Gabi Garcia gets ANOTHER 50-year old opponent for RIZIN FF
Gabi Garcia gets ANOTHER 50-year old opponent for RIZIN FF
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu standout Gabi Garcia was set to compete in MMA againt 52-year old Shinobu Kandori at the year end RIZIN Fighting Federation card.
The announcement drew criticism from many for several reasons; first, Kandori’s age, second the huge size difference as Garcia outweighs the Japanese woman by roughly 50 pounds, and lastly, Kandori has not competed in 16 years.
Kandori has since pulled out of the competition due to a rib injury. Here’s where RIZIN FF could either pull Garcia from the card or give her a short notice opponent that might not draw as much criticism.
RIZIN FF chose to do neither of those things. Instead, they inserted 49-year old Yumiko Hotta, a pro wrestling star from the same era as Kandori, who is two weeks shy of her 50th birthday.
As an MMA fighter, she had a 5-4 record with all of her fights but one coming between 1995 and 2000. In 2000, she suffered a submission loss to Kandori.
Rizin New Year’s Eve show takes place at the Saitama Super Arena on
