San Diego — Hawaiian flyweight Sumiko Inaba picked up her eighth win as a pro on Saturday at Bellator San Diego, where she earned a TKO victory over short-notice replacement Mackenzie Stiller.
Inaba (8-1) was originally scheduled to face Keri Taylor-Melendez, wife of UFC vet Gilbert Melendez, until an injury to the latter threw a wrench in the works.
Luckily, Inaba was well aware of Stiller’s strengths while preparing for her new opponent, which allowed her to overcome a bit of adversity in Saturday’s fight.
“This whole camp, I knew what she was really good at, and I knew I might end up there,” Inaba told media outlets including Cageside Press following the bout. “My husband always tells me, stay calm, collected and ready, and I knew I just needed to stay calm. Even if I’m in these bad positions, I know my way out of them.”
“She’s tough, man. When someone’s put in a corner, they bring all that they’ve got, and I knew it. Look at her head and arm, she tossed me when she wanted to. I knew where her strengths were, and I know where my strengths are, and I just tried to remember that in there.”
Asked about a possible match-up with Jena Bishop, Inaba noted her injured elbow, which was in a sling post-fight. That, and she happens to like Bishop, though she didn’t exactly dismiss the option.
“I love Jena. You keep throwing out some bad names, but hell yeah. I love to stay active. She [Stiller] got that elbow in this one, so just get this thing back, this is my baby, so get it back to going and I’d love to get right back in there.”
Watch the full Bellator San Diego post-fight press conference with Sumiko Inaba above.
