Leading all-female promotion Jewels showcased its biggest event tonight with Jewels: “15th Ring” at Shinjuku FACE in Tokyo, Japan. The card was headlined by a Jewels vs Valkyrie Special Rules bout between Jewels rep Saori “Shooting Star” Ishioka and veteran Yuka “Vale Tudo Queen” Tsuji.

The co-feature also matched Jewels against Valkyrie, as South Korea’s Seo Hee Ham faced Valkyrie champ “V.V” Mei Yamaguchi, while Megumi “Mega Megu” Fujii rematched Mika “Future Princess” Nagano in another featured matchup. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for tonight’s card.

 

52kg ‘Jewels vs Valkyrie’ Jewels Special MMA Rules – 2×5

Yuka “Vale Tudo Queen” Tsuji vs Saori “Shooting Star” Ishioka

Round 1:
Referee for this bout is Ryogaku Wada. Tsuji fakes an overhand and then drops levels for a takedown, putting Ishioka on her posterior. Ishioka wraps her arm around Tsuji’s head as she passes to side control. Tsuji pats at Ishioka’s ribs with punches before going to mount. Ishioka reverses her, putting her on her back in guard. Tsuji holds Ishioka close, prompting referee Wada to stand the fighters up. Tsuji lands a leg kick, followed by a big overhand right. She shoots again, and once again takes side control as Ishioka hangs onto her head.

Tsuji creeps her knee onto Ishioka’s stomach, prompting Ishioka’s corner to yell, “bridge, bridge, bridge!” She does, but Tsuji still takes mount moments later. Ishioka recovers to guard and lands a grazing upkick. Tsuji sits low in Ishioka’s guard then, biding her time before standing back up to try to drop punches from up high. She gets grazed with an upkick again, just as she lands a stomp to the body of her own. This prompts the ref to warn her for stomps between the rounds. 10-9 Tsuji.

Round 2:
Tsuji flies in with a Superman Punch into a takedown attempt. Ishioka momentarily stuffs the attempt, but Tsuji drives on through to finish the takedown and takes top in half-guard. Tsuji peppers punches to Ishioka’s ribs as referee Wada calls for action. Tsuji passes to side, then North-South. Ishioka throws up her legs in an attempt to pry her off. Tsuji spins into an armbar and Ishioka fights to hang on, throwing hammerfists onto Tsuji’s face with her free hand. She escapes and ref Wada breaks them up.

Tsuji circles away from Ishioka, blocking several punches and looking for her next takedown opening. She finds it and again takes side, followed by North-South position. Tsuji looks again for an armbar and, in defence, Ishioka scissors Tsuji’s head. Tsuji yanks back on the arm, and again Ishioka escapes and takes top position in Tsuji’s guard. She drops punches as Tsuji scrambles out from the bottom and reverses her, putting Ishioka on her back. Tsuji looks to land big punches, but the bell rings soon after. 10-9 Tsuji.

Judges Yoshinori Umeki, Akira Yamazaki and Kenichi Serizawa all score the bout in favour of Tsuji, who evens the night’s Jewels vs Valkyrie tally at a 2-2 final score.

Winner: Yuka Tsuji by Unanimous Decision after two 5:00 rounds. She improves to 23-2-0.

 

52kg ‘Jewels vs Valkyrie’ Jewels Special MMA Rules – 2×5

Seo Hee Ham vs “V.V” Mei Yamaguchi

Round 1:
Referee for this bout is Ryogaku Wada. Yamaguchi takes to the outside, throwing leg kicks as she circles away from Ham’s power hand. Ham chases her with a one-two, high kick combo that grazes. Ham pursues with more punches and kicks, but the Valkyrie champ continues to backpedal, offering little offence of her own. Yamaguchi shoots for a takedown, finally, but Ham bats her away. Someone in the crowd pleads with Yamaguchi to tie up. Yamaguchi instead catches a leg kick and spins around to take Ham’s back in the rear waist-lock.

Ham spins herself around in the corner, but Yamaguchi still takes her down. Yamaguchi passes to half-guard, then back. Ham gets to her feet and leans against the ropes as Yamaguchi hangs on while lobbing knees to the back of her legs. Ham spins into Yamaguchi and punches her way free. Ham goes back to stalking Yamaguchi with punches and kicks, landing some hard ones. Yamaguchi absorbs a knee to the stomach in order to pull Ham into a clinch. Ham knees away for the last ten seconds before the bell. 10-9 Ham.

Round 2:
Yamaguchi steps up her striking output in this round, throwing more punches and leg kicks to match pace with Ham. Still, the Korean fighter lands more kicks and knees and, in acknowledgement of this, it’s Yamaguchi that is the one forced to backpedal. Yamaguchi catches Ham’s right hand off of a punch and flies into an armbar attempt. Ham yanks the arm free and lies into Yamaguchi’s half-guard. Ham postures up and drops hammerfists from up top.

Referee Wada inexplicably stands the fighters up as Ham attempts to pass. Yamaguchi returns to trying to fight her way into the clinch. She manages to push kick Ham onto her posterior, at which point she charges in and dives for a leg lock. Ham sits up and drops hammerfists in defence, forcing the Valkyrie champ off. Ham is really dropping the heat now, and Yamaguchi is scrambling on the bottom to either reverse or get to her feet. The bell rings before she can do anything significant, however. 10-9 Ham.

Judges Yoshinori Umeki, Akira Yamazaki and Kenichi Serizawa all score the bout in favour of Ham, who brings Jewels to a 2-1 lead over Valkyrie.

Winner: Seo Hee Ham by Unanimous Decision after two 5:00 rounds. She improves to 9-4-0.

 

52kg Jewels Official MMA Rules – 2×5

Megumi “Mega Megu” Fujii vs Mika “Future Princess” Nagano

Round 1:
Referee for this bout is Kenichi Serizawa. Southpaw Fujii unloads on Nagano, mashing her up bad on the feet. Nagano pulls Fujii into the clinch to save herself. Fujii gives her a few knees to the stomach before Nagano falls back into an armbar attempt. Fujii easily fends it off and transitions to half-guard. Fujii stays in close, biding her time before passing to full mount. She sits up and drops a punch to the stomach before Nagano scrambles and regains half-guard.

Fujii contents herself with short punches to the ribs before exploding into an attempt to take mount again. She gets it on her third attempt, sits up tall again and drops more punches to the body. In Fujii’s corner, Josh Barnett tells her, “Take your time. Use your elbow against her throat.” Fujii goes to side control to drop more punches. Nagano scrambles to put her back in guard. Fujii stands up and racks up kicks to Nagano’s legs.

Nagano sits up and eats a kick meant for her legs to her head. Referee Serizawa breaks the fighters up and warns Fujii. Back on the feet, Fujii explodes with more wild combinations. Nagano pulls her into a clinch and spins her against the ropes. Nagano goes for a takedown and Fujii reverses her before getting reversed again herself. She throws up her legs for a triangle, but the bell ends the round before she can close one up. 10-9 Fujii, bordering on 10-8.

Round 2:
Fujii continues to rail Nagano with stiff, straight punches. She tries to keep Fujii at bay with leg and push kicks, but Fujii is still plunking her bad. They tie up against the ropes after a few long moments of this punishment on the feet. Fujii takes Nagano down and Barnett, in Fujii’s corner, encourages her to work for the finish. Fujii does just that by passing to mount and setting up an armbar. Nagano defends, but Fujii stays dominant on top, dropping punches from mount.

Nagano regains half-guard, but Fujii has settled into dropping punches to the body, so the defensive move doesn’t seem to bother her much. Fujii stands up and throws a few kicks to Nagano’s legs, followed by more hard shots to the body. Fujii dives for a leg lock, and Serizawa calls the catch. Nagano scrambles out and captures Fujii’s back in the final ten seconds. 10-9 Fujii, again bordering on 10-8.

Judges Ryogaku Wada, Yoshinori Umeki and Akira Yamazaki all score the lopsided bout in favour of Fujii.

Winner: Megumi Fujii by Unanimous Decision after two 5:00 rounds. She improves to 24-1-0.

 

61kg Jewels Special MMA Rules – 2×5

Hitomi “Girlfight Monster” Akano vs Roxanne “The Happy Warrior” Modafferi

Round 1:
Referee for this bout is Ryogaku Wada. Both women throw jabs and middle kicks until Akano pushes Modafferi into the ropes. Modafferi switches position and puts Akano in the corner, throwing knees and punches to the ribs. Modafferi looks to land rights to the face and Akano, defending not so well, only just manages to get out of range. They tie up against the ropes again and Akano sweeps Modafferi off of her feet with a judo throw. Akano sits back for an Achilles lock, and Modafferi spins to escape.

Modafferi eventually gets free and stands the fight back up. She misses with a spinning backfist and a follow-up three-punch combo as Akano backpedals. Modafferi spins Akano into a corner and tenderises her ribs with punches and knees. They break away from each other and Akano goes for a takedown, which Modafferi reverses. Modafferi takes top position in half-guard, dropping punches. Modafferi stays tight on top, dropping short punches to the head and body to close out the round. 10-9 Modafferi.

Round 2:
Akano clinches up with Modafferi and trips her to the mat. Both women trade punches from guard. Modafferi tries to keep a high guard and to hold Akano’s head down to minimise striking distance. Both then fall back for leg locks, but Akano with the heel hook looks the more threatening. Modafferi hammerfists her way free and reverses position on Akano, taking top in half-guard. Akano goes for the armbar, but Modafferi, per her corner’s instructions, stands right up out of it.

On the feet, Modafferi lands a stream of punches before getting taken down and stuck in a leg lock again. Modafferi tries to punch her way free. She manages to hang on long enough for referee Wada to break the fighters up. It doesn’t stay up for long, however, and Akano takes Modafferi down with a double-leg. Modafferi scrambles back to her feet in the final ten seconds and fights for a takedown herself. Akano locks on a guillotine choke just as the bell rings.

Judges Akira Yamazaki, Yoshinori Umeki and Kenichi Serizawa all score the close bout for Akano.

Winner: Hitomi Akano by Unanimous Decision after two 5:00 rounds. She improves to 18-8-0.

 

65kg Jewels Special MMA Rules – 2×5

Hiroko Yamanaka vs Bolormaa “Esui” Erdenebileg

Round 1:
Referee for this bout is Yoshinori Umeki. Esui starts off with leg kicks, which Yamanaka returns. The southpaw Esui pumps her jab at Yamanaka and slips off of a leg kick. Yamanaka tries to drop punches on her, but referee Umeki breaks them up. Yamanaka lands a right hand and chases Esui into her corner. Esui keeps Yamanaka at bay by sticking her leg out. Yamanaka ignores Esui’s defence and gets around to land combinations on the Mongolian’s face.

Esui circles to the centre of the ring and waits, looking to land a swiping right hook. Yamanaka lands more combinations, snapping Esui’s head back. Esui looks like she’s settling into a stance. This is not surprising considering Tatsuya Iwasaki is in her corner. It isn’t helping, however, as Yamanaka is still lighting her up with punches. Yamanaka chases her into another corner with punches and gets the rear waist-lock. Esui leans out of the ring to avoid punches. Interestingly, Umeki does not stop her.

The fighters circle back into the ring and Yamanaka plunks Esui a few more times before the bell with one-twos to close out a strong round in her favour. 10-9 Yamanaka.

Round 2:
Yamanaka is the one throwing straighter and connecting in volume in round two. Her opening salvo causes Esui to swing wildly in defence. None of her punches really connect, but they do cause Yamanaka to be a tad more cautious. Yamanaka goes for a takedown and Esui jumps up for a guillotine choke in response. It’s a mistake, as Yamanaka easily defends and passes to side control.

The former openweight queen of Smackgirl drops hammerfists while looking to set up a keylock. She doesn’t get it, so she instead transitions to an armbar and yanks it back for the tap at 2:20.

Winner: Hiroko Yamanaka by Submission (Armbar) at 2:20 of round two. She improves to 12-1-0.

 

53.52kg Kickboxing Rules – 3×2

Miku Hayashi vs Anna Saito

Round 1:
Referee for this bout is Masafumi Yamane. The taller and far more skilled Hayashi gets to work on Saito with punches, knees and uppercuts; you name it, she’s probably landed it on her hapless opponent. Saito, to her credit, hangs tough for the round. 10-9 Hayashi.

Round 2:
Hayashi’s knees are starting to show signs of hurting Saito. Saito keeps her arms low to block them, but they keep coming. Referee Yamane gives her a standing count, which she answers, but Hayashi keeps up the eviscerating knees to get the TKO stoppage several moments later. Official time is 1:22.

Winner: Miku Hayashi by TKO (Knees) at 1:22 of round two.

 

52kg ‘Jewels vs Valkyrie’ Jewels Special MMA Rules – 2×5

Kyoko Takabayashi vs Celine Haga

Round 1:
Referee for this bout is Yoshinori Umeki. Haga pumps jabs and leg kicks at Takabayashi, who tries to go for a big counter left but gets grazed. She shakes off the damage and pushes forward with punches. Haga goes for a takedown, but is stuffed. She quickly transitions to the rear waist-lock. Takabayashi frees herself and throws a one-two and leg kick combo, pushing Haga back. Haga lands a big right hand, making Takabayashi stumble back into the ropes. Takabayashi is a little more hesitant now, measuring with right-handed jabs before committing to big left hooks.

The fighters clash in close and it’s Takabayashi who gets the takedown now; transitioning right to mount. Three minutes into the round and Takabayashi has a lot of time to rack up punches from the top. Referee Umeki is watching closely, but is hesitant to step in since Haga is blocking all of the punches. Haga pries Takabayashi off from mount with her legs and gets on top in a reverse half-guard. Takabayashi reverses and takes top in half-guard, dropping hammerfists.

Umeki inexplicably stands the fighters up to give Haga a Yellow Card. Apparently, he gives her the penalty for trying to escape through the bottom rope. As there’s about 15 seconds left in the round, there’s not much time for either woman to get off any significant offence on the feet. 10-9 Takabayashi.

Round 2:
Haga pumps out her jab at Takabayashi, but isn’t really connecting. Takabayashi closes in for a string of hooks. Haga goes for a takedown and Takabayashi reverses, taking top position in guard. Takabayashi passes to half-guard and drops hammerfists on Haga’s head. Haga tries to scramble out, but the Osaka native stays in close and sucks her back down to the canvas. Haga gives the scramble another try, but Takabayashi is just too much on top.

Takabayashi puts Haga back down and punctuates the control with a few hammerfists. Haga tries throwing punches from the bottom now, but Takabayashi defends and responds with punches of her own. Umeki calls for another standup. Takabayashi shoots a takedown, and in a surprise turn, Haga locks on a rear-naked choke and spins around to her back. It’s not sunk in, however, and referee Umeki notices this. Still, Haga stays latched on for the final ten seconds. 10-9 Takabayashi.

Judges Kenichi Serizawa, Ryogaku Wada and Akira Yamazaki all score the bout in favour of Takabayashi, who events the Jewels vs Valkyrie score at 1-1.

Winner: Kyoko Takabayashi by Unanimous Decision after two 5:00 rounds. She improves to 12-4-1.

 

48kg ‘Jewels vs Valkyrie’ Jewels Official MMA Rules – 2×5

Kikuyo Ishikawa vs Sachiko “Sachi” Yamamoto

Round 1:
Referee for this bout is Kenichi Serizawa. Ishikawa keeps Yamamoto at a distance with high kicks, which either graze or just miss. Yamamoto is very careful, looking for either right hand counters or takedown attempts. The counters get through on occasion, but Ishikawa is able to swat her takedown attempts away with ease. There’s not much action going on here, however, and referee Serizawa realises this.

Yamamoto is warned for stalling. She gets a takedown after eating a kick to the body, but she can’t keep Ishikawa down. Yamamoto transitions to a rear waist-lock and tries to drag Ishikawa down. Twice. On the second attempt, Ishikawa turns into her guard. Yamamoto throws up an armbar attempt right at the bell. 10-9 Ishikawa.

Round 2:
Yamamoto shoots in and Ishikawa pancakes her. Serizawa breaks them up and Yamamoto drops and drives again. Ishikawa sneaks double unders in and tries to pry Yamamoto off. Yamamoto switches to the single and puts Ishikawa on her posterior for a few seconds. Ishikawa punches at her opponent’s ribs as she fends off another single-leg attempt. A break is called by Serizawa. Yamamoto almost gets decapitated by a high kick; ducking under it to go for another takedown.

Yamamoto doesn’t quite get the takedown and, in a scramble, gives Ishikawa her back in riding time position. Ishikawa slides off to the side and Serizawa breaks them up again. Yamamoto eats another kick while going for a takedown, and again, Ishikawa defends and maintains her balance while racking up punches to the ribs. A desperate Yamamoto pulls guard, ostensibly to look for submissions from the bottom. Ishikawa stays tight on top, giving her no space in the final 30 seconds. Ishikawa racks up more punches to the body just before the bell. 10-9 Ishikawa.

Judges Ryogaku Wada, Akira Yamazaki and Yoshinori Umeki all score the bout in favour of Ishikawa, who brings Jewels to an early 1-0 lead over Valkyrie.

Winner: Kikuyo Ishikawa by Unanimous Decision after two 5:00 rounds. She improves to 5-2-0.

 

60kg Kickboxing Rules – 3×2

Chikako WSR vs Hanako Nakamori

Round 1:
Referee for this bout is Masafumi Yamane. Nakamori shows that she can throw leg kicks and pump arm punches, but she doesn’t seem to know how to keep her chin down. Chikako WSR thus takes advantage, railing her with huge right hands. 10-9 Chikako WSR.

Round 2:
Nakamori throws right hands like a video game player might spam the grenade button on a first-person shooter. That’s not to say that it’s not effective, though, as she bloodies Chikako WSR’s nose. Chikako WSR is still keeping her offence measured, returning fire with counters, but it’s obviously not enough to stop the oncoming Nakamori, who is racking up more offence this round. 10-10.

Round 3:
Chikako WSR has her left hand out to both keep Nakamori at a distance and also measure distance for fully-loaded right hands. She continues to rail Nakamori with them, but her right-hand spamming opponent presses forward with leg kicks and punches with a pained expression on her face. 10-9 Chikako WSR.

Judge Yoshinori Umeki sees the bout 30-27, while judges Ryogaku Wada and Kenichi Serizawa score it 30-28 for the winner, Chikako WSR.

Winner: Chikako WSR by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-28, 30-28) after three 2:00 rounds.

 

50kg Kickboxing Rules – 3×2

Tomoko SP vs Kaoru Chatani

Round 1:
Referee for this bout is Ryogaku Wada. Tomoko SP wails at Chatani with hard, straight punches and kicks to the body. In a refreshing change from earlier this evening, Chatani is able to put her hands up to deflect some of the offence and offer counters of her own. However, it’s not enough to stop all of the offence. 10-9 Tomoko SP.

Round 2:
Chatani lands a hard counterpunch that drops Tomoko SP to a knee, but she’s up so quickly that referee Ryogaku Wada doesn’t have time to call a count. Chatani is really getting through in round two where she wasn’t in round one, but Tomoko SP still appears to be landing the lion’s share of offence. 10-10.

Round 3:
Defence becomes an afterthought in the final frame. Both women are tired and wailing on each other, but as with the previous rounds, it’s Tomoko SP landing more of the offence. 10-9 Tomoko SP.

Judges Yoshinori Umeki, Masafumi Yamane, and Akira Yamazaki all vote this bout 30-28 for Tomoko SP.

Winner: Tomoko SP by Unanimous Decision (30-28, 30-28, 30-28) after three 2:00 rounds.

 

48kg Jewels Official MMA Rules – 2×5

Miyoko Kusaka vs Yuka Okumura

Round 1:
Referee for this bout is Kenichi Serizawa. Kusaka gets a takedown early on and passes from half-guard to side control. From the top, she tenderises Okumura’s stomach with punches and takes her time before setting up an armbar attempt. As soon as she falls back into it, referee Serizawa calls the catch. Okumura hangs on long enough for him to change his mind.

As soon as she escapes, Okumura falls back for a leg lock on Kusaka, who sits up and tries to take top position in half-guard in defence. Kusaka spends this final minute trying to free her leg, but Okumura stays tight on it. She thus resorts to punches to the ribs in the final 30 seconds. 10-9 Kusaka.

Round 2:
Okumura enters into the second frame with a warning for stalling. She steps up her jabs on the feet from the opening bell, hitting Kusaka a few times before she gets taken down again. Kusaka again passes from half-guard to side control. With a little patience and setting up, Kusaka sneaks her knee over for the full mount, where she hunts for an armbar between punches to Okumura’s chest.

Kusaka falls back for the armbar, but Okumura hangs on and soon escapes to stand the fight up. On the feet, she’s much better than Kusaka; again marking her up with punches. She can’t keep this up, however, as Kusaka is quick to take her down and retake mount. Okumura is given a Yellow Card for stalling again, but Serizawa’s stop to give the penalty comes at a strange time – right when Kusaka was apparently going for the armbar.

It’s still a godsend for Okumura, however, who rallies with punches in the final thirty seconds and dazes Kusaka with them. She luckily makes it to the bell. 10-9 Kusaka.

Judges Yoshinori Umeki, Akira Yamazaki and Ryogaku Wada all score the bout in favour of Kusaka.

Winner: Miyoko Kusaka by Unanimous Decision after two 5:00 rounds. She improves to 3-3-0.

 

53kg Amateur Kickboxing Rules – 2×2

Seira Aragaki vs Wano Sato

Round 1:
Referee for this bout is Masafumi Yamane. Aragaki gets up in Sato’s face with punches and low kicks in the first round. Sato’s response is to block with her face and eat leg kicks that trip her up.

Round 2:
In much the same way as in the first round, Aragaki uses the taller Sato as a mobile heavy bag in round two, sealing a clear-cut decision from all three judges.

Winner: Seira Aragaki by Unanimous Decision (20-18, 20-18, 20-18) after two 2:00 rounds.

 

44kg Amateur Kickboxing Rules – 2×2

Saya Ito vs Chihiro Kira

Round 1:
Referee for this bout is Ryogaku Wada. Kira is the aggressor as she’s the one lunging with punches in round one, but Ito uses her reach and counterpunches to plunk her with more accurate and significant shots before railing her with knees to the gut once the careen into the clinch.

Round 2:
The second round is more of the same, as Ito counters Kira’s strikes effectively and uses knees in close. The fight goes to the scorecards, where the 12-year-old Ito picks up her 56th victory to date.

Winner: Saya Ito by Unanimous Decision (20-19, 20-19, 20-19) after two 2:00 rounds.

 

50kg Jewels Amateur MMA Rules – 1×4

Kayoko Yamazaki vs O Quin Mei

Round 1:
Referee for this bout is Akira Yamazaki. In a bit of a grapple fest, both women trade back mount during the first and only round, but neither earn catches or come close to sinking a choke before time expires. The round ends, meaning that both women walk away with a time limit draw.

Result: Time Limit Draw after one 4:00 round.

 

49kg Jewels Amateur MMA Rules – 1×4

Tamaki Usui vs Nana “Chanchin” Ichikawa

Round 1:
Referee for this bout is Akira Yamazaki. Ichikawa is given a Yellow Card to start off the bout for some kind of snafu in the application or wearing of her gloves. However, the penalty is academic as she gives up mount off of a winging right hand. Usui easily transitions to an armbar and gets the tap seconds later.

Winner: Tamaki Usui by Submission (Armbar) at 0:14 of round one.