#1 Megumi Fujii
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This brings us to the Queen of our list, Megumi Fujii.
Fujii was first true legend and Superstar in Women’s MMA’s (WMMA). The history of MMA cannot be written without mention of the Japanese grappling wizard and Strawweight (SW) superstar, Fujii. Fujii’s martial arts foundation is Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Judo.
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As a professional she had decent striking, however, she mostly played to her strengths and that were her wide variety of submission skills. Her favourite ‘Inazuma Toe Hold’ submission was popularly known as the ‘Megulock’, named after her.
Fujii’s wins over MMA veterans such as Ana Michelle Tavares, Keiko ‘Tama-Chan’ Tamai and several others, made her a staple at Shooto and Smackgirl MMA events. Fujii’s wins over Lisa Ellis, Sarah Schneider and future-UFC SW champion Carla Esparza, cemented her place amongst the all-time greats in her weight-class.
Her two close fights against MMA veteran Jessica Aguilar, the latter of which was stopped due to illegal-eye pokes from Aguilar, served to show that Fujii was competent enough to face the new generation of MMA fighters, especially with Aguilar being one of the top-5 SW fighters in the UFC today.
While Gina Carano and Ronda Rousey are considered to be pioneers of the Women’s 145-pound and 135-pound weight classes respectively, Megumi Fujii is the pioneer of the Women’s SW (115-pound) division. Fujii alongside 145-pound pioneer Marloes Coenen, were at the top of WMMA before WMMA broke into the mainstream courtesy of Carano and Rousey.
Megumi ‘Mega Megu’ Fujii deserves as much respect and adulation, if not more, as compared to what we accord to the Caranos and the Rouseys of MMA. Fujii truly is one of the early Superstars not only in WMMA, but MMA as a whole. She laid the foundation for several talented female fighters to break barriers and be a part of the sport of MMA that was once considered too ‘macho’ and brutal for women.
It is thanks to the tireless work and passionate performances from legends like Fujii that we are privileged to watch performances form fighters such as Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Valentina Shevchenko, Holly Holm, Cat Zingano and many others in the UFC, as well as several other top MMA promotions.
From Canadian legends to Japanese Superstars, the sport of MMA has been built by martial arts practitioners coming from different parts of the world.
As the saying goes: The Public’s memory is short. However, as MMA fans and martial arts practitioners, it’s our duty to acknowledge the pioneers of our beloved sport. Regardless of where they are today, regardless of their current popularity and other such factors, these legends deserve as much acknowledgement as we give the Royce Gracies and the Randy Coutures of MMA.
Several UFC pioneers are well-known and popular even today; some more popular than others. However, regardless of their fame, our respect for them should be the same. A few such not-so-well-known MMA pioneers made our list. Much respect to the legends of our sport.
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