At the martial arts event BreakingDown 20, held on June 14, 2026, 18-year-old active bosozoku (motorcycle gang) leader Rei Miyamoto suffered a brutal KO defeat against male fighter Toshizou. The sight of her crying in the ring has sparked intense debate online.
This was the first official “man vs. woman” fight in BreakingDown history, held at Marine Messe Fukuoka. Miyamoto, the first-generation leader of the “Nagareboshi” gang, showed immense grit but was overwhelmed by Toshizou, who has experience in RIZIN. She was knocked down after taking heavy combinations and an uppercase blow.
After the referee stopped the fight, Miyamoto collapsed in tears, sobbing, “I really wanted to try fighting a man.”
Following the bout, Miyamoto posted a selfie on X (formerly Twitter), showing her left eye severely bruised and swollen shut. Despite her severe facial injuries, she showed relentless spirit, writing, “Toshizou, let’s do MMA next time.”
The match has heavily divided the internet. While many praise Miyamoto’s incredible toughness and heart, critics argue that “watching a young woman get beaten up like that is deeply uncomfortable” and that “mixed-gender matches are far too dangerous.”
Poland’s MMA-VIP Controversies (October 2021): The European promotion MMA-VIP held multiple intergender bouts on a single card. In the most notable matchup, male competitor Piotr “Mua Boy” Lisowski defeated female arm wrestler Ula Siekacz via a brutal second-round TKO. The event was heavily condemned by the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF).
The 400lb Disparity (November 2020): A viral Russian freak-show match featured female professional strawweight fighter Darina Madzyuk taking on a 529-pound male blogger, Grigory Chistyakov. Madzyuk won via technical knockout (TKO) in the first round after dropping him with punches and using ground-and-pound tactics.
Fallon fox begs to differ.
The “Battle of the Sexes” Karate Match (June 1974): At Madison Square Garden, martial arts champion Joe Hess sparred against female international karate champion Beth Bussey. The match escalated from a technical demonstration into a real exchange, ending when Hess knocked Bussey down with a heavy karate kick.
Lucia Rijker vs. Somchai Jaidee (October 1993): Widely regarded as the greatest female kickboxer/boxer in history, the undefeated Lucia Rijker stepped into a Muay Thai ring in Amsterdam to face a male opponent, Somchai Jaidee. Rijker had knocked out most of her female opponents, but Jaidee knocked her out cold in the second round, highlighting the extreme biological power gap.
Fallon Fox vs. Tamikka Brents (September 2014): Fallon Fox, the first openly transgender female fighter in MMA history, faced biological female Tamikka Brents. The fight lasted just over two minutes, ending in a TKO victory for Fox. The match ignited a massive global debate about safety and athletic regulation, as Brents suffered a fractured orbital bone and a concussion, later stating that Fox’s grip and strength felt entirely different from any cisgender woman she had ever faced.
Craig Jones vs. Gabi Garcia (August 2024): In a highly publicised submission grappling match at the Craig Jones Invitational (CJI) in Las Vegas, Australian BJJ superstar Craig Jones faced 9-time Jiu-Jitsu World Champion Gabi Garcia. Despite Garcia’s massive size and strength, the match was explicitly framed as an exhibition to showcase the limits of absolute technical skill vs. size. Jones ultimately won via rear-naked choke.
Andrew Capurro (USA) fought Thai Muay Thai legend Nong Rose (Tha) in a catchweight Muay Thai bout at Fight Circus IV on November 6, 2022, in Phuket, Thailand. Nong Rose won the fight by technical knockout (TKO) in the second round.
The Overweight Man vs. Three Women (April 2023): In another viral spectacle hosted by Russia’s Epic Fighting Championship, a heavily overweight male internet personality took on three female combatants simultaneously. Despite the man attempting to use his massive weight to smother his opponents, the women utilized a high-volume striking strategy, eventually breaking his teeth and securing a chaotic victory.
Have to kind of admire her courage.
She gets tooled and wants to fight him in MMA, as if that’s going to give her a better chance of beating him
She wasn’t strong and independent enough.
Everyone involved in this is disgusting. Seriously this is just insane.
This is completely fine, imo. They’re all smiles and not trying to hurt each other, unlike the striking sports where the girls are getting massacred.
I…dont…care.
if this is what women want to do, go for it. Theyre much more brutal in domestic assaults. At east with these you got rules, a ref, plenty of medical, and no weapons.
There are no physical differences between males and females.
-– the ACLU.