Mayu Iwatani Discusses Transition To Marigold, Considered Staying With STARDOM Because It Would Be ‘Safer’

Iwatani feels she has more of a balance in her life.

For the first 14 years of her career, Mayu Iwatani had been a part of STARDOM. She opted to depart the promotion, and in May 2025, she signed with Dream Star Fighting Marigold, which is run by STARDOM co-founder Rossy Ogawa.

That transition was delved into during Iwatani’s chat with Hiroshi Arai of Proresu-TODAY. She stated that she now has more days off and a better balance between her work and personal life.

Iwatani was anxious about the jump and thought about staying with STARDOM because it would be a safe decision. She added that if she were the old Mayu, she would have stayed put.

“I feel like I have more days off compared to before (laughs). When I was with my previous organization, there was constant filming and interviews between matches, but now I have a good balance between my work and private life and I feel very fulfilled.

I was anxious before I went. I wondered if it would be better not to go. I considered that staying put would be safer. The old me would have chosen to stay put and stay safe.”

As of this writing, Iwatani is the reigning Marigold Superfly Champion. Her latest defense took place on June 6th, and she retained over Misa Matsui.