Avenging a jaw-shattering loss from three years prior, Eru Takebayashi battered and finished rival Saki Kitamura tonight at Deep Jewels 54 in Tokyo, Japan. The 23-year-old rising star ultimately overwhelmed Kitamura with third-round strikes to win their 49kg super atomweight rematch.
In the co-main event, also at super atomweight, one-time Rizin competitor Misaki “Iruka Umisaki” Suda halted a two-fight losing skid by taking a Unanimous Decision victory over veteran Mizuki Furuse. At strawweight, Yua Yokose mauled Yuko Kiryu en route to a first-round TKO stoppage.
When Takebayashi (6-5-0, 1 NC) and Kitamura (5-6-0) first faced off at Deep Jewels 42 in 2023, the short but action-packed bout ended in the first round when Kitamura badly broke Takebayashi’s jaw. The injury kept Takebayashi on the sidelines for more than two years, but she linked up with Seika Izawa during her absence and began training under the tutelage of the former Rizin FF and Deep Jewels champion. Takebayashi’s skills have soared since then, and that was evident again tonight.
Takebayashi took the fight to the ground in the opening round and then hopped on Kitamura’s back as Kitamura stood up. A clinch followed later on and Takebayashi kneed Kitamura’s face before trying to take her down. Takebayashi had to resort to pulling guard, but she was active off of her back with triangle choke and armbar attempts. Takebayashi scored with punches and knees in the second round, and later backed Kitamura up with a body kick, before taking her foe down and nearly finishing Kitamura with ground punches in the final seconds.
The third round began with another takedown for Takebayashi, but this time Kitamura countered with a ninja choke attempt. Takebayashi quickly escaped and secured a trip takedown into an armbar setup. She let it go and dropped heavy punches to Kitamura’s face as Kitamura rolled to her side, forcing referee Masato Fukuda to wave off the fight. Takebayashi’s TKO victory came officially at the 4:19 mark of round three.
“I’ve thought about [Kitamura] for the past three years,” Takebayashi said backstage following her victory. “I went to the ground first because she has one-shot power, but then I began striking more after that. [Pancrase champion Miki] Motono is a southpaw and she gave me good takedown advice, and I’m also thankful for Seika [Izawa] and ‘Coro’ [Kosuke Terashima] for their training. I cannot believe that I have come this far.”
Suda (3-2-0) dropped Furuse (11-13-0) with a counter one-two very early in their 49kg co-main event matchup. Furuse quickly recovered, but Suda backed her up with more punches and a knee. Furuse tried twice to take Suda down, but both times she ate a hard right cross for her efforts. Suda scored a takedown in the second round and she pushed Furuse’s head up against the base of the cage. Suda postured up with punches and kept her opponent down until the final bell.
Scores were 20-18 across the board for Suda, who comfortably took the Unanimous Decision win. After the fight, Suda credited her coaches for their help with her striking, and indicated that she would like another shot on a Rizin card in the near future.
Despite giving up a wealth of experience, Yokose (5-2-0) easily dispatched of Kiryu (15-15-0) in their featured strawweight contest. Yokose threatened with rear-naked choke attempts during the first half of the opening round and then mounted Kiryu. She landed punches and knees as Kiryu worked back to her feet. Yokose stunned Kiryu with a right cross and Kiryu ducked into a nasty knee that landed flush on her nose and sat her down in a dazed state. The fight was stopped at the 4:19 mark of the opening round, giving Yokose a big TKO win.
In a battle between the top two 44kg microweight prospects on the Deep Jewels roster, Suzu Ooi (4-0-0) stayed unbeaten by outpointing 18-year-old Mahina China (2-1-0), who was competing for the first time since winning back-to-back fights in 2024. Ooi stifled China on the ground in both rounds and China was unable to do much from her back aside from a pair of kimura attempts. Ooi stayed busy enough with her ground punches to avoid being stood up. Scores were 20-17 and 20-18 twice for Ooi, who prevailed via Unanimous Decision and stated that she hopes to continue on the path to a title fight against champion Saori Oshima.
Deep Jewels mainstay Sarah Ellen (3-2-0) handed talented grappler Hanami Watanabe (1-1-0) her first MMA defeat via a well-deserved Unanimous Decision at super atomweight. Sarah fought off rear-naked choke attempts in the first round and rallied with punches from Watanabe’s guard. Watanabe again started well in the second round, but Sarah reversed into her guard and used punches to set up a kneebar and an inverted heel hook attempt. Two judges scored the fight even at 19-19 and awarded their Must Decisions to Sarah, who clearly did the most damage with her strikes, while a third had it 20-18 in Sarah’s favour.
At strawweight, Misaki Horiuchi (2-1-0) outworked the much more seasoned Mika “Arami” Arai (6-10-0) to take a Unanimous Decision victory. Horiuchi kneed Arai’s ribs and backed her up with jabs while fending off takedown attempts in the first round. Horiuchi dropped Arai with a right hook early in round two, and later scored with hammerfists during a clinch against the cage. Arai never got the takedown that she wanted. One judge scored the fight even at 19-19 and awarded his Must Decision to Horiuchi, and the other two both had it 20-18 for Horiuchi.
Miku Yokose (2-2-0), the older sister of Yua who won later on the card, was also victorious tonight. Miku won her 50kg matchup against popular prospect Marin Yamabuki (0-1-0), who fell short in her pro debut after going 4-0 as an amateur. Yokose pinned Yamabuki against the cage in the first round, and she was finally able to get the fight to the mat in round two. From there, Yokose passed to mount and punched until Yamabuki escaped back to half-guard. One judge scored the fight even at 19-19 and awarded his Must Decision to Yokose. The other two both had it 20-18 for Yokose, who took the Unanimous Decision win.
Former lightweight Sayaka “Juicy” Hishinuma (6-3-0) continued her remarkable drop down in weight and made a successful strawweight debut in tonight’s first pro bout. Hishinuma stopped Karin Horii (1-5-0) in the first round to extend her winning streak to five. Horii took Hishinuma down early on and repeatedly tried to finish the fight with face cranks. Hishinuma got back to her feet, however, and she teed off with punches that hurt Horii. As Horii wilted against the cage, Hishinuma landed more punches until Horii fell to her knees and the fight was stopped at the 3:14 mark.
In 54kg amateur action, Mina Muramatsu (3-1-0 amateur) spoiled the Deep Jewels debut of Noa Saito (0-1-0 amateur) via Unanimous Decision by controlling the fight on the ground. Muramatsu took Saito down in both rounds, and she had her best success in round two by punching from mount and then trapping Saito in a rear-naked choke. All three judges scored the contest 20-18 for Muramatsu.
Former Rizin FF ring girl Manami “Akipi” Abe (4-4-0 amateur) won her 50kg amateur bout against Seari Sumimura (4-4-0 amateur). Abe struck from top position in both rounds, and fought off Sumimura’s guillotine chokes and kimuras in the second stanza. Two judges scored the fight even at 19-19 and awarded their Must Decisions to Abe, while a third had it 20-18 Abe for a Unanimous Decision victory.
Also at 50kg, Asuka Yokoe (3-2-0 amateur) stopped Cocoro Taniyama (1-4-0 amateur) with a knee to the body in the second round. Yokoe attacked Taniyama’s body with kicks, but she was later dropped by a Taniyama left hook. Yokoe recovered and hurt Taniyama with hooks and uppercuts late in the excellent round. Yokoe once again backed Taniyama up with punches in the second round, and this time she dropped her for good with a knee to the body at the 1:33 mark of round two.
Opening up tonight’s card, in another 50kg amateur contest, Rio Yamauchi (2-0-0 amateur) made it two-for-two in Deep Jewels this year by defeating Mion Wachi (1-3-0 amateur). Yamauchi dominated both rounds on the mat with top control and several submission attempts, including rear-naked chokes and mounted armbars. Wachi made it to the final bell, but all three judges scored the fight 20-18 in favour of Yamauchi for a commanding Unanimous Decision win.
“Nonoka [Sakamoto] versus Machi [Fukuda] is a potential strawweight title fight, but Machi may have a reserve spot in the Road To UFC tournament,” Deep boss Shigeru Saeki stated after tonight’s event. “The talent pool is still small at 44kg [microweight], and we have most of the ranked fighters here, but there is a possibility for us to bring in more fighters to compete.”
Full play-by-play for the Deep Jewels 54 card can be found here.