Emi Tomimatsu vs Naho Sugiyama Title Bout Set For Deep Jewels 12Top-ranked contenders Emi Tomimatsu and Naho “Sugi Rock” Sugiyama will face off for the newly-vacant Deep Jewels Atomweight Championship on June 5th at Deep Jewels 12 in Tokyo, Japan. The 105-pound championship fight was one of seven bouts officially announced for the card earlier today.

Former champion “V.V” Mei Yamaguchi vacated the belt in order to compete in her upcoming ONE Championship title fight. Also set for the Deep Jewels 12 card is a featured atomweight bout between Saori “Shooting Star” Ishioka and Hana Date, and a 54kg bout between Yuko “Amiba” Oya and Nori Date.

Tomimatsu (11-10-0) was awarded the Deep Jewels Interim Lightweight Championship at 115 pounds in 2014 when her opponent, Mizuki Inoue, failed to make weight for their title fight. She relinquished the belt to Inoue in a rematch six months later and opted to make the move down to atomweight this past year. Tomimatsu is currently riding a three-fight winning streak that includes back-to-back wins over fellow contenders Satomi “Sarami” Takano and Ishioka. The talented grappler now finds herself one win away from once again holding a Deep Jewels championship.

Sugiyama (11-4-0) is also no stranger to championship gold. In late 2011, she became the inaugural Jewels Featherweight Queen Champion at 106 pounds, and she brought an undefeated 8-0 record into an Invicta FC title fight against Jessica Penne in October 2013. Sugiyama suffered her first defeat in the bout, and also lost her Jewels title to Seo Hee Ham the following May, but she has since bounced back with wins in three of her past four fights. The lone blemish during that time came against current Invicta FC Atomweight Champion Ayaka Hamasaki in August 2014.

 

Ishioka (13-9-0) took a lengthy hiatus from fighting in order to focus on family life and returned to MMA competition in May 2014. She finished Takano in a thrilling bout at Deep Jewels 4, but came up short in her atomweight title bid against then-champ Seo Hee Ham at Deep Jewels 6. Following another break from the sport, Ishioka stepped back into the ring at Deep Jewels 11 this past month and succumbed to a second-round rear-naked choke from Tomimatsu in the main event.

Hana (1-1-0) surprised many by scoring an upset win in her Deep Jewels debut in November. Competing alongside her Team Date stablemates, the skilled young striker posted a Unanimous Decision victory over Pan “Kai” Hui at Deep Jewels 10. The win vaulted Hana up the Deep Jewels atomweight rankings, but her second fight for the promotion ended in a disappointing decision loss to Mina Kurobe at Deep Jewels 11. The 19-year-old looks to get back on track by upsetting Ishioka in June.

Oya (8-4-0) competed extensively for Jewels throughout the promotion’s existence, and she established herself as one of the top grapplers on the roster. She joined Deep Jewels for the new faction’s inaugural event in August 2013 and went on to win three straight fights during the ensuing year including a key victory over the previously unbeaten Sachiko Fujimori. She most recently dropped a decision to Tomo Maesawa at Deep Jewels 6 in late 2014.

Nori (0-2-0) also impressed in her Deep Jewels debut in November. Facing off against the much more experienced Emi “Kamikaze Angel” Fujino, 17-year-old Nori engaged in a competitive bout for three rounds before ultimately dropping a close but Unanimous Decision. Her strong performance earned her another Deep Jewels bout this past month, but she was dominated on the ground by strawweight champion Mizuki Inoue en route to a first-round submission loss in a non-title bout.

 

In other atomweight action at Deep Jewels 12, Mina Kurobe (6-2-0) looks for her second straight win when she faces Renju Date (0-0-0), who was originally slated to make her Deep Jewels debut in March. At strawweight, Tomo Maesawa (5-5-0) hopes to get back on the winning track when she battles Karei Date (0-1-0). Rounding out the card, Yuko Kiryu (0-2-0) faces Real Date (0-1-0) in an atomweight bout, and Ayumi Misaka takes on 12-year-old Karen Date in a two-round amateur atomweight matchup.

Deep Jewels 12 takes place on June 5th at Shinjuku FACE in Tokyo, Japan.

 

 

(Photo Credit: Deep Jewels)