Former TNA Knockout Possibly Fighting On Fedor Emelianenko's Return Card

By Sean Ross Sapp

As if there wasn't enough pro wrestling-MMA crossover news today between Ronda Rousey, Kurt Angle and Ken Shamrock, MMA Fighting is reporting that there's even more, as former TNA Knockout Lei'D Tapa may be fighting soon.

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MMA Fighting reports that Lei'D Tapa is under consideration to take on jiu jitsu phenom Gabbi Garcia at the "Rizin" show promoted by former PRIDE FC President Nobuyuki Sakakibara on New Year's Eve.

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The event is scheduled to air on Spike TV, and will feature the MMA returns of both Fedor Emelianenko and Kazushi Sakuraba. Fedor's opponent still hasn't been set, but the aging Sakuraba will be taking on Shinya Aoki in an openweight bout.

While Lei'D Tapa doesn't have any previous MMA fights, her Twitter account does mention that she's available for MMA bookings. Japan has a long history of booking pro wrestlers against rather experienced opponents in MMA bouts.

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Tapa apparently started training at American Top Team in Florida, and UFC Bantamweight Amanda Nunes has said on Twitter that they've been training together in preparation for Tapa's fight with Garcia. Tapa has also noted on her Twitter that she's a two-stripe blue belt and competed at the Atlanta IBJJF Open International Championship this year.

We've reached out to Lei'D Tapa for a comment.

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