Jewels: "Fourth Ring" Results
by Robert Sargent
Taking her undefeated record to an unbelievable 18-0, #1-ranked female Megumi "Mega Megu" Fujii picked up an impressive submission victory late in round two over tough challenger Saori Ishioka in the main event of Jewels: "Fourth Ring."
In other action, former SmackGIRL 128-Pound Champion Hitomi "Girlfight Monster" Akano rebounded from her controversial loss to Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos in Strikeforce.
Megumi "Mega Megu" Fujii vs Saori Ishioka
As expected, Ishioka put up a tough fight against Fujii, but Fujii's relentless offence on the ground eventually proved to be too much, as she secured a fight-ending armbar late in round two.Fujii attempted numerous takedowns in the first half of round one, but Ishioka defended all of them and kept pace with Fujii on the feet. Both fighters scored with quick punches and knees in a clinch. Fujii used a leg sweep to trip Ishioka and dove in to land punches, but the trip was ruled a knockdown. The referee backed Fujii off and gave Ishioka a standing count. Ishioka was fine to continue and action resumed, but Fujii scored a takedown. Taking advantage of the special rules for the fight that permitted strikes to the face on the ground, Fujii blasted Ishioka with punches and passed to mount. From there, she unleashed some vicious ground and pound that saw Ishioka's head bounce repeatedly off of the canvas from the impact of Fujii's strikes. Fujii attempted an armbar, but Ishioka scrambled and wound up on top. She landed punches until Fujii kicked her off and took top position again. Fujii finished the round with more big punches.
Round two began similarly to the first, as Ishioka once again stuffed takedown attempts. She landed a series of leg kicks and right hooks, but Fujii fired back with left crosses and a handful of inside leg kicks. Fujii finally managed to get Ishioka down, and she once again used punches to transition to mount. This time, however, Ishioka held Fujii in place and prevented her from posturing up to land any meaningful strikes. Sensing that she would not be able to finish Ishioka with punches, Fujii latched onto Ishioka's arm and quickly spun into an armbar that forced Ishioka to submit.
The victory keeps Fujii's undefeated record intact, but Ishioka put on an impressive performance in defeat and clearly has a bright future ahead of her.
Winner: Megumi Fujii by Submission (Armbar) at 4:17 of round two. She improves to 18-0-0.
Hitomi "Girlfight Monster" Akano vs Miki Morifuji
Returning to competition against opponents who don't miss weight and outweigh her by 25 pounds at fight time, Akano looked tentative early on, but took the fight to the ground in round two and secured a straight armbar for the victory.Round one began slowly and saw neither fighter willing to commit with strikes. Akano scored a takedown and worked for submissions, but Morifuji easily avoided danger. Akano finally managed to secure an achilles lock, but Morifuji struck her in the face - which is not permitted on the ground in Jewels - and the referee stood the fighters up. The two traded strikes, but neither landed anything solid.
The second round was much better, as Akano countered strikes from Morifuji by attempting a guillotine choke. Morifuji managed to work free, but quickly found herself fighting off a tight triangle choke. Akano reversed position and worked from the top, then moved to mount. Morifuji tried to buck Akano off, but Akano isolated Morifuji's arm and secured a straight armbar. Morifuji tapped out, giving Akano a solid win in exactly the same amount of time that it took Megumi Fujii to defeat Saori Ishioka.
Winner: Hitomi Akano by Submission (Straight Armbar) at 4:17 of round two. She improves to 15-6-0.
Mika Nagano vs Rina Tomita
Surviving triangle and armbar attempts in round one, Nagano came back strong in the second stanza and secured an armbar of her own that forced Tomita to submit.Tomita took the fight to the ground early in round one and looked for a triangle choke and then an armbar from her back. Nagano escaped and tried to take Tomita's back, but both fighters fell out of the ring during the scramble. The fight resumed and Nagano scored a takedown. She landed small strikes to the body and passed to mount. Nagano was unable to strike the face of Tomita, but nearly defeated Tomita with an armbar at the end of the round.
Nagano found success in round two, however, as she countered an early takedown from Tomita with an armbar. This time, the clock could not save Tomita and she tapped out. Nagano continues to impress after her tough losses to Megumi Fujii and Saori Ishioka.
Winner: Mika Nagano by Submission (Armbar) at 0:35 of round two. She improves to 3-2-0.
Shizuka Sugiyama vs Mika "Hari" Harigai
In the lone fight that went the distance, Sugiyama punished Harigai with flurries of punches in both rounds en route to a dominant Unanimous Decision.Sugiyama opened round one like a juggernaut, as she threw a seemingly endless series of punches at Harigai. To her credit, Harigai stayed strong and landed some solid counterpunches and leg kicks, but Sugiyama was relentless. After both fighters began to tire from swinging wildly, the fight briefly went to the ground, where both took a much needed breather. The referee stood the fighters up and they went back to striking, but Sugiyama's punches began to take their toll.
Round two was more of the same, as Sugiyama once again rushed forward like a freight train and unloaded on Harigai with power punches. Harigai looked to counter and landed more leg kicks, but Sugiyama scored a takedown. She landed weak strikes to the body until the referee brought the fight back to the feet. Sugiyama's offence was too much for Harigai, but she managed to hold strong until the final bell.
Winner: Shizuka Sugiyama by Unanimous Decision after two rounds. She improves to 4-0-0.
Asami Kodera vs Yukiko Seki
After landing a series of knees, Kodera dropped down for an armbar midway through round one and finished the fight with a second armbar shortly before the bell.Round one began with clinches in the corners, where Kodera landed a series of hard knees to the ribs of Seki. This continued for quite some time until Kodera dragged Seki to the mat with an armbar. Seki gamely defended, however, and worked her way back to her feet. She looked to turn the fight around with a flurry of punches that backed Kodera up, but Kodera remained calm. After an exchange of strikes, Kodera dropped down for a second armbar attempt and Seki could not escape.
Winner: Asami Kodera by Submission (Armbar) at 4:47 of round one. She improves to 3-3-0.
Mutsumi Kasai vs Celine Haga
Handing the Joachim Hansen-trained Haga her second straight defeat, Kasai badly rocked her opponent with punches early on that resulted in a standing count, and she quickly took Haga down and finished the fight with a Kimura.Kasai absolutely teed off on Haga in the early stages of round one, as she landed looping hooks and straight punches that had Haga in all sorts of trouble. Kasai dropped Haga with a big flurry of punches, but Haga somehow got to her feet and survived a standing count. Sensing that her opponent was hurt, Kasai took Haga down and worked from the top. She secured a Kimura and Haga had no choice but to submit. Very impressive win for Kasai, who remains undefeated.
Winner: Mutsumi Kasai by Submission (Kimura) at 3:06 of round one. She improves to 4-0-0.
Hiroko Kitamura vs Harumi
Pushing Harumi's winless record to a woeful 0-12, Kitamura outstruck her foe and took the fight to the mat, then looked for a rear naked choke and finished the fight with a triangle choke soon after.The opening round began with a lengthy striking exchange, but Harumi served as little more than a punching bag for Kitamura. After dazing her opponent with a combination, Kitamura took Harumi down and immediately looked for a rear naked choke. Harumi defended and reversed position, but found herself in a triangle choke that she could not escape from.
Winner: Hiroko Kitamura by Submission (Triangle Choke) at 3:51 of round one. She improves to 1-0-0.
Undercard Fights:
Ayuka Hamazaki defeated Miyoko Kusaka by Technical Submission (Armbar) at 1:07 of round one. She improves to 1-0-0 with the win.Emi Murata defeated Yuko Kagoshima by TKO (Punches) at 0:53 of round one. She improves to 1-0-0 with the win.
Capped off by an excellent main event that did not disappoint, "Fourth Ring" was another solid event for Jewels, but the promotion may soon run out of challengers for the undefeated Megumi Fujii.
