Daigo Umehara and MenaRD, two of the greatest players in fighting game history, are about to set things off in a FT10 (First To 10 set) event this month. The old guard versus the new hotness is coming whether we’re prepared for it or not. MenaRD had challenged Daigo last year in a tweet, hoping for the set to come to fruition.
The event itself, the Kemonomichi FT10, has Daigo literally pulling a Street Fighter Ryu-esque move to prepare for the event.
Team REJECT announced that Daigo will not be attending a fan appreciation event to commemorate their 2025 Street Fighter League World Championship victory on April 18 in order to prepare for the FT10. Walking away from the celebration only to get ready for the fight that’s coming or… seeking the better challenge.
Is there anyone who can translate the gist of this for English speaking peeps 🥺✌️
— Aaron Nielsen (@Aarontastic) April 2, 2026
With MenaRD running their most recent encounter during the Street Fighter League World Championship in a 3-0 win, it’s hard to see if this will still be a close match between the two. MenaRD has been doing wonders on Evo, with 3 back-to-back wins even in Japan. Street Fighter VI is his game for now.
For some of the community, this might be the Beast’s set. Evo Champ and commentator, Ryan Hart, decided to poll the community himself in regard to who will win between the giants. 70% was going to Daigo. Was this out of nostalgia, though? Dash Fight believes that this isn’t the same Umehara that had competitive dominance in the Street Fighter IV run despite being consistent in his entries.
Who is going to win the FT10?
— Ryan Hart (@RyanJosephHart) April 2, 2026
Daigo would probably be running with his Akuma to take on MenaRD’s Blanka, which could lead to a possible outcome in his favor. MenaRD vs NL seems to point to what an Akuma player can accomplish against MenaRD through particular weaknesses. Akuma has the tools, but Umehara getting 11 extra days to create a solid plan might be what’s needed to take MenaRD’s challenge on. MenaRD on the other hand has probably taken the loss to textbook studying to figure out where Blanka could find opportunities to get the upper hand against this matchup.
The Daigo vs MenaRD bout will happen at Evo Legends Live on April 29, 2026.
