By REYNALD MAGALLON
Fil-Japanese and former multi-medalist karateka Junna Tsukii announced her entry to the mixed martial art scene in style, beating Ruka Sakamoto via submission in the DEEP Summer Festival 2024 in Odaiba, Japan on Saturday, Aug. 31.
The 2022 World Games champion, who recently retired from karate to make the jump to MMA, displayed superb ground-and-pound skills before going for a rear naked choke that forced Sakamoto to submit at the 2:48 mark of the first round.
Tsukii took down Sakamoto early in the opening frame and immediately took control of the fight after completing a full mount and punishing her foe with heavy hits to the head.
Sakamoto, who was also making his debut in MMA, tried to protect herself by going into turtle position but the 32-year-old Fil-Japanese easily countered by maneuvering for the chokehold quickly forcing the Japanese to tap.
Tsukii, through a Facebook post expressed her satisfaction with her performance especially with the short time for transition from karate to MMA.
“I was competing in one of the top karate competitions in the world until January, so there was only so much I could do in the preparation period of almost half a year, but I am very happy to be able to debut on such a big stage,” said the 2019 Southeast Asian Games gold medalist.
“I’m truly grateful for this wonderful opportunity. As a professional, I will continue to work hard on mixed martial arts so that I can have even more exciting matches with strong fighters, so please continue to support me,” she added.
