Six more fights have been announced for the inaugural Deep Jewels event, which takes place on August 31st in Tokyo, Japan. Top Jewels star Mika “Future Princess” Nagano is set to face off against Akiko “Betiko” Naito in what will serve as Naito’s retirement match following a ten-year career.
In other MMA action on the card, veteran contender Emi “Kamikaze Angel” Fujino takes on Hyo Kyung Song. The event also features two kickboxing bouts and a grappling match between highly-touted Rikako Yuasa and top Japanese prospect Mizuki Inoue, who is coming off of a win at Invicta FC 6.
Nagano (13-8-0) fought 18 times for Jewels dating back to its inception in November 2008 and she was one of the most prominent fighters on the roster until the promotion merged with Deep earlier this year. Nagano has won five of her past six fights and she was once again on the brink of a title shot when Jewels held its final event in May. She will look to get right back into championship contention when she debuts for Deep next month. Ten of Nagano’s career wins have come by way of submission.
Naito (6-12-0) returns to action for the first time in close to two years. The veteran fighter split her time between Smackgirl and the Greatest Common Multiple promotion early in her career and she earned a notable win over Yasuko “Pink Spider” Mogi in her final appearance for Smackgirl in March 2007. Three years later, she defeated Mogi again in a rematch at Valkyrie 5. Naito has not competed since her lone fight for Jewels in September 2011 when she was narrowly edged out by Yuko “Amiba” Oya.
Fujino (12-6-0) has won four of her past six fights, and her lone defeats during that time came against Megumi “Mega Megu” Fujii and Jewels champion Ayaka Hamasaki in a closely-contested fight. She most recently made her Pancrase debut and submitted Amber “The Bully” Brown at Pancrase 247. Song (0-2-0) remains winless in her two MMA bouts to date. The South Korean striker debuted against Yuka “Vale Tudo Queen” Tsuji in September and later faced Mizuki Inoue in December, but succumbed to armbars in both fights.
In addition to the grappling match between Yuasa and Inoue, the preliminary portion of the card will include a pair of kickboxing bouts. Kozue “Azuma” Nagashima faces Ji Yun Kim in a rematch from Jewels: “20th Ring” when Nagashima walked away with a Unanimous Decision win. Rena Matsuda takes on Rumina “K” Kurihara. Rounding out the event so far, Sachiko Fujimori (0-0-0) battles Sumire Takahashi (0-0-0) in an MMA bout with no ground and pound permitted.
Update: A seventh fight, which pits “Happy” Fukuko Hamada (7-8-1) against Miyoko Kusaka (3-6-1), was added to the card following today’s initial announcement. The 48kg bout will be contested under Deep Jewels Official MMA Rules.
Deep Jewels 1 takes place on August 31st at Shinjuku FACE in Tokyo, Japan.
Deep Jewels 1 Fight Card (to date; subject to change):
– Celine Haga vs Sadae “Manhoef” Numata [48kg Deep Jewels Official MMA Rules – 2×5]
– Mika “Future Princess” Nagano vs Akiko “Betiko” Naito [52kg Deep Jewels Official MMA Rules – 2×5]
– Emi “Kamikaze Angel” Fujino vs Hyo Kyung Song [52kg Deep Jewels Official MMA Rules – 2×5]
– Yasuko “Ikuko” Tamada vs Yukiko Seki [46kg Deep Jewels Official MMA Rules – 2×5]
– Masako Yoshida vs Satomi Takano [48kg Deep Jewels Official MMA Rules – 2×5]
– Yasuko “Pink Spider” Mogi vs Yuko “Amiba” Oya [53kg Deep Jewels Official MMA Rules – 2×5]
– “Happy” Fukuko Hamada vs Miyoko Kusaka [48kg Deep Jewels Official MMA Rules – 2×5]
– Megumi Sugimoto vs Takumi Umehara [52kg Deep Jewels Official MMA Rules – 2×5]
– Sachiko Fujimori vs Sumire Takahashi [55kg Deep Jewels Modified MMA Rules – 2×5]
– Rikako Yuasa vs Mizuki Inoue [52kg Grappling Rules]
– Kozue “Azuma” Nagashima vs Ji Yun Kim [57.5kg Kickboxing Rules – 3×3]
– Rena Matsuda vs Rumina “K” Kurihara [52kg Kickboxing Rules – 3×3]
(Photo Credit: Jewels blog)