Bellator Women's Fea ...

. At the weigh-ins, Pyles missed weight for her bout, weighing in at 127.4 pounds, 1.4 pounds over the flyweight non-title fight limit. The bout proceeded at catchweight and Pyles was fined a percentage of her purse, which went to Inaba. Inaba knocked out her opponent with a left hook in the first round. Inaba faced Nadine Mandiau on October 1, 2022 at

Bellator 286 ''Bellator 286: Pitbull vs. Borics'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA that took place on October 1, 2022, at the Long Beach Arena in Long Beach, California, United States. Background In his first bout since reclaiming t ...

. She won the bout after grinding out an unanimous decision.

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Nadine Mandiau , Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Long Beach, California, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Whittany Pyles , KO (punches) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:22 , Honolulu, Hawaii, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Randi Field , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , Bellator 268 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:02 , Phoenix, Arizona, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Kristina Katsikis , TKO (punches) , Bellator 259 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:35 , Uncasville, Connecticut, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Jessica Ruiz , TKO (elbows) , Bellator 251 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:59 , Uncasville, Connecticut, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–1 , Kelsey Gilmore , TKO (punches) , Cowboy Fight Series 2 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 0:57 ,

Sterling, Virginia Sterling, Virginia, refers most specifically to a census-designated place (CDP) in Loudoun County, Virginia, United States. The population of the CDP as of the 2010 United States Census was 27,822. The CDP boundaries are confined to a relatively s ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–1 , Nadine Mandiau , TKO (punches) , Tuff-N-Uff: Fight Night Henderson , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:05 ,

Henderson, Nevada Henderson is a city in Clark County, Nevada, United States, about southeast of downtown Las Vegas. It is the second largest city in Nevada, after Las Vegas, with an estimated population of 320,189 in 2019. The city is part of the Las Vegas Vall ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–1 , Tenika Waldroup , Submission (armbar) , Tuff-N-Uff: Pack The Mack , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:03 , Las Vegas, Nevada, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–1 , Brianne Jhun , Decision (unanimous) , War on the Valley Isle 6 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:00 , Wailuku, Hawaii, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–1 , Des Vida , TKO (punches) , War on the Valley Isle 5 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:31 , Wailuku, Hawaii, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 1–1 , Kendra Elizabeth Linn , Decision (majority) , Maui FC 6 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:00 , Maui, Hawaii, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Katherine Antoniak , TKO (punches) , War on the Valley Isle 3 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:49 ,

Kahului, Hawaii Kahului () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Maui County in the U.S. state of Hawaii. It hosts the county's main airport (Kahului Airport), deep-draft harbor, light industrial areas, and commercial shopping centers. The population was 26,337 ...

, United States ,

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Inaba, Sumiko 1991 births Living people American female mixed martial artists Flyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing Bellator female fighters American sportspeople of Japanese descent