Yoko Takahashi

Professional wrestling career

Takahashi debuted as a professional wrestler with All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (AJW) promotion in 1994 and kept participating until the end of 1996, when she decided not to continue with professional wrestling due to a hernia in her back. She became a part-time referee for promotion Yoshimoto Pro-Wrestling Jd', where she met her long-time partner Megumi Yabushita.

At Nippon Budokan on at the event , Takahashi suffered her first loss, being defeated by Russian judoka Irina Rodina with a submission at 6 minutes and 6 seconds of the single no time limit round.

At the event The U-Japan Super Fighting '96 vol. 1 held on at the Ariake Coliseum, Takahashi was defeated by American women's MMA pioneer Becky Levi via TKO (corner stoppage, towel thrown in, punches) at 2 minutes and 13 seconds of the unlimited time bout.

Takahashi was defeated by karateka Miwako Ishihara via unanimous decision after two rounds at Daido Juku's event on at the Korakuen Hall.

Takahashi next fought and defeated partner Megumi Yabushita at 16 minutes with 7 seconds of an unlimited time match with a heel hold submission on at Jd' event Yokohama Super Break held at the Yokohama Cultural Gymnasium.

At Ladies Legend Pro-Wrestling (LLPW) event Ultimate Challenge '98 L-1 on , Takahashi won by TKO (referee stoppage) against kickboxer Aya Mitsui at 1 minute and 54 seconds of the first round.

Takahashi next fought Mari Kaneko, whom Takahashi defeated via submission (achilles lock) at Club Fight Round 1 on .

Ten days later, on Takahashi defeated European Karate Champion Dutch Silviana Furunefield via armbar submission at LLPW event L-1 2000 The Strongest Lady.

At the inaugural Smackgirl event, Smackgirl: Episode 0, held on at Korakuen Hall, Takahashi knocked out Dutch kickboxer Sandra de Langeais at 1 minute and 27 seconds of the first round.

On at ReMix Golden Gate 2001, Takahashi was defeated by the previous tournament winner, Dutch Marloes Coenen, via submission (armbar) in the first round.

At Club Fight vol. 4 on , Takahashi fought against Miwako Ishihara once again in a bout that ended in a tie after ten minutes.

Takahashi got another victory when she defeated Mika Harigai by Achilles lock submission in the first round at Smackgirl: Pioneering Spirit on .

On at Zero-One: True Century Creation '02, Takahashi drew with Yuuki Kubota after three rounds.

Takahashi was defeated by Dutch fighter Irma Verhoeff via TKO in the first round on at Free Fight Explosion 2, held in Beverwijk, Netherlands.

On at Zero-One: Impossible to Escape Takahashi defeated Aya Koyama by submission (guillotine choke) in the first round. Along with a tag match a day before, this was Takahashi only MMA fight with the team .

After almost two years without MMA fights, at It's Showtime - Amsterdam Arena held on in Amsterdam, Takahashi faced once again Irma Verhoeff, who defeated Takahashi, this time by decision. This was Takahashi's first time representing her own team, formed in partnership with adult video maker Soft on Demand (SOD), SOD Women's MMA Dojo.

At Smackgirl 2004: Holy Land Triumphal Return on Takahashi defeated masked pro-wrestler Yuiga by TKO after the referee stopped the fight when Yuiga was knocked down with punches for the second time in the last minute of the first round.

On at Smackgirl 2004: Yuuki Kondo Retirement Celebration Takahashi defeated pro-wrestler Kaoru Ito with a kimura submission in the first round.

At Smackgirl 2004: World ReMix on , during the first round of the tournament to determine Smackgirl's first open weight champion, Takahashi had a rematch with Marloes Coenen, who once again defeated Takahashi, this time by TKO (referee stoppage, punches and knees) in the first round.

Takahashi rebounded with a submission victory over American fighter Emma Bush (at the time Emma Nielsen) with a leg armbar in the first round at Smackgirl: Korea 2005 on .

Debuting in Shooto, Takahashi defeated Mika Hayashi by TKO after knocking Hayashi down for the third time in the first round, winning in 47 seconds at G-Shooto plus 05 on .

On at G-Shooto Japan 04 Takahashi had a third match against Marloes Coenen, who once again defeated Takahashi, submitting her with an armbar in 39 seconds.

At Deep's event CMA festival: Japan vs. South Korea total war held on , Takahashi defeated South Korean kickboxer Yong Joo Lee with a heel hook submission in the second round.

On at Smackgirl 2006: Top Girl Battle Takahashi defeated Michiko Takeda via submission (rear naked choke) in the first round. As her team had recently been disbanded, in this fight Takahashi fought as a freelance with no team.

Takahashi was defeated in her next fight by American Jen Case via armbar submission in the second round at the event Fatal Femmes Fighting: Asian Invasion on . This was Takahashi's first fight with her new team, , after she and Megumi Yabushita left their partnership with SOD video maker.

Takahashi became the third Smackgirl open weight title holder by defeating American fighter Alicia Mena by submission (rear naked choke) in the first round at Smackgirl 2007: The Queen Said The USA Is Strongest on .

At Fatal Femmes Fighting 2: Girls Night Out on Takahashi defeated former teammate Keiko Tamai with a calf slicer submission in the first round.

Takahashi lost the Smackgirl open weight title in her first title defense against teammate Hiroko Yamanaka, who defeated Takahashi via unanimous decision after three rounds at Smackgirl 2007: Queens' Hottest Summer on .

On at EliteXC: Heat, Takahashi faced Brazilian Chute Boxe member Cristiane Santos, who defeated Takahashi via unanimous decision after three rounds.

At Cage Fighting Xtreme - XKL Evolution II: Mayhem in Minneapolis on American Shana Olsen defeated Takahashi via unanimous decision after three rounds.

MMA tag matches During her time with Smackgirl promotion, Takahashi participated in some MMA tag matches. The first of them took place at Smackgirl: Golden Gate 2002 on in which Takahashi and her tag partner Tamami Nakamura defeated Hiromi Kanai and Mika Harigai after Kanai fractured some of her ribs when fighting Takahashi and the doctor stopped the fight in the first round.

The second one was at Smackgirl: Strongest Tag Tournament 2002 on in which Takahashi was partnered with Hisae Watanabe and both were defeated by Miwako Ishihara and Mari Kaneko when Ishihara caught Takahashi in an armbar and forced her to submit in the first round.

Kickboxing career On in a held at Korakuen Hall, Takahshi lost against future shoot boxing champion Fumiko Ishimoto by majority decision after three rounds in a shoot boxing rules fight.

On , Takahashi participated in another Groove Match against an AJW member at the Stadium 2 of the Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium, where she was defeated via unanimous decision after two rounds by Kumiko Maekawa.

On at the event , Takahashi defeated Uno by TKO (referee stoppage) in a kickboxing rules match in the first round.

Takahashi returned to kickboxing competitions on at Dragon Gym event Charity kickboxing event: No Name Heroes 10, where she was defeated via KO in the third round by Muay Thai expert Rie Murakami, barely 10 seconds before the end of the fight.

Boxing career Takahashi made her boxing debut on at the event against Women's International Boxing Association (WIBA) champion Emiko Raika, who defeated Takahashi by KO (body blow) in the fourth round.

Grappling career At club Deep Tokyo: Megaton Grand Prix 2008 Finals on Takahashi had a rematch against Mika Hayashi in a submission grappling match, which ended in a majority draw after two rounds.

Outside sports In 2002 JD' faced some financial troubles that led to Takahashi and Megumi Yabushita to leave the wrestling promotion to form their own MMA team in partnership with SOD.

Takahashi and Yabushita later formed a new team, Tomoe-gumi, and they collaborated with Fang Gym in Tokyo in order to have training facilities. and also as a bouncer, alternating with Megumi Yabushita.

Mixed martial arts record Loss

Shana Olsen Decision (unanimous) CFX - XKL Evolution II: Mayhem in Minneapolis

Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States Loss

Cris Cyborg Decision (unanimous) EliteXC: Heat

Sunrise, Florida, United States Loss

Hiroko Yamanaka Decision (unanimous) Smackgirl 2007: Queens' Hottest Summer

Tokyo, Japan Win

Keiko Tamai Submission (calf slicer) Fatal Femmes Fighting 2: Girls Night Out

Compton, California, United States Win

Alicia Mena Submission (rear naked choke) Smackgirl 2007: The Queen Said The USA Is Strongest

Tokyo, Japan Loss

Jen Case Submission (armbar) Fatal Femmes Fighting: Asian Invasion

Los Angeles, California, United States Win

Michiko Takeda Submission (guillotine choke) Smackgirl 2006: Top Girl Battle

Tokyo, Japan Win

Yong Joo Lee Submission (inverted heel hook) Deep: CMA Festival

Tokyo, Japan Loss

Marloes Coenen Submission (armbar) G-Shooto: G-Shooto 04

Tokyo, Japan Win

Mika Hayashi TKO (head kick) G-Shooto: Plus05

Tokyo, Japan Win

Emma Bush Submission (scarf hold armlock) Smackgirl: Korea 2005

Suwon, South Korea Loss

Marloes Coenen TKO (punches and knees) Smackgirl 2004: World ReMix

Shizuoka, Shizuoka, Japan Win

Kaoru Ito Submission (kimura) Smackgirl 2004: Yuuki Kondo Retirement Celebration

Tokyo, Japan Win

Yukiko Kawakami TKO (punches) Smackgirl 2004: Holy Land Triumphal Return

Tokyo, Japan Loss

Irma Verhoeff Decision It's Showtime - Amsterdam Arena

Amsterdam, Netherlands Win

Aya Koyama Submission (guillotine choke) Zero-One: Impossible to Escape

Tokyo, Japan Loss

Irma Verhoeff TKO (punches) Free Fight Explosion 2

Beverwijk, Netherlands Draw

Yuuki Kondo Draw Zero1 - 1st Anniversary

Tokyo, Japan Win

Mika Harigai Submission (Achilles lock) Smackgirl: Pioneering Spirit

Tokyo, Japan Draw

Miwako Ishihara Draw Club Fight vol. 4

Tokyo, Japan Loss

Marloes Coenen Submission (armbar) ReMix Golden Gate 2001

Tokyo, Japan Win

Sandra de Langeais TKO (punches) Smackgirl: Episode 0

Tokyo, Japan Win

Silviana Furunefield Submission (armbar) LLPW: L-1 2000 The Strongest Lady

Tokyo, Japan Win

Mari Kaneko Submission (Achilles lock) Club Fight Round 1

Tokyo, Japan Win

Aya Mitsui TKO (punches) LLPW - Ultimate L-1 Challenge

Tokyo, Japan Loss

Rieko Amano DQ (illegal soccer kick) CMA: Octagon Challenge

Nagoya, Japan Loss

Becky Levi TKO (submission to punches) U - Japan

Tokyo, Japan Loss

Irina Rodina Submission (armbar) U Top Tournament: First Round

Tokyo, Japan Win

Kirstie Bragard TKO (submission to soccer kicks) AJWPW - U-Top Tournament Qualifiers

Tokyo, Japan Kickboxing record Loss Rie Murakami Charity kickboxing event: No Name Heroes 10 Yuzawa, Akita Prefecture, Japan TKO (punches) 3 1:50 2–4–1 Loss Naoko Kumagai AJKF: Wave-VIII Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan Decision (0–3) 2 5:00 2–3–1 Win Uno Jd' Kyoto Tournament Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan TKO (referee stoppage) 1 2:34 2–2–1

Tomomi Sunaba Jd' 3rd Anniversary Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan Draw (1–0) 3 3:00 1–2–1 Loss Kumiko Maekawa Osaka, Osaka Prefecture, Japan Decision (0–3) 2 5:00 1–2–0 Win Saya Endo Sumida, Tokyo, Japan Decision (3–0) 3 3:00 1–1–0 Loss Fumiko Ishimoto Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan Decision (0–2) 3 3:00 0–1–0

Professional boxing record 0 Wins (0 knockouts), 1 Loss, 0 Draws

Grappling record

Mika Hayashi club Deep Tokyo: Megaton Grand Prix 2008 Finals Kabukicho, Tokyo, Japan Decision (0–1) 2 5:00 16–11–3

Championships and accomplishments Smackgirl open weight champion