Bantamweight Queen of Pancrase Rin Nakai returns to action to face off against arguably her toughest opponent to date on May 11th at Pancrase 258 in Tokyo, Japan. The undefeated champion is set to battle Invicta FC contender Sarah “The Monster” D’Alelio in a non-title bout on the card.

D’Alelio first announced her participation in the fight earlier this week and Pancrase officials confirmed plans for the matchup on Thursday. Nakai became the inaugural Bantamweight Queen of Pancrase in late 2012 and she most recently defeated Tara LaRosa at Pancrase 252 in September.

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Kickboxing prodigy Saya Ito will make her long-awaited professional debut on April 27th at Muaylok 2014: 1st in Tokyo, Japan. The 15-year-old “Muay Thai Genius” is set to face off against once-beaten South Korean prospect Hye-Young Park in a five-round bout on the event’s featured main card.

Ito is one of Japan’s most decorated female kickboxers and she has captured numerous titles during her 11-year career that dates back to the young age of four. The 93-fight veteran now makes her domestic pro debut against Park, who brings an impressive record into her first fight in Japan.

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Japanese star Shizuka Sugiyama and former Strikeforce title challenger Takayo Hashi will face off for the inaugural Deep Jewels Middleweight Championship at Deep Jewels 4 on May 18th in Tokyo. The 135-pound matchup was officially announced during a press conference today.

Sugiyama returned to the win column after fighting to a disappointing Draw with Ji-Yeon Kim in November by stopping Mizuho Sato in just 75 seconds at Deep Jewels 3. Hashi stepped back into action this month following a two-year hiatus and she also fought to a two-round Draw against Kim.

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Two-time Shoot Boxing JKS48 tournament champion Mio Tsumura earned her fifth straight victory on Sunday night at Shoot Boxing 2014: Act.1 in Tokyo, Japan. The 18-year-old rising star posted a hard-fought Unanimous Decision win over Akari “Eneos” Nakamura in a rematch from August 2012.

Tsumura’s mentor, three-time Shoot Boxing Girls S-Cup Champion Rena Kubota, was set to compete on Sunday’s card, but her bout was scrapped when Katie Klimansky-Casimir encountered immigration issues. A fight between Ai Takahashi and Miyumi Takahashi was cancelled due to illness.

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Deep Jewels crowned its first 114-pound women’s champion under unique and contentious circumstances tonight at Deep Jewels 3 in Tokyo, Japan. Grappling specialist Emi Tomimatsu took home the Deep Jewels Interim Lightweight Championship when opponent Mizuki Inoue missed weight.

Tomimatsu and Inoue faced off in what became a non-title fight on tonight’s card, which Inoue unofficially won via third-round armbar. However, as a result of her inability to make weight, Inoue was disqualified. Other winners on the card included Naho “Sugi Rock” Sugiyama and Shizuka Sugiyama.

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Deep Jewels held its third all-female fight card tonight at Shinjuku FACE in Tokyo, Japan. The event was headlined by a special rules bout between newly-crowned Deep Jewels Interim Lightweight Champion Emi Tomimatsu and top prospect Mizuki Inoue, with a number of stipulations attached.

Also on the card tonight, former Jewels postergirl Shizuka Sugiyama took on Mizuho Sato in an open-weight bout, and Naho “Sugi Rock” Sugiyama battled Satomi “Sarami” Takano in a featherweight contender’s matchup. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for tonight’s Deep Jewels 3 card.

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Japan’s top female prospect, Mizuki Inoue, will no longer compete for the inaugural Deep Jewels Lightweight Championship tomorrow night at Deep Jewels 3 in Tokyo. Inoue missed weight during today’s weigh-ins and her bout with grappling specialist Emi Tomimatsu is now a non-title fight.

In addition to the non-title stipulation, a number of other changes have been made to the fight. Inoue will start the bout with two Yellow Cards and will be ineligible to win on the official record. Only a victory for Tomimatsu, who is now the interim Deep Jewels Lightweight Champion, will be officially tallied.

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Former top Jewels star Mika “Future Princess” Nagano is no longer set to compete in an exhibition retirement match at Deep Jewels 3 on February 16th in Tokyo, Japan. Deep Jewels officials announced on Sunday night that Nagano is pregnant and her exhibition has been removed from the card.

Nagano had been scheduled to face one-time Jewels foe Saori “Shooting Star” Ishioka in what was to be Nagano’s final appearance in MMA. In place of the Nagano-Ishioka exhibition, Deep Jewels has added a grappling match between Brittany Ann Decker and Haruka Kojima to the preliminary card.

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