Megumi Fujii Goes 22-0, Best MMA Record Ever?

Megumi Fujii made it look easy last night at Bellator 31 with a quick submission victory over old rival Lisa Ward. Fujii boxed her up on the feet, took her down, got the mount, took the arm and locked in the submission. Fans who were hoping for a back-and-forth war given Ward's claims of a premature stoppage in their first fight were disappointed.

Fans who crave record-breaking accomplishment on the other hand, couldn't be happier and Fujii extends her record to 22-0, a mark unmatched in modern MMA. Here's Mike Chiappetta:

Megumi Fujii's place as the top female fighter on the planet may be debatable, but the Japanese fighter has one record all to herself. The Bellator standout etched her name atop the history books by becoming the first MMA fighter to win 22 fights before suffering a loss.
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Prior to Fujii, Jason Black and Satoko Shinashi had both 21 fights without a loss before suffering their first respective setbacks, though both also had draws on their record as well.

She's certainly well out in front on Sherdog's list of Best Records Among Active MMA Fighters. The next best is one Nazareno Malegarie, a Brazilian fighter with an 18-0 record. Strikeforce's Lyle "Fancy Pants" Beerbohm is tops among fighters for major North American MMA promotions at 15-0 (although Sherdog's Fighter data base only lists him as 13-0). The UFC's best are Charles Oliveira and John Hathaway with 14-0 records.

But wait, the Sherdog Fight Finder includes a man named John Strawn who went 30-0 from 2001 to 2003 before losing. Thanks to JCS of FightMatrix for pointing that out.

This just shows the difficulties facing anyone trying to make sense of MMA records. Fujii has fought most of her career in relatively well-documented, high level promotions -- as high level as women's MMA gets at least. Strawn for his part built up his glittering record in unsanctioned, dubiously documented local fights in the Mid-West.

What do you think? Does Fujii own the record?

SBN coverage of Bellator 31