After competing for more than 15 years, veteran bantamweight and flyweight contender Shizuka Sugiyama at last captured her first major MMA title tonight at Pancrase 346 in Tachikawa, Tokyo, Japan. Sugiyama choked out Honoka Shigeta in the first round to become Flyweight Queen of Pancrase.
Tonight’s championship victory is the culmination of a long MMA journey for Sugiyama, who made her debut at the inaugural Jewels event in November 2008 and later went on to challenge for Deep Jewels titles at both 125 and 135 pounds. She used a ninja choke to take Shigeta’s belt in the brief fight.
Recent interim strawweight title challenger Machi Fukuda hopes to rebound after back-to-back razor-thin decision defeats when she next competes on September 8th at Deep Jewels 46 in Tokyo, Japan. Fukuda meets France’s Morgane “Souris” Manfredi in one of 11 bouts announced for the card.
Strawweight Queen of Pancrase Champion Haruka “Salt” Hasegawa will make her first title defence on September 29th at Pancrase 347 in Tokyo, Japan. Hasegawa is set to face off against former Pancrase champion and current Shooto titleholder Emi “Kamikaze Angel” Fujino on the card.
Invicta Fighting Championships returned to its original home at Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas tonight with a card featuring international talent. Invicta FC 55 was headlined by a bantamweight championship bout as defending champion Talita Bernardo faced challenger “Big Bad” Olga Rubin.
Rena Kubota will seek her second victory of 2024 when she competes on July 28th at Rizin Fighting Federation: “Super Rizin 3” in Saitama, Japan. Kubota faces off against Deep Jewels prospect Kate “Lotus” Oyama, who makes her promotional debut, in a featured super atomweight matchup.
Undefeated 20-year-old Honoka Shigeta makes the first defence of her Flyweight Queen of Pancrase title on July 21st at Pancrase 346 in Tokyo, Japan. Shigeta faces off against long-time Deep Jewels contender Shizuka Sugiyama, who recently won her first bout under the Pancrase banner.
Saori “Little Giant” Oshima earned a swift victory and another championship title in the Deep Jewels 45 main event tonight in Tokyo, Japan. Oshima stopped Aya Murakami to unify the Deep and Deep Jewels Microweight Championships, then announced that she had signed with Invicta FC.
Deep Jewels showcased two title fights on its latest card tonight at New Pier Hall in Tokyo, Japan. Deep Jewels 45 was headlined by a Deep and Deep Jewels Microweight Championship double title fight between Saori “Little Giant” Oshima and Aya Murakami, with the winner claiming both belts.