Former top Jewels star Mika “Future Princess” Nagano is no longer set to compete in an exhibition retirement match at Deep Jewels 3 on February 16th in Tokyo, Japan. Deep Jewels officials announced on Sunday night that Nagano is pregnant and her exhibition has been removed from the card.
Nagano had been scheduled to face one-time Jewels foe Saori “Shooting Star” Ishioka in what was to be Nagano’s final appearance in MMA. In place of the Nagano-Ishioka exhibition, Deep Jewels has added a grappling match between Brittany Ann Decker and Haruka Kojima to the preliminary card.
Nagano (14-9-0) brought a three-fight winning streak into her Deep Jewels debut on the promotion’s inaugural card in August and she submitted the retiring Akiko “Betiko” Naito with a first-round armbar. The quick victory earned Nagano a spot in the opening round of the Deep Jewels lightweight title tournament, but she was defeated by grappling specialist Emi Tomimatsu in a rematch from their closely-contested fight in March. Having once again come up short in her bid to claim a major MMA title, Nagano opted to step away from the sport.
Before she walked away for good, Nagano was scheduled to compete one final time in the exhibition match with Ishioka later this month. However, as a result of her pregnancy, Nagano will no longer compete as planned and her retirement match has been cancelled. Deep Jewels officials did indicate that Nagano will still appear at the event for a retirement ceremony.
In grappling action on the card, Decker, a former training partner of TUF 18 contestant Roxanne “The Happy Warrior” Modafferi, makes her Deep Jewels debut against veteran Kojima, whose decade-long career dates back to the early days of the Smackgirl promotion. Decker and Kojima will compete over two four-minute rounds on the preliminary card.
Deep Jewels 3 takes place on February 16th at Shinjuku FACE in Tokyo, Japan. The event features a three-round Deep Jewels Lightweight Championship bout between Mizuki Inoue and Emi Tomimatsu.
Deep Jewels 3 Fight Card (to date; subject to change):
– Mizuki Inoue vs Emi Tomimatsu [52kg Deep Jewels Lightweight Championship – 3×5]
– Shizuka Sugiyama vs Mizuho Sato [Open-Weight Deep Jewels Official MMA Rules – 2×5]
– Naho “Sugi Rock” Sugiyama vs Satomi “Sarami” Takano [48kg Deep Jewels Official MMA Rules – 2×5]
– Masako Yoshida vs Miyoko Kusaka [48kg Deep Jewels Official MMA Rules – 2×5]
– Yuko “Amiba” Oya vs Mamiko Mizoguchi [50kg Deep Jewels Official MMA Rules – 2×5]
– Sachiko Fujimori vs Shiori Hori [53kg Deep Jewels Newcomer MMA Rules – 2×5]
– Brittany Ann Decker vs Haruka Kojima [51kg Deep Jewels Grappling Rules – 2×4]
(Photo Credit: Deep Jewels)