A 114-pound bout between rising star Mika “Future Princess” Nagano and Team Hellboy prospect Celine Haga has been added to the upcoming Jewels: “Eighth Ring” event on May 23rd. MMARising.com can exclusively report that verbal agreements are in place and an official announcement confirming the fight should follow in the coming days.

The event also features some of the promotion’s top stars including Saori “Shooting Star” Ishioka and Hiroko Yamanaka. Shizuka Sugiyama, who has competed on all seven Jewels cards to date, will not participate.

Nagano (6-2-0), who has split time between 52kg and 54kg (114 and 119 pounds), will cut down in weight once again for the bout with Haga, which Haga requested. Nagano has competed six times for Jewels and has not lost since the promotion’s debut event in November 2008 when she was defeated by Ishioka in a competitive bout. Her only other loss came against undefeated pound-for-pound queen Megumi “Mega Megu” Fujii in late 2007. Nagano has won five straight fights, with all but one coming by armbar submission. She won the promotion’s 54kg Rough Stone Grand Prix last year.

Haga (0-4-0) sports a record that belies her skill and she has not had an easy road since her pro debut against Sugiyama in a 58kg matchup at Jewels: “Third Ring” last May. The Norway native, who rooms with Strikeforce competitor Roxanne Modafferi in Japan while training, scored an impressive submission victory in a grappling match this past weekend that only added to her confidence. She has been training diligently to improve her wrestling alongside DREAM and K-1 HERO’s veteran Kazuyuki Miyata and strongly believes that she has the tools to upset the heavily favoured Nagano.

Jewels: “Eighth Ring” takes place on May 23rd at Shin-Kiba 1st RING in Tokyo, Japan.

Fight Card (to date; subject to change):

– Saori “Shooting Star” Ishioka vs Mai Ichii (52kg)
– Hiroko Yamanaka vs Atsuko “Bullfight Sora” Emoto (Open-Weight)
– Mika “Future Princess” Nagano vs Celine Haga (52kg) [*]

*Not officially announced.

(Photo Credit: Jewels)