With injuries and illness resulting in a pair of late changes to the card, former Valkyrie champion “V.V” Mei Yamaguchi has a new opponent for her featherweight grand prix quarterfinal bout at Deep Jewels 7 on February 21st in Tokyo, Japan. Yamaguchi is now set to face veteran Miyoko Kusaka.

Deep Jewels officials announced the change today. Yamaguchi was initially slated to face Ayaka Miura, but Miura was removed from the fight this week on the advice of her doctor. Kusaka’s scheduled reserve bout opponent, Pan Hui, was forced to withdraw from the card due to an injury in training.

Yamaguchi (12-8-1) is in need of a strong showing in the inaugural 48kg Deep Jewels tournament after suffering losses in six of her past ten fights. The disappointing stretch included a pair of razor-thin and contentious Split Decision losses under the Pacific Xtreme Combat banner. This past May, Yamaguchi made her Deep Jewels debut and secured a first-round technical submission win over Yukiko Seki, but she was most recently defeated by former Jewels champion Ayaka Hamasaki on New Year’s Eve.

Kusaka (5-8-1) competed extensively for Jewels after making her amateur debut for the promotion at its second event in early 2009. She turned pro later that year and went 3-5 for Jewels, totalling a big victory over former top Jewels contender Kikuyo Ishikawa along the way. Since its inception in August 2013, Kusaka has split her four fights for Deep Jewels. She most recently halted a two-fight losing skid by finishing Tamaki Usui with a second-round armbar at Deep Jewels 5.

The remainder of the Deep Jewels 7 card remains intact with a total of four additional fights. In the remaining grand prix quarterfinal bouts, Mina Kurobe faces Emi Tomimatsu, Masako Yoshida takes on Satomi “Sarami” Takano, and Yukiko Seki battles Tomo Maesawa. The event also features a unique tag-team grappling match that pits Emi “Kamikaze Angel” Fujino and Sachiko Fujimori against AACC teammates Ayaka Hamasaki and Yuko “Amiba” Oya.

Deep Jewels 7 takes place on February 21st at Shinjuku FACE in Tokyo, Japan.

(Photo Credit: Deep Jewels)