Three additional fights have been announced for the upcoming Deep Jewels 3 card on February 16th in Tokyo, Japan. Former Jewels Featherweight Queen Champion Naho “Sugi Rock” Sugiyama looks for her second straight win when she takes on Satomi “Sarami” Takano in a featured matchup.
In other bouts announced today, 41-fight veteran Masako Yoshida takes on Miyoko Kusaka, and grappling specialist Yuko “Amiba” Oya faces the returning Mamiko Mizoguchi. The event will be headlined by a Deep Jewels Lightweight Championship bout between Mizuki Inoue and Emi Tomimatsu.
Sugiyama (9-3-0) became the first Jewels champion at 106 pounds in late 2011 and she ran her MMA record to 8-0 before suffering her first loss at the hands of Jessica Penne in the inaugural Invicta FC Atomweight Championship fight at Invicta FC 3. Subsequent losses to Celine Haga and final Jewels champion Seo Hee Ham left Sugiyama without a title belt and in desperate need of a win, but she rebounded with a crucial victory over Masako Yoshida at Deep Jewels 2 this past month.
Takano (3-2-0) was once one of the top prospects on the all-female Jewels roster, but she too has battled inconsistency during the past year. After opening her pro career with back-to-back wins, Takano suffered losses to former Valkyrie champion Yasuko “Ikuko” Tamada and the much more experienced Yoshida in her next two fights. She got back on the winning track this past month by submitting Miyoko Kusaka at a Deep event in Toyama and now seeks her biggest win to date.
Yoshida (17-19-5) has faced many of the world’s premier female fighters below 115 pounds during her lengthy career. After taking a three-year hiatus from competition, she returned to action in June, but suffered an upset loss to Celine Haga. She scored a key win over Takano at Deep Jewels 1, but came up short against Sugiyama in November. Her opponent, Kusaka (4-7-1), has posted just one win in her past six fights. However, that victory, which came against veteran “Happy” Fukuko Hamada, was one of Kusaka’s biggest thus far.
Oya (6-3-0) has competed sparingly in MMA during recent years as her primary focus remains on grappling. She is 2-1 in her past three fights, with both wins ending in close Split Decisions. She will enter as a favourite against Mizoguchi (2-5-2), who steps back into the ring for the first time since October 2011. Her most recent fight ended in a time-limit draw against Miyoko Kusaka. Both of Mizoguchi’s wins have come via a form of knockout.
Deep Jewels 3 takes place on February 16, 2014 at Shinjuku FACE in Tokyo, Japan. The event features a three-round Deep Jewels Lightweight Championship bout between Mizuki Inoue and Emi Tomimatsu.
(Photo Credit: Esther Lin, AllElbows.com / InvictaFC.com)