Former top Jewels star Shizuka Sugiyama looks for her fifth straight victory when she returns to action on November 24th at Deep: “Cage Impact 2013” in Tokyo, Japan. Sugiyama is set to take on South Korean kickboxer Ji Yun Kim in a featured bout on the card. Elbow strikes will be permitted.

Deep officials announced plans for the fight earlier today. Sugiyama has finished three straight opponents and she made a successful Deep debut with a 76-second TKO victory in July. Kim makes her MMA debut in next month’s fight after competing in kickboxing matches for Jewels and Deep.

Sugiyama (10-3-0) has been one of the most popular female fighters in Japan since debuting for Jewels on the promotion’s inaugural card in 2008. The karateka won six of her first seven fights before suffering back-to-back defeats in 2010. Sugiyama took a year off to study jiu-jitsu in Australia and returned to MMA this past year. She is 4-0 since then and has stopped three straight opponents with strikes.

Kim (0-0-0) enters her MMA debut as a significant underdog against Sugiyama. The talented striker has fought twice in Japan in kickboxing matches against standout Kozue “Azuma” Nagashima. At Jewels: “20th Ring,” Kim dropped a one-sided Unanimous Decision to the highly-touted Nagashima. In the pair’s rematch at Deep Jewels 1 in August, Kim put on a much better showing, but Nagashima prevailed via a razor-thin Majority Decision after three close rounds.

While the use of elbows is typically outlawed in Japanese mixed martial arts promotions, elbow strikes will be permitted in the featured bout between Sugiyama and Kim.

Deep: “Cage Impact 2013” takes place on November 24th at TDC Hall in Tokyo, Japan.

(Photo Credit: Deep Jewels)