Returning after a knee injury kept her sidelined for all of 2025, Momoko Saito became Deep Jewels Bantamweight Champion with a dominant second-round TKO victory tonight at Deep Jewels 52 in Tokyo, Japan. Saito overwhelmed opponent Juki Sue on the ground to earn the main event win.
Elsewhere on the Deep Jewels 52 card, reigning strawweight champion Machi Fukuda easily won her non-title co-main event bout against Road FC representative Dan Bi Kim. Fukuda needed just 58 seconds to submit the South Korean with a guillotine choke in the shortest fight of the night.
Saito (4-2-0, 1 NC) applied early pressure by kneeing Sue (5-2-0, 1 NC) in a clinch against the cage, but it was Sue who scored the first takedown of the fight. Saito battled back to her feet and both women landed punches, with Sue aggressively chasing after her foe. She landed a nice three-punch combo, but Saito trapped her in a body lock and tripped Sue to the mat. From there, momentum instantly shifted in Saito’s favour, and she rained down elbows and punches that almost earned her a TKO stoppage. Sue narrowly made it to the bell and the fight carried on.
Early in the second round, Saito took Sue’s back in a standing clinch and kneed her legs until she was able to get Sue down. Saito resumed striking from the top with punches and a hard elbow. Sue was pinned down, and Saito continued to land elbows and punches until the fight was stopped at the 3:13 mark of the second round.
“I could not imagine coming back after my injury, but many people’s support helped me to get this title,” an emotional Saito stated in the cage immediately following her victory. She discussed future plans when speaking more backstage.
“I’m relieved that I could TKO [Sue],” Saito said. “I knew that she would target my arm, but I’ve done judo and I understand how my opponents use body movement [in clinches]. When I injured my knee, it was hard for me to think about making a comeback, but my teammates helped me. I teared up after this win because of the hard road to get here. I would like to fight against foreign opposition and I aim to take on the world.”
While her title was not on the line tonight, Fukuda (10-2-0) showed exactly why she is a Deep Jewels champion by steamrolling Kim (2-2-0), who has now dropped back-to-back fights. Early in the fight, Fukuda took Kim down and held her in a seated position against the base of the cage. Kim tried to get to her feet, but Fukuda mounted her and locked on a tight guillotine choke. With Kim pinned against the cage, she had nowhere to go and quickly tapped out just 58 seconds into the contest.
“I did training at K-Clann, and had planned to strike and show what I had learned, but instead I got the early submission,” Fukuda reflected backstage. “I had not won via guillotine before, but I executed it well today. I would like to face more foreign opponents and challenge myself on a larger stage.”
In featured 49kg super atomweight action, 22-year-old Eru Takebayashi (5-4-0, 1 NC) followed up on her impressive victory in November by scoring an emphatic second-round TKO stoppage against recent Rizin FF competitor Misaki “Iruka Umisaki” Suda (2-2-0). Takebayashi, who was sidelined for more than two years after sustained a badly broken jaw in September 2023, has showed huge improvements in her overall skills as she trains under Rizin FF and Deep Jewels champion Seika Izawa.
Early on, Takebayashi used a one-two to set up a takedown into back control. She held Suda in a body triangle and worked for a rear-naked choke, but an attempted pass to mount allowed Suda to escape into Takebayashi’s guard. A back-and-forth scramble ensued, with Suda securing a rolling kimura and Takebayashi later countering with an armbar from the bottom. After standing back up, Suda took Takebayashi down, but Takebayashi reversed it and mounted her against the cage.
The second round opened with a clinch against the fence, and Takebayashi hurt Suda with a knee to her face. Sensing that Suda was dazed, Takebayashi knocked her down with four more knees. The bout was not immediately stopped, so Takebayashi followed up with a few punches on the ground until referee Masato Fukuda intervened to save Suda from any further damage. The TKO stoppage came at the 1:08 mark of round two.
“I continuously worked on takedowns during training, but I was too focused on trying to get the rear-naked choke in the first round,” a victorious Takebayashi said backstage. “When I landed the knee, it looked effective, so I continued [with knees] and then punched. I will have better performances and I want to become champion as soon as possible.”
Veteran Yuko Kiryu (14-14-0) prevailed in her strawweight clash against Karin Horii (1-4-0). Kiryu was effective with knees to the body during a pair of clinches in the opening minutes. Horii attacked with a rear-naked choke on the ground that had Kiryu in some trouble, but Kiryu was able to fight her way out of it. She mounted Horii and spun into an armbar for the tapout victory at the 4:29 mark of round one.
Also at strawweight, Yua Yokose (4-2-0) bounced back from a defeat in December by submitting Miki Oka (1-1-0) in the second round. Yokose badly rocked Oka with two right hooks during the opening round, but Oka recovered during a clinch and Yokose later threatened with a modified Twister on the ground. Yokose bloodied Oka’s nose with punches in the second round and took her down to the mat. She secured a shoulder choke from the top, and applied added force by wedging her body between Oka and the cage. Oka held on for a while before tapping out at the 3:42 mark of the second stanza.
Ruka Sakamoto narrowly won her strawweight kickboxing match against Yura “Dynamite” Narumoto after two rounds. Narumoto started strong by landing a powerful knee to the body and punches that backed Sakamoto up. A spinning backfist also landed for Narumoto, but her nose was soon a bloody mess after Sakamoto connected with a combination. Narumoto knocked Sakamoto down with a leg kick seconds into round two, but she illegally punched her on the ground and Sakamoto was given time to recover. A Yellow Card point deduction was applied to Narumoto for the foul. Narumoto landed leg kicks and two knees to the body during the final minute, but Sakamoto rallied and connected with her best punches of the fight. One judge scored the bout 19-18 for Narumoto, while the remaining two had it 19-18 in favour of Sakamoto for the Split Decision win.
The other kickboxing bout on the card, a very lopsided 50kg contest, was easily won by Yuka Shimamura. Right from the outset of the fight, Shimamura landed non-stop punches, knees and leg kicks that prevented opponent Ryoka Nakazawa from doing anything in response. Nakazawa stayed on her feet throughout the fight, which was an accomplishment in itself, but Shimamura remained dominant with more knees and punching combinations. She landed a spinning back kick to the body and a final barrage of lefts and rights before the bell. Scores were 20-18 across the board for Shimamura, who cruised to the Unanimous Decision victory.
The Deep Jewels 52 undercard featured five amateur MMA bouts. Popular prospect Marin Yamabuki (3-0-0 amateur) prevailed via Unanimous Decision in her 49kg super atomweight fight against Narumi “Zacky” Murai (0-1-0 amateur). Yamabuki stunned Murai with three right hands early in the fight, but most of the remainder of the first round was spent in clinches against the cage. Murai scored a takedown and briefly mounted Yamabuki in round two, then took her down a second time before the bell. Scores were 20-18 twice and 19-19 with the Must Decision going to Yamabuki.
Former Rizin FF ring girl Manami “Akipi” Abe (3-3-0 amateur) evened her MMA record with a Unanimous Decision triumph against Chanrina (1-2-0 amateur) at strawweight. Chanrina nullified two takedowns from Abe by trapping her in half-nelsons from the bottom. Abe managed to land some decent punches from the top and passed to side control before the bell. Chanrina countered Abe’s knees to the body by taking her back and pulling her to the mat in round two. Abe escaped from a rear-naked choke and landed strong punches from the top that left an impression on the judges. Scores were 20-18 twice and 19-19 with the Must Decision going to Abe.
Also at strawweight, Mina Muramatsu (1-1-0 amateur) picked up her first win by stopping Cocoro Taniyama (1-2-0 amateur) in the second round. Muramatsu attempted a far-side keylock from side control in round one, but an attempted pass to mount allowed Taniyama to power out and stand up. Taniyama landed a nice combination of punches in the second stanza, but Muramatsu was persistent with takedown attempts and got Taniyama down. She took Taniyama’s back and punched both sides of her head until the fight was stopped at the 2:10 mark of round two.
In a 50kg contest, Serina Wada (1-3-0 amateur) earned a Unanimous Decision victory over Kanon Yamagishi (0-1-0 amateur). Wada scored with early leg kicks until Yamagishi took her down with a headlock throw. Yamagishi punched from the top as Wada worked to set up armbars. Yamagishi got another takedown in the second round, but she was not active enough on the mat and the fighters were stood up just when it looked like Yamagishi was about to pass to mount. That changed the tide of the round, and Wada knocked Yamagishi down with a side kick. Wada followed up with punches and a rear-naked choke on the ground before the final bell. Scores were 20-18 twice and 19-19 with the Must Decision going to Wada.
Opening up the card, Naho Tagawa (1-0-0 amateur) stopped Takara Kii (0-2-0 amateur) in the second round of their flyweight fight. Tagawa’s quick movement and frequent leg kicks kept Kii guessing in the first round, but Kii was eventually able to get a takedown and held Tagawa in a smother choke. Tagawa fought out of it and Kii landed right hands before the round ended. Kii clinched following a flurry of punches and a head kick from Tagawa in round two. However, that proved to be her undoing, as Tagawa unleashed a series of knees to her body and some punches as a wounded Kii covered up. The fight was waved off, giving Tagawa the TKO victory at the 2:07 mark of the second round.
Full play-by-play for the Deep Jewels 52 card can be found here.