Rebounding from a pair of razor-thin interim title fight defeats, 21-year-old rising star Machi Fukuda scored a dominant win in her strawweight main event bout tonight at Deep Jewels 46 in Tokyo, Japan. Fukuda submitted Morgane “Souris” Manfredi with a second-round arm-triangle choke.
In tonight’s co-headliner, Namiko “Hime” Kawabata earned a much-needed Unanimous Decision victory over fellow striker Saki Kitamura in their 49kg super atomweight bout, and former microweight champ Aya Murakami finished Yuko Kiryu with an armbar in the second round at atomweight.
Fukuda (5-2-0) slipped on the mat in the opening seconds against Manfredi (4-6-0), but she immediately attacked with a heel hook on the ground and then transitioned to Manfredi’s back. Manfredi spent most of the rest of the round defending against rear-naked chokes as Fukuda maintained back control even when Manfredi was able to get to her feet. In the second round, Fukuda took Manfredi down and she worked for an arm-triangle choke. Manfredi fought off two of them, but Fukuda passed to side control and tightened the choke on her third try, forcing Manfredi to tap out at the 2:43 mark of round two.
This was a crucial win for Fukuda, who suffered her first two pro losses in succession against Arisa Matsuda and Si Woo Park – both via Split Decision – in recent Deep Jewels interim strawweight title fights. Prior to those setbacks, she had racked up four straight wins, and she now seeks to test herself against another foreign opponent for her next fight.
“I’m glad that I am back in the win column and I feel great,” Fukuda said backstage following her victory. “I could not finish the back choke early on and so I adjusted in the second round. I was only thinking about winning this fight. I felt that I was able to gauge distance better than I did against [Si Woo] Park, so I could see her strikes well. I want to face an American opponent next because they have complete MMA skills.”
Kawabata (5-4-0) had her hand raised for the first time since September 2022 tonight, as she posted a well-deserved Unanimous Decision win against a game Kitamura (2-3-0) after three rounds.
The fight began with Kitamura as the aggressor, and she pressed the action with body kicks and knees as the round progressed. Kawabata landed punching combinations in the final minute and she dropped Kitamura with a counter right hand after catching a kick. That allowed Kawabata to score with heavy punches from the top to steal the close round. Kawabata controlled the striking in the second round and she backed Kitamura up against the cage after rushing her with punches. Kitamura’s best success came late in the round when she took Kawabata’s back and then landed a head kick on the break.
Punches were exchanged in the final round and time was called when the punching power of Kitamura, who won her Deep Jewels 42 fight one year ago when she cracked opponent Eru Takebayashi’s jaw, resulted in several of Kawabata’s false teeth being broken. Action continued and Kawabata landed a combination of punches and knees before pulling guard and holding Kitamura in a triangle choke. She used it to roll over into mount and closed out the fight by landing punches and elbows from the top. Scores were 30-27 across the board for Kawabata.
“I’m happy that I was able to end my losing streak,” Kawabata said backstage. “I needed to be calm since she became aggressive, and her body kicks were effective. I was able to counter that kick, but my tackle attempts did not work after my setups and so I still need to improve overall in MMA.”
Another fighter who rebounded with an impressive performance tonight was former Deep Jewels Microweight Champion Murakami (8-2-0), who moved up to atomweight and earned a second-round technical submission win against battle-tested veteran Kiryu (13-12-0).
Kiryu caught a kick from Murakami and dropped her with a counter right hand in the opening seconds. Murakami rose to her feet and pressed forward with a combination before taking Kiryu down into mount. Kiryu gave up her back and Murakami worked for a rear-naked choke. Kiryu managed to escape into top position and she made the most of that by landing punches until Murakami tried for a triangle choke, and the round ended with Murakami landing punches on the feet.
In the second round, Murakami took Kiryu down into back control. She got too high on her back and Kiryu shook her off. Murakami again hunted for a triangle choke and then moved to back control once more. Murakami switched tactics and locked on an armbar in the final minute. Kiryu defended, and she did not tap out, but referee Naoya Uematsu intervened for a technical submission stoppage as Murakami cranked back on Kiryu’s left arm at the 4:49 mark of round two.
One of the brightest prospects on the Deep Jewels roster, 16-year-old Mahina China (2-0-0), earned her second pro win with a Unanimous Decision verdict against the much more experienced Momoko Yamazaki (4-7-0) in a 44kg microweight bout. While the fight was predominantly contested in clinches against the cage, China did showcase some crisp striking and she was effective with knees to the body while holding Yamazaki in place. The second round opened with China landing a front kick to Yamazaki’s face, and she grazed with a head kick later on, but most of the action took place in clinches once again where China held the positional advantage. All three judges scored the fight 20-18 for the talented teen, who celebrated her 16th birthday this past month.
In other action on the card, Momoko Saito (2-2-0, 1 NC) employed some strong ground and pound in both rounds of her 60kg bout with Mana Akagi (3-4-0) and walked away with a one-sided Unanimous Decision win. Saito landed hard punches from top position in the first round and knees to Akagi’s body during a clinch. She continued to land knees in the second stanza, then countered an Akagi kimura with one of her own and battered her with punches from the top. Scores were 20-16 and 20-18 twice for Saito, who has won two fights in a row.
Misaki Suda (1-0-0) made a successful pro debut with a second-round mauling of Eun Bi “Libby” Cho (1-6-0) at atomweight. While Cho had scored a sensational highlight-reel KO win in her previous Deep Jewels appearance, Suda completely dominated this fight with strikes on the ground until she was finally able to finish Cho off with a barrage of punches at the 4:38 mark of round two.
At bantamweight, Haruka “Boss” Suzuki (2-2-0) was the more active striker against Tae “Te-a” Murayama (3-7-0) and prevailed via Unanimous Decision. Suzuki’s clinch strikes gave her a slight edge in the opening frame, and she landed strong kicks to Murayama’s lead leg and body during the final five minutes. Judge Hashimoto scored the fight even at 19-19 and awarded his Must Decision to Suzuki, while judges Matsumiya and Shibata both had it 20-18 in Suzuki’s favour.
Akari Kamise (4-1-0, 1 NC) won for the third straight time tonight, as she spoiled the pro debut of Sarah (0-1-0) at atomweight. Kamise got Sarah down and threatened with a top-side guillotine choke, but Sarah escaped into Kamise’s guard. Sarah avoided one armbar, but Kamise trapped her in a second one and referee Masato Fukuda waved off the fight at the 3:56 mark of round one.
Opening up the main card, Serina Kondo (1-0-0) won her featherweight duel against Mayumi “Super Benkei” Aoki (8-12-0) by Split Decision. Little transpired in the opening round, but Kondo controlled a clinch in round two and she got Aoki down despite Aoki’s repeated fence grabs. Aoki was given a Yellow Card for the fouls, and lost one point as a result, but judge Fukuda nevertheless scored the fight 19-18 in her favour. Judges Uematsu and Hashimoto both had it 20-17 for Kondo.
On the amateur preliminary card, Asuka Nakamoto won a competitive Unanimous Decision against Ery Isshiki Cadelina at flyweight. Nakamoto bloodied Isshiki’s nose in the opening round, and cut her above her right eye in the second, which resulted in two checks from the cageside doctor. Nakamoto grazed with a late head kick and trapped Isshiki in a front headlock. Scores were 19-19, with a Must Decision to Nakamoto, and 20-18 twice.
Asuka Yokoe used forward pressure and aggression to win her amateur strawweight kickboxing match against Hana Suyama. Yokoe mixed up her strikes with straight right hands and body kicks. While Suyama was put on the defensive throughout, she did land some decent counter right hooks in the second round. It was not enough, however, and all three judges scored the fight 20-18 for Yokoe.
The event began with a 49kg amateur kickboxing bout between Miku Yokose and Yuna Suyama, which was dominated by Yokose in both rounds. Suyama struggled to land anything at all and Yokose scored with right-left combos and straight lefts in both rounds. A knockdown for Yokose late in the opening frame left no doubt in the judges’ minds, and all three scored the fight 20-17 in favour of Yokose.
“It will be difficult to make fights after this,” Deep boss Shigeru Saeki noted after the event. “I will invite talent for our November show, including ex-UFC fighters.”
Full play-by-play for the Deep Jewels 46 card can be found here.