Syuri chats her World of STARDOM Title loss and her time in MMA.
To close out 2022, Syuri and Giulia headlined STARDOM’s Dream Queendom show with the World of STARDOM Championship on the line.
Giulia came out victorious and both talents took home STARDOM’s match of the year award in addition to Syuri winning the promotion’s 2022 MVP honor.
Syuri gave her thoughts about losing the belt while speaking to Tokyo Sports. She sees it as a new beginning and is excited to see what Giulia does as champion.
I lost the belt, but I think it is the beginning of a new chapter for me. Rather than being disappointed, I am looking forward to seeing what Giulia will do as the new champion in 2023, and I feel that I have entrusted it to her.
In July of 2017, Syrui signed on with UFC. She had a 1-3 record but prior to joining UFC, she did Pancrase and went 6-0 and previously went 13-1 in kickboxing. When asked if she has any desire to go back to MMA, she stated that she feels she’s done all she can in the sport.
I feel like I’ve done all I can do in martial arts itself, and although I haven’t achieved any results in the UFC, I became a champion in MMA’s Pancrase and Krush, signed a contract with the UFC, and became the first Japanese woman to win in the UFC. It’s not easy to have the experience of going to Chile, the country behind Japan, and competing. Of course, I was extremely frustrated. I practiced for about six hours every day, spent about 30 hours traveling to Chile, and lost in 30 seconds (laughs).
Her answer was followed up with a similar question but it had to do with pro wrestling. Syuri feels she has plenty to do in wrestling and thinks she’ll step away when there is nothing else to achieve.
Like (former kickboxer) Masato [Kobayashi], I can still do more, but ideally, I think I will quit when I feel that I have done all I can do.
Syuri is part of the God’s Eye faction and they are currently competing in the Triangle Derby I tournament.
