Jewels: "First Ring" Results
by Robert Sargent
One week after the Valkyrie promotion held its first event, the second of Japan's newest all-female groups, Jewels, debuted with an excellent card that featured #1-ranked female fighter Megumi "Mega Megu" Fujii quickly submitting Tomoko Morii.
The main event featured a battle between karate champion Saori Ishioka and wrestling star Mika Nagano, with Ishioka emerging from the fight with a Unanimous Decision win.
Saori Ishioka vs Mika Nagano
Unlike most of the other fights on the card, the main event started out slowly as both fighters looked to pick their shots, but Ishoka's takedowns and striking prowess were enough to take the decision.Ishioka's karate background was evident in round one, as she scored with a variety of kicks. Nagano responded with a series of right hooks, then tried for a takedown. Ishioka sprawled to defend, then used a loose guillotine choke to push Nagano to her back. Little happened on the ground and the referee brought the fight back to the feet. Ishioka immediately scored with a flurry of punches before Nagano secured a takedown just before the bell.
Ishioka landed a series of punishing leg kicks early in round two, forcing Nagano to pull guard to avoid further damage. Nagano tried for an armbar, but Ishioka used the opportunity to pass directly to mount. However, very little happened and the referee again stood the fighters back up. Ishioka landed more kicks and punches, but Nagano managed to land a hard spinning back fist. Unfazed, Ishioka pressed forward with more punches and scored a takedown. She moved to side-control just before the bell to leave no doubt in the judges' minds.
Winner: Saori Ishioka by Unanimous Decision after two rounds. She improves to 6-3-0.
Megumi "Mega Megu" Fujii vs Tomoko Morii
Fujii, the top-ranked female fighter in the world and star in the former SmackGIRL promotion, made short work of Morii, who was making her MMA debut.Fujii landed a quick one-two just seconds into the first round that caused Morii to crouch down. Sensing an opportunity, Fujii locked on a guillotine choke and pulled guard. Somehow, Morii managed to escape the tight choke, but Fujii immediately looked for more submissions off of her back. When an armbar attempt failed, Fujii transitioned to an omoplata that seemed to have Morii in serious danger. Morii did not submit, however, so Fujii moved back to another straight armbar and Morii was forced to tap.
Winner: Megumi Fujii by Submission (Armbar) at 1:05 of round one. She improves to 16-0-0.
Hiroko vs Mayumi "Benkei" Aoki
Rebounding from her first career loss against Hitomi Akano in April, Hiroko dominated her overmatched opponent en route to a Unanimous Decision win.Round one was a striking clinic from Hiroko, who unleashed a seemingly endless flurry of punches and eventually secured a Thai clinch. From there, she scored with knees to the head and body, while Aoki had little recourse. Eventually, Aoki landed some solid right hooks, but Hiroko's aggression continued and she outstruck her opponent for the remainder of the round.
The second round was more of the same, as Hiroko's striking skills were simply too much for Aoki. Once again, Hiroko used punching combinations to set up a Thai clinch, where she scored with more knees and short punches. As the round neared its end, Hiroko dropped Aoki with a punch. Aoki survived until the bell, but the decision was an easy one for the judges.
Winner: Hiroko by Unanimous Decision after two rounds. She improves to 5-1-0.
Hitomi Akano vs Hari
Much the same way as she had done nearly four years ago in SmackGIRL, Akano scored a second submission victory over Hari; once again via first-round armbar.Akano came forward to begin round one, closing the distance and looking to clinch. She quickly pulled guard and locked on an armbar seconds later. Hari had no chance to escape and was forced to submit just 38 seconds into the fight.
Winner: Hitomi Akano by Submission (Armbar) at 0:38 of round one. She improves to 14-5-0.
Misaki Takimoto vs Masako Yoshida
This battle of veterans saw Takimoto use effective striking and ground control to emerge with a well-earned Unanimous Decision over Yoshida.Both fighters came out swinging to begin round one, and both connected with solid shots, but Takimoto quickly took the edge in striking with kicks and knees. This continued for much of the round while Yoshida attempted to slow the pace. Yoshida pulled guard to take the fight to the ground, but Takimoto continued to land strikes from the top.
Round two was similar, as Takimoto again dominated the striking exchanges. Her combinations of punches and kicks, mixed with knees to the body, left Yoshida again scrambling to get the fight to the mat. She eventually did, and looked to trap Takimoto in a triangle choke late in the round, but Takimoto escaped and landed strikes until the bell to take the clear decision.
Winner: Misaki Takimoto by Unanimous Decision after two rounds. She improves to 9-9-4.
Undercard Fights:
Sachiko Yamamoto defeated Kazumi Kaneko by Submission (Armbar) at 4:34 of round one. Kaneko's return after a three-year absence from the sport was not successful. Yamamoto improves to 5-3-1 with the win.Kikuyo Ishikawa defeated Sumie Yamada by Submission (Triangle Choke) at 1:02 of round one. This was only Yamada's third fight, and first in over four years. Ishikawa's debut was successful, and she improves to 1-0-0 with the win.
Shizuka Sugiyama defeated Harumi by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 2:55 of round one. Harumi has still yet to attain a single victory in her career, dropping to 0-9 with this loss. Sugiyama, who was making her debut, improves to 1-0-0 with the win.
Shiho defeated Mayu by KO (Punches) at 2:41 of round one. This marked the debut for both fighters. Shiho improves to 1-0-0 with the win.
Rina Tomita defeated Miki by Submission (Armbar) at 1:25 of round one. This was also the debut fight for both competitors. Tomita improves to 1-0-0 with the win.
Yuko Oya defeated Shinsaki Ozawa by Submission (Armbar) at 4:03 of round one. The fight was the first for both, and Oya's victory opened the historic night for the Jewels promotion. Oya improves to 1-0-0 with the win.
With the successful debut events for both Valkyrie and Jewels, the impact of the imminent demise of the SmackGIRL promotion has been somewhat lessened, as female mixed martial arts is still alive and well in The Land of the Rising Sun.
