Shoot Boxing Girls S-Cup 53.5kg Champion Mizuki Inoue returns to action on Saturday night at Jewels: “21st Ring” in Tokyo, Japan. The 18-year-old Inoue will face off against Yukiko Suzuki in one of four grappling matches announced for the event today. The card is now complete with 15 bouts.
Already regarded as one of the top female prospects in all of Japan, Inoue captured her first combat sports title in August by defeating Ai Takahashi in the Girls S-Cup 53.5 tournament final. Suzuki has been training in jiu-jitsu and mixed martial arts for two years and now makes her Jewels debut.
Inoue (3-1-0 MMA; 3-1-0 KB; 4-1-0 SB) is one of Japan’s most skilled female strikers, but each of her three MMA wins to date has come by way of submission. In her most recent appearance for Jewels, Inoue finished Australia’s Alexandra Chambers with a first-round armbar at “18th Ring” in March. Her lone MMA defeat came shortly after her 17th birthday in 2011 in a bout with unbeaten Jewels champion Ayaka Hamasaki. Inoue’s opponent, Suzuki, represents the same Purebred Kawaguchi Redips gym that produced 2009 Jewels 48kg Rough Stone Grand Prix champ Asami Kodera. Like Kodera, Suzuki specialises in submission grappling and she will look to upset the highly-touted Inoue this weekend.
Three additional grappling matches will also take place on Saturday’s card. Jewels newcomer Yuka Hiyama is set to compete twice in one night. She first faces Nana “Chanchin” Ichikawa in one match, then battles Mina Kurobe in another. The final grappling match pits Misato Kimura against Rie Fukui. Rounding out the card is an amateur kickboxing matchup between Iori Miyagawa and Kaoru Sahata.
Jewels: “21st Ring” takes place on September 22nd at Shin-Kiba 1st Ring in Tokyo, Japan.
Jewels: “21st Ring” Fight Card (subject to change):
– Kozue “Azuma” Nagashima vs Mi-Jeon Chan [58kg Jewels Muay Thai Rules – 3×3]
– Mika “Future Princess” Nagano vs Tomo Maesawa [52kg Jewels Official MMA Rules – 2×5]
– Sumie Yamada vs Momoka [45kg Jewels Kickboxing Rules – 3×3]
– Kiyo Narusawa vs Satoko Ozawa [58.97kg Jewels Kickboxing Rules – 3×3]
– Shizuka Sugiyama vs Yurika Tanaka [62kg Jewels Official MMA Rules – 2×5]
– “Happy” Fukuko Hamada vs Satomi Takano [46kg Jewels Official MMA Rules – 2×5]
– Mizuki Inoue vs Yukiko Suzuki [58kg Jewels Grappling Rules – 1×4]
– Celine Haga vs Anna Saito [53kg Jewels Official MMA Rules – 2×5]
– Reina Matsuda vs Wano Sato [52kg Jewels Amateur Kickboxing Tournament Final – 2×2]
– Yuka Hiyama vs Mina Kurobe [48kg Jewels Grappling Rules – 1×4]
– Yukari Yamaguchi vs Miiri Sasaki [46kg Jewels Amateur Kickboxing Rules – 2×2]
– Ayumi Otaki vs Yurika Yanaki [55kg Jewels Amateur Kickboxing Rules – 2×2]
– Iori Miyagawa vs Kaoru Sahata [53kg Jewels Amateur Kickboxing Rules – 2×2]
– Misato Kimura vs Rie Fukui [72kg Jewels Grappling Rules – 1×4]
– Yuka Hiyama vs Nana “Chanchin” Ichikawa [48kg Jewels Grappling Rules – 1×4]
(Photo Credit: Jewels blog)