Jewels has officially announced two more fights for their upcoming “Eleventh Ring” event on December 17th in Tokyo, Japan. In one matchup, promotional postergirl Shizuka Sugiyama will finally take on Mongolian wrestler Esui in an MMA bout. The two were originally set to face each other on July 31st in a shootboxing match, but Sugiyama was forced to withdraw due to injury.
Also announced was an opponent for Miki Morifuji’s retirement bout. Morifuji will face Kinuka Sasaki for the third time in an interesting matchup. Two of Kinuka’s three career wins have come in fights with the veteran Morifuji.
Sugiyama (6-2-0) opened her career with five straight wins and was seen as a frontrunner to claim the 2009 60kg Rough Stone Grand Prix Championship, but suffered a one-sided defeat at the hands of German prospect Alexandra Sanchez. She rebounded with a victory last December, but is now coming off of a disappointing loss to Miki Morifuji in March. She had been set to test her striking skills in the July shootboxing match with Esui, but suffered an injury shortly before the event and withdrew from the fight. Ring rust could play a factor for Sugiyama, who will now compete for just the second time in the past year, but she brings a significant experience advantage into the fight.
Esui (0-1-0) has encountered a rollercoaster of ups and downs since transitioning from professional wrestling to real competitions in grappling, shootboxing and MMA. She was victorious in an amateur grappling match earlier this year and had planned to face Sugiyama in a shootboxing contest, but found herself in a pro MMA bout after Sugiyama withdrew. Esui faced Mayumi “Super Benkei” Aoki at Jewels: “Ninth Ring” and succumbed to an armbar late in the first round. She was then slated to face Carina Damm at Fury 2 in Macau, but the event was cancelled amidst embezzlement allegations. After a five-month wait, Esui will finally have her chance to face Sugiyama.
Morifuji (10-6-0) announced plans to retire following her October submission victory over Aya Koyama at Jewels: “Tenth Ring.” The timing of her decision to leave the sport is interesting, however, as Morifuji is currently enjoying the most successful period of her ten-year career. Morifuji has now won three straight fights, including a big win over Shizuka Sugiyama, and has quietly risen to become a contender among the Jewels ranks. However, December 17th will be her final night as an active competitor and she will look to end her career by scoring a victory over Sasaki, an old rival.
Sasaki (3-8-0) won her professional debut against Morifuji on April 29, 2005, but was unable to keep up the momentum and lost her next six fights. Sasaki has battled divisional elite such as Hitomi Akano and Takayo Hashi, and prospects Mutsumi Kasai and Ayaka Hamasaki, but came up on the losing end in all four fights. She rematched Morifuji on August 6, 2008 and earned another Unanimous Decision victory, but Sasaki has only scored one win in bouts not involving her rival. She now has a chance to finish the trilogy with Morifuji with a 3-0 score.
Jewels: “Eleventh Ring” takes place on December 17th at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. The event features the finals of the 2010 48kg, 52kg and 56kg Rough Stone Grand Prixs and will also crown the first Jewels Lightweight (115-Pound) Queen Champion.
MMARising.com will be live on-site in Tokyo for the event.
Jewels: “Eleventh Ring” Fight Card (to date; subject to change):
– Seo Hee Ham vs Mika “Future Princess” Nagano (Jewels Lightweight Queen Semi-Final)
– Ayaka Hamasaki vs Sakura Nomura (Jewels Lightweight Queen Semi-Final)
– Winner of Ham/Nagano vs Winner of Hamasaki/Nomura (Jewels Lightweight Queen Final)
– Kikuyo Ishikawa vs Yukiko Seki (48kg Rough Stone Grand Prix Final)
– Hiroko Kitamura vs Mai Ichii (52kg Rough Stone Grand Prix Final)
– Mizuki Inoue vs Asako Saioka (56kg Rough Stone Grand Prix Final)
– Miki Morifuji vs Kinuka Sasaki (Morifuji’s Retirement Match [57kg])
– Shizuka Sugiyama vs Esui (59kg Bout)
(Photo Credit: GBRing.com)