Mei Yamaguchi Marches On With Third Straight Win

Mei “V.V.” Yamaguchi may have just secured another shot at the ONE Women’s Atomweight World Championship following a flawless performance at ONE: ENTER THE DRAGON.

The two-time ONE World Title contender needed less than one round to put away Laura “La Gladiadora” Balin with a slick armbar submission on Friday, 17 May at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

It took the 36-year old Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt less than a minute of the opening round to take control as she swooped inside and took her rival to the mat with a picture-perfect single-leg takedown.

Once both competitors were horizontal, Yamaguchi constantly worked to pass the Argentinian’s guard as she attempted to set up her submission attempts.

The Japanese hero continued to pepper away with short punches to get an opening before she set up an arm-triangle choke that had Balin in a world of trouble.

While “V.V.” squeezed harder and harder to get the tap, the former ONE Women’s Strawweight World Title contender did a good job of defending, which then forced Yamaguchi to abandon the choke.

However, there was barely a break in her offense before she transitioned back into the mount. A split second later, the Tokyo resident pivoted to lock on a deep armbar. This time, there was no escape for Balin.

With Yamaguchi torquing and twisting the limb, Balin had no choice but to tap, and the end of the contest came with 3:46 gone in the opening round.

It was another very impressive outing from Yamaguchi, who notched her third consecutive victory – and her second armbar in a row – and improved her professional record to 20-11 overall.

The win also kept the former DEEP Jewels Featherweight Champion on course for a third crack at ONE Atomweight World Champion “Unstoppable” Angela Lee.