In her first fight back since leaving her long-time gym at AACC, former Rizin champion Ayaka Hamasaki scored a much-needed victory tonight at Deep Jewels 51 in Tokyo, Japan. The newly-freelance Hamasaki defeated Ye Ji Lee with a strong performance in the 49kg super atomweight main event.
Though she was not able to secure a finish, Hamasaki was still dominant throughout tonight’s headlining bout and left no doubt in the judges’ minds. In the co-main event, also at super atomweight, former interim strawweight champion Si Woo “Korean Queen Bee” Park stopped Saki Kitamura.
Hamasaki (26-7-0) traded kicks with Lee (6-8-0) early in the fight until Lee slipped while throwing one, which allowed Hamasaki to take control on the ground. She easily avoided an armbar attempt from Lee and landed punches and elbows from the top. Late in the round, Hamasaki stood over Lee and kicked at her legs. In the second round, Lee finished a combination with a throw attempt, but Hamasaki reversed it and once again held top position. She attempted a kimura and then punched from Lee’s half-guard. When Lee tried for an armbar and a triangle choke late in the round, Hamasaki evaded danger and closed out the round with punches.
The final round began with a quick judo throw from Hamasaki, who whipped Lee down to the mat from a clinch. Lee stood and she was thrown down again. The Korean fighter still looked for a finish by trying to trap Hamasaki in another armbar, but it was not successful and the fight returned to the feet. Lee landed a hard right hook before she was taken down, and Hamasaki secured a tight kimura that likely would have led to a tap. However, time expired and the bout went to the scorecards.
All three judges scored the fight 30-27 in favour of Hamasaki for a crucial Unanimous Decision victory that somewhat corrects course following her stunning upset loss to Moeri Suda in March. Lee, meanwhile, had her momentum halted following her victory over Saori Oshima in May.
“I’m relieved now,” Hamasaki said backstage following her win. “I changed my circumstance [by leaving AACC] and I do not care about being content. I want to win and I trained at many gyms. My corner’s advice was effective. I’m not at a standstill now and I know that I want to get back to Rizin.”
In the co-feature, Park (13-6-0) rebounded from her Split Decision loss in a September strawweight title fight by dominating and finishing striker Saki Kitamura (4-5-0) at super atomweight.
Park took Kitamura down in the opening round and hopped on her back in search of a rear-naked choke. Kitamura rose to her feet and defended against a second choke attempt. Park controlled the clinch battle against the cage by landing knees to Kitamura’s thighs, but Kitamura did connect with a punching combination very late in the round after escaping from the clinch.
After slipping to the ground seconds into round two, Park was warned for an illegal upkick and action resumed with Kitamura on top. Park scrambled up and she blasted Kitamura with punches and hammerfists to the sides of her face as a kneeling Kitamura latched on to Park’s leg. Park switched to elbows, then back to hammerfists, and Kitamura absorbed a lot of punishment. Finally, after one more series of hammerfists to the side of Kitamura’s head, referee Naoya Uematsu waved off the fight at the 3:22 mark of round two.
One of the most impressive performances on tonight’s card came from 22-year-old Eru Takebayashi (4-4-0, 1 NC), who made a triumphant return to the cage for the first time since she sustained a badly broken jaw in a fight that she had been handily winning against Saki Kitamura at Deep Jewels 42 in September 2023. Takebayashi, now under the tutelage of Deep Jewels and Rizin champion Seika Izawa, cruised to a clear-cut Unanimous Decision win over Sarah Ellen (2-2-0) at super atomweight.
In the first round, both women landed kicks, and Takebayashi’s leg kicks caused a considerable amount of swelling on Sarah’s left thigh. Takebayashi took Sarah down and punched from the top while avoiding two heel hook attempts. More leg kicks landed for Takebayashi in round two, and she took Sarah down again. Takebayashi moved to Sarah’s back and held her in a body triangle until Sarah managed to spin to her side. She tried for a late-fight guillotine choke, but Takebayashi calmly worked her way free and she punched until the final bell. Scores were 20-18 across the board in favour of Takebayashi.
“I’m glad,” Takebayashi said backstage. “I did not want to let Seika [Izawa] down, so this was a must-win for me. I’ve added in more grappling with takedowns. I never did this much hard training before and I am much more calm now.”
After their September bout ended in a controversial disqualification loss, Junna Tsukii (2-2-0) left no doubt at all tonight in her strawweight rematch against Princess Saaya (2-4-0). Tsukii, who lost the Deep Jewels 50 bout due to an illegal upkick, steamrolled Saaya tonight. During the opening seconds, Saaya landed a quick combination and Tsukii circled away to reset her footing. She then landed a big right hook to Saaya’s temple, which caused Saaya to sway and fall forward as Tsukii attacked with more punches. Tsukii landed lefts and rights to a downed and barely-conscious Saaya until referee Minoru Toyonaga halted the fight just 35 seconds into the first round.
Also at strawweight, Miki Oka (1-0-0) kicked off her pro MMA career with a commanding Unanimous Decision win against Karin Horii (1-3-0). Oka, who is another student of Seika Izawa, took Horii down into side control and punched from the top throughout the first round. She did the same thing in round two, but Horii was able to battle back to her feet. Oka hurt her with a left hook and secured two more takedowns later in the round. All three judges scored the fight 20-18 for Oka.
Opening up the professional portion of the card, highly-touted teen prospect Suzu Ooi (2-0-0) cruised to a quick victory in her 44kg microweight bout against the still-winless Koyuki (0-4-0). Ooi secured a double-leg takedown and landed hammerfists from side control until Koyuki gave up her back. Ooi transitioned from there to mount, where she used punches to set up a move to a scarf hold armlock. Koyuki briefly defended before tapping out at the 1:44 mark.
Former Rizin FF ring girl Akipi (2-3-0 amateur) quickly choked out Kokoro Taniyama (1-1-0 amateur) in their amateur strawweight bout. After an exchange on the feet, Akipi hopped on Taniyama’s back and used a rear-naked choke to pull her down to the ground. Taniyama was quickly rendered unconscious and the fight was stopped at the 1:31 mark. Both of Akipi’s wins have come via first-round chokes.
Hanami Watanabe (2-0-0 amateur) posted a clear-cut Unanimous Decision win over Mina Muramatsu (0-1-0 amateur) in another amateur strawweight contest. Watanabe took Muramatsu down and used punches to set up a rear-naked choke attempt that led to a modified triangle choke later in the round. The fighters traded takedowns in round two, but Watanabe wound up on top and she did some damage with right hands. A late-fight guillotine choke was not successful for Watanabe, but all three judges scored the bout 20-18 in her favour.
In an amateur super atomweight bout, Riko Igarashi (1-0-0 amateur) easily won her debut against Asuka Yokoe (2-1-0 amateur). Save for a Yokoe head kick early in round two, Igarashi controlled almost the entire fight on the ground with takedowns, hard right hands fromn the top and rear-naked choke attempts. Yokoe escaped from the submissions, but she was playing defence on the ground throughout. Igarashi earned a Unanimous Decision win with scores of 20-18 thrice.
Also at super atomweight, Mion Wachi (1-2-0 amateur) outworked Serina Wada (0-3-0 amateur) to take a Unanimous Decision win. Wachi kneed Wada’s legs during a clinch and took her down, then jumped guard with a guillotine choke before the end of the first round. Wada had some success with clinch knees in round two, but Wachi got her back down and moved to mount before threatening with a late rear-naked choke. Judge Toyonaga scored the fight even at 19-19 and awarded his Must Decision to Wachi, while judges Uematsu and Fukuda both had it 20-18 in Wachi’s favour.
The card began with an amateur flyweight bout between Chanrina (1-1-0 amateur) and Takara Kii (0-1-0 amateur). Kii punched her way into a clinch and took Chanrina down, but Chanrina stood and some looping punches were exchanged. Chanrina held Kii in two tight ninja chokes. In the second round, Kii staggered Chanrina with two right hooks. She followed up with more punches, but appeared to tire herself out in the process. Even so, Kii did get two brief takedowns before the end of the round and seemed to have won at least one round. Only judge Toyonaga agreed, as he scored the fight 19-19, but his Must Decision went to Chanrina. Judges Ishikawa and Hashimoto both scored it 20-18 for Chanrina, who took the somewhat surprising Unanimous Decision win.
“Riko [Igarashi] and Miki [Oka] are both strong, and Hanami [Watanabe] has good jiu-jitsu,” Deep boss Shigeru Saeki commented after the event. “They will have bright futures, but there aren’t enough matchups available now and so I will bring in foreigners.”
Full play-by-play for the Deep Jewels 51 card can be found here.