I don’t care how much of a “prodigy” a child might be, 12-years-old is way too young to compete in any sport against adults, let-alone mixed martial arts.
Deep Jewels 16 will be taking place May 20th, and one of the fights stands out more than the others. 12-year-old ‘MoMo’ will be fighting 24-year-old Momoko Yamasaki in a 95 lb., amateur rules contest.
Via WMMA Rankings:
“Yamasaki (2-3 Am) is coming off two losses and is hoping to get back in the win column by taking out her 12-year-old opponent. The 24-year-old is a former street-fighter who was bullied in junior high school. According to the press release from DEEP JEWELS, the experience is said to have triggered her to became a delinquent which lead to series of “tale of triumphs on the street.””
MoMo (0-0 Am) will be hoping for a successful showing in her MMA debut. It should be noted that the 12-year-old weighs roughly 86-pounds, so Momo will be giving up around 9 lbs to fight an adult. She trains out of Hakuhinkai Karate, the team that has produced notable Japanese talents including Mizuki, Naoki Inoue, and Yukari Yamaguchi.
You heard that right.
MoMo, currently a seventh grader, will be fighting a grown woman with 5 fights already under her belt (2-3), is going to be competing under weight at 86 lbs. in the 95 lb. division., & fighting without headgear for the first time.
Nothing about this sounds like a good idea.
No word on MoMo’s parents’ thoughts on the situation, but at this point I’m not sure I even want to hear them try to rationalize this madness.
What do you think? Is 12 too young to be fighting someone double your age/experience in this type of atmosphere? Professional or not, at 12 all of your muscles & reflexes are smack in the middle of developing. There’s no way a child this age can, or should be expected to compete against an adult fighter…and have it actually count on a win/loss record.
Personally, I can’t believe this is isn’t a joke.