Mimyu Yamamoto, who announced her retirement as a sportscaster, was photographed by the magazine as a high school girl wrestler.

On March 6, a press conference was held in Tokyo to announce the fight card for “RIZIN.42” (May 6, Ariake Arena, Tokyo), featuring the current RIZIN Super Atomweight Champion Seika Izawa (freelance) against Miyu Yamamoto (48/KRAZY BEE/SPIKE22). Asked for comment, Yamamoto said.

I’m going to make this match my last in RIZIN and MMA. I have been fighting with my feelings since my wrestling days, so my rule was that I would not compete unless I could give 100%. This time I felt that I no longer have 100% passion for fighting in active MMA, so I decided to make this my last time.”

He announced his retirement. Yamamoto turned to mixed martial arts after failing to qualify for the Rio Olympics in women’s wrestling in 2016.

She said, “Debuting as a mixed martial artist at the age of 42 at the time was considered reckless, even for Yamamoto, a legend in the women’s wrestling world. I lost my first and second fights by a single point, and people thought I was too old to fight, but I went on to win five and lose one, and was able to maintain my position at the top of the sport. He is now 6 wins and 7 losses in his last match, which is an astonishing win rate considering his age. He had a great influence on younger fighters.

Isawa, fighting his last match, said.

I am very happy that my favorite fighter, Miu Yamamoto, has chosen me as her opponent for her retirement match. Miyu Yamamoto and “KID” Yamamoto are very close, and I have always admired him because he is like a younger brother to me. I am so happy to be able to have my last match with him, and together we will make the best match of Yamamoto’s martial arts career.

He promised to fight well, mentioning the name of Yamamoto’s younger brother, Yamamoto “KID” Tokuyu, who passed away in 2018 at the age of 41, with tears in his eyes.

At age 13, he won the All-Japan Championships; at age 17, he became the youngest ever winner of the World Championships (Sept. 13, 1991).

Yamamoto received gifted education at an early age from Ikuei Yamamoto, 56, then professor emeritus at the Japan University of Physical Education, who placed seventh at the Munich Olympics. She went on to win four consecutive All-Japan championships, but was unable to compete in the World Championships due to age restrictions. Then, at the age of 17, she competed in her first World Championships and became the youngest ever winner. FRIDAY” covered the final match at that time. It interviewed him after his victory. Yamamoto said.

At the awards ceremony, I felt like I had somehow made it to the top of the world, and the sight of Kimigayo and Hinomaru made me cry even more,” he said, exploding with joy.

I cried even more when I saw Kimigayo and Hinomaru,” he said, exploding with joy. On the mat, Yamamoto is a world-class competitor, but she is just a 17-year-old girl. Before entering a match, she kisses a stuffed cat she has brought with her and touches a carved turtle before stepping onto the mat. The reason for this?

When I was in eighth grade, I bought this stuffed animal and brought it to all my matches, and I won them all.

The reason why he touches the carved turtle is because it is the “guardian god” of the team. A month later, he was scheduled to study abroad in the U.S. for a year as a present from his parents for winning the tournament.

I want to study all kinds of things, not just wrestling,” he said. I also want to keep winning world championships and win gold medals at the Olympics.

Yamamoto told us about her dreams, but when we asked her about her dreams for the future, she gave us a surprising answer.

I want to be a sportscaster.

The 17-year-old’s great curiosity knew no bounds.

Yamamoto went on to win back-to-back World Championships, but failed to qualify for the Olympics. Will his next dream be to become a sportscaster or to nurture the next generation of athletes? Either way, we hope that his retirement match on May 6 will be his crowning glory.