Following unsuccessful attempts to fight abroad, Deep Jewels Flyweight Champion Rin Nakai will at last make the first defence of her title on May 24th at Deep Jewels 53 in Tokyo, Japan. Nakai will end her inactivity when she faces off against challenger Yuka “Dosukoi” Okutomi in the main event.
In the co-main event, prospect Eru Takebayashi will look to continue her string of victories since returning from a devastating jaw injury when she takes on South Korean upset queen Ye Ji Lee at 49kg. The headlining bouts were among 13 fights officially announced for the card earlier this week.
Nakai (28-2-1) first captured the Deep Jewels flyweight title when she won a one-night tournament on May 8, 2022. She has fought three times in non-title bouts for Deep Jewels since then, but her championship has never been on the line. After spending a year trying to get booked to compete in North America, Nakai had been scheduled to debut for Ignite Fights in March. However, that fell apart and the promoter issued a scathing public critique of Nakai’s husband and manager, whom he accused of abusing Nakai and sabotaging her career. With no other options left for her, Nakai will at last defend the dormant title that she won four years ago.
Okutomi (4-1-0, 1 NC) won all five of her amateur bouts for Deep Jewels and quickly became one of the promotion’s top prospects after turning pro in May 2023. She racked up three straight victories before suffering what would have been a decision loss at Deep Jewels 44. However, due to opponent Momoko Saito missing weight, the bout was ruled a No Contest and Okutomi remained undefeated until her ONE Championship debut in July 2024 when she was choked unconscious. After taking time off to recover from that setback, Okutomi made a triumphant return at Deep Jewels 49 and scored a Unanimous Decision victory. She now faces her toughest test to date next month.
Takebayashi (5-4-0, 1 NC) began her amateur career in 2020 at the young age of 16 and impressed Rizin matchmakers so much with her three consecutive Deep Jewels wins that she was invited to make her pro debut for Rizin at the end of that year. She went on to endure career highs and lows during the next two years before ultimately engaging in a fateful fight against Saki Kitamura at Deep Jewels 42. After nearly finishing Kitamura, and being in complete control, Takebayashi suddenly found herself out of the fight and out of action for more than two years when Kitamura shattered Takebayashi’s jaw with a counter hook. Takebayashi began training under Deep Jewels and Rizin FF champion Seika Izawa and returned to fighting in November. She has looked very impressive in both of her wins since then.
Lee (6-8-0) also began competing at a young age and made a name for herself in Japan back in March 2017 when she shockingly upset Satoko Shinashi. She would then suffer four straight defeats before picking up a TKO victory in November 2019. Lee was then inactive for almost four years until she returned to action at Deep Jewels 42. She has since gone 2-2, with a massive victory over Deep Jewels microweight champ Saori Oshima in a May atomweight bout being Lee’s biggest achievement since the Shinashi upset. Lee was not able to keep the momentum going, however, as she dropped a Unanimous Decision to former Rizin FF champion Ayaka Hamasaki in November. Next month’s fight against Takebayashi will be a pivotal one for the 26-year-old South Korean.
In one of two featured strawweight bouts on the Deep Jewels 53 card, Nonoka Sakamoto (2-0-0, 1 NC) aims to stay unbeaten when she faces another shining star from South Korea, So Yul Kim (9-1-0). Sakamoto has finished all three of her opponents to date, though a victory over Mayumi Ono this past April was ruled a No Contest due to Sakamoto missing weight. She is coming off of a 63-second submission win at Deep Jewels 50. Kim has racked up eight straight victories since her lone career setback and has submitted five opponents in a row. She is known for her suffocating chokes and will pose a strong test for Sakamoto in the duel next month.
Also in the strawweight division, Yuko Kiryu (14-14-0) hopes to build more momentum after winning in February when she takes on Junna Tsukii (2-2-0). After a successful run in ONE Championship, Kiryu has struggled during recent years since returning to Deep Jewels and facing most of the promotion’s top fighters in the lighter weights. She snapped a losing streak at Deep Jewels 52 when she submitted Karin Horii in the first round. Tsukii is coming off of a brutal knockout victory against Princess Saaya in November, which avenged a controversial loss from September when Tsukii was disqualified for what was deemed to be an illegal upkick.
Rounding out the professional action at Deep Jewels 53, Saki Kitamura (4-5-0) hopes to return to her winning ways when she faces Abbie So (1-0-0) in a 49kg super atomweight bout; Juki Sue (5-2-0, 1 NC) seeks redemption after falling short in her February championship fight when she takes on Azuki Nakao (3-2-0) at bantamweight; Rena Kobayashi (5-4-0) meets highly popular prospect Suzu Ooi (2-0-0) in a 44kg microweight bout; Princess Saaya (2-5-0) faces Ruka “Dobokuneki” Sakamoto (0-1-0) at strawweight; Haruka “Boss” Suzuki (2-5-0) tangles with Maho Tagawa (1-0-0 amateur) in Tagawa’s pro debut at 58kg; and Sayaka “Juicy” Hishinuma (4-3-0) seeks her fourth straight win when she faces the debuting Urara (0-0-0) in a 60kg contest.
In amateur bouts, one of Deep Jewels’ most popular young prospects, Marin Yamabuki (3-0-0 amateur), faces Cocoro Taniyama (1-2-0 amateur) at a catchweight of 50kg; Manami “Akipi” Abe (3-3-0 amateur) clashes with Mina Muramatsu (1-1-0 amateur) at strawweight; and Anouk Rossen (2-2-0 amateur) opens the card against 18-year-old Rio Yamauchi (0-0-0 amateur) in another strawweight contest.
Deep Jewels 53 takes place on May 24th at New Pier Hall in Tokyo, Japan.