20-year-old Moeri Suda scored the biggest victory of her mixed martial arts career in a major upset tonight at Deep Jewels 48 in Tokyo, Japan. Suda submitted former Jewels, Rizin FF and Invicta FC champ Ayaka Hamasaki with a rear-naked choke in the 49kg super atomweight main event.
Neither Suda nor Hamasaki were originally slated to compete on tonight’s card, but both stepped in when the initial headlining bout was cancelled last month. Suda, who has now earned submission wins in four of her past five fights, made the most of the opportunity with her massive victory tonight.
Suda (13-6-0) was put on the defensive in the opening seconds of the main event after Hamasaki (25-7-0) caught a kick and tripped her to the mat. Suda battled back to her feet and secured a takedown of her own, and from that point forward she was in complete control. Suda moved to Hamasaki’s back and wasted no time in securing a rear-naked choke. The long-time pound-for-pound standout tried to fight it off, but Hamasaki had nowhere to go and she was forced to tap out at the 2:28 mark of the opening round.
Following her upset win over Hamasaki, who was ranked in the top two in the atomweight division for many years, Suda spoke briefly in the cage and she credited her hard training and preparation for propelling her to the victory.
“I was surprised, and the finish came even earlier than I had expected,” Suda added when speaking backstage following the event. “I even surprised myself with that, but I had expected good results if we were wrestling against the cage. [Two-division Deep Jewels champion] Seika [Izawa] is the best in the division, so I will chase her. I haven’t done enough yet to face her, so I will train harder, but the ground [game] is my territory and I will prepare counters for her armlocks.”
Moeri Suda backstage following stunning Deep Jewels 48 win.
In the co-main event, reigning Deep Jewels Featherweight Champion Yoko Higashi (9-5-0) returned to the promotion after stints in PFL and Invicta FC and dominated her bantamweight contest against prospect Mana Akagi (4-5-0), who was simply overwhelmed by Higashi’s superior grappling and ground strikes. Higashi sprawled out of a takedown attempt from Akagi in the opening frame and punched the sides of her head. Later on, she took Akagi down and landed more strong punches while avoiding an armbar, and the round ended with Higashi trapping Akagi in a face crank.
Higashi opened the second round with a knockdown off of a lead left hook, which allowed her to score with more ground punches as Akagi ran out of answers. Higashi was not able to get a finish with a rear-naked choke, but she mounted Akagi with 90 seconds remaining and teed off with punches for a TKO stoppage at the 3:48 mark of round two.
“I did not hear the cheering when I fought abroad, but I can feel it now that I’ve come back home,” Higashi said following her win. “I want to win an Invicta FC title in the future, so I have got to get finishes here in Japan, but I am ready to fight anywhere.”
Former atomweight title challenger Hikaru Aono (12-7-0) cruised to a lopsided Unanimous Decision win in a featured 49kg super atomweight bout tonight against Saki Kitamura (3-4-0), who was put on the defensive early and often by her veteran opponent.
Aono kept Kitamura pinned down for most of the opening round and attempted a rear-naked choke and an armbar before briefly looking for a twister setup in the final minute. Kitamura did have some success early in the second round when she stuffed a takedown and landed punches, but Aono was relentless and she got Kitamura down. Aono pinned down Kitamura’s arm and landed dozens of punches to her face. While she could not finish the fight, the damage inflicted was enough to earn Aono the victory with scores of 20-18 thrice.
In one of two 44kg microweight bouts on the card, Momoko Yamazaki (5-7-0) edged out a Split Decision win over Kimika “Jaka” Kawaguchi (2-2-0) after two back-and-forth rounds. Yamazaki landed some decent ground and pound in the first round after getting a takedown, then fought off a prolonged armbar attempt from Kawaguchi. When Kawaguchi tried for a second armbar, Yamazaki again punched her way free and she finished the round strong with strikes from the top. Kawaguchi scored a takedown in the second stanza and both women landed punches on the ground until Yamazaki scrambled up to her feet. Kawaguchi got her back down into side control, then took Yamazaki’s back, but she could not find a finish. All three judges scored the fight even at 19-19, with one Must Decision going to Kawaguchi and the other two going in favour of Yamazaki for the narrow win.
The second microweight matchup was not a close fight, and Rena Kobayashi (5-4-0) stopped Kyoka “Chibisai” Minagawa (2-6-0, 1 NC) late in the second round after mauling her on the mat for most of the fight. Kobayashi took Minagawa down into mount in the opening round and landed punches until Minagawa was forced to give up her back, which allowed Kobayashi to sink in a rear-naked choke. Minagawa persevered and tried to stand up, but Kobayashi kept her down. In the second round, Kobayashi swept out Minagawa’s leg and punched from top position before once again taking Minagawa’s back. Minagawa tried to roll to her sides as Kobayashi punished her with punches, but she was unable to do so and Kobayashi landed hammerfist after hammerfist until the bout was waved off at the 4:18 mark of round two.
Earlier on the card, Misaki Suda (2-0-0) stayed unbeaten with a close Split Decision win over Princess Saaya (1-2-0) in a 49kg super atomweight bout. Suda scored a knockdown with a right cross in the opening round, but Saaya responded with a slick armbar attempt from the bottom. Suda eventually escaped and she spent the remainder of the round working for rear-naked chokes. Suda controlled the early and late parts of the second round after scoring two impressive throws, but Saaya spent time in side control and mount after reversing position on the ground. Two judges scored the fight even at 19-19, with one Must Decision going to Suda and the other to Saaya, and the third had it 20-18 in favour of Suda for a hard-fought victory.
French newcomer Elena (1-0-0) survived a late scare in the opening round and ultimately scored a TKO win over Yuko “Pochan Z” Matsuura (0-8-0) with just ten seconds remaining in their 63kg bout. Elena landed jab-cross combos, leg and body kicks during the first round, and she backed Matsuura up with a spinning back kick and a flurry. Elena lost her balance at one point, however, and Matsuura mounted her and came close to finishing the fight with hammerfists from the top. In round two, Elena targeted Matsuura’s right eye with punches and the eye swelled up. While the doctor allowed the fight to continue, the swelling got worse as Elena landed more punches to Matsuura’s cheek and referee Minoru Toyonaga stopped the fight at the 4:50 mark of the second round.
Rebounding from a loss in her November pro debut, Yua Yokose (1-1-0) steamrolled Karin Horii (0-2-0) in the strawweight contest tonight. Yokose used early punches to set up a takedown into mount, and she then landed strikes from Horii’s back, but Horii managed to shake her off. Yokose got another takedown later in the round and she punched Horii’s face after trapping her in a top-side crucifix. Horii made it to the bell, but her failed takedown early in the second round allowed Yokose to trap her in an Anaconda Choke. Horii could not escape and reluctantly tapped out at the 1:10 mark of round two.
One fight earlier, Yokose’s sister Miku (1-1-0) also bounced back after losing on the same Deep Jewels 47 card in November with an excellent performance tonight against Asuka Yokoe (0-1-0) in a 49kg super atomweight bout. The elder Yokose sister rocked Yokoe with a left hook seconds into the fight and dropped her to a knee with follow-up punches. Yokoe recovered, but Yokose took her down shortly thereafter and moved to back control. She locked on a rear-naked choke and Yokoe tapped out at the 2:25 mark.
In a two-round strawweight kickboxing match that was all action from start to finish, Saki Nakamura took a clear-cut Unanimous Decision win over Yuka Shimamura. Nakamura never let up once, and she marched forward with punching combination after combination that bloodied Shimamura’s nose and kept her backing up. Shimamura landed some decent counter hooks in response, but nothing deterred Nakamura from pressing forward with punches and later body kicks as well. Scores were 20-18 across the board for Nakamura in an entertaining brawl.
Opening up the card, former Rizin FF ring girl Akipi (1-1-0 amateur) secured her first win in an amateur strawweight MMA bout against short-notice replacement opponent Serina Wada (0-1-0 amateur). Akipi tripped Wada from a clinch during the opening minute and quickly took her back. She locked on a rear-naked choke that forced Wada to tap out at the 1:01 mark, and an extremely emotional Akipi credited the teaching of coach Hiroto Sakuma for guiding her to the win.
“I didn’t expect that performance from Moeri [Suda],” Deep boss Shigeru Saeki said after the event. “I could not have predicted that. There aren’t many [contenders] in Rizin, so if she fought Seika [Izawa] then it would be for the belt. I’m thinking about a possible fight between [Namiko] ‘Hime’ [Kawabata] and Hamasaki, but I need to talk to Hamasaki when she is calm.”
Full play-by-play for the Deep Jewels 48 card can be found here.