Deep Jewels will hold its fifth all-female fight card on August 9th at Shinjuku FACE in Tokyo, Japan. Deep Jewels 5 features many of Japan’s top female MMA fighters including former Jewels Lightweight Queen Champion Ayaka Hamasaki, who returns to action following a one-year injury layoff.
Matchups have not yet been revealed for the card, but other fighters who are slated to compete include former Jewels Featherweight Queen Champion Naho “Sugi Rock” Sugiyama, reigning Deep Jewels Interim Lightweight Champion Emi Tomimatsu and highly-touted teen prodigy Mizuki Inoue.
Hamasaki (9-1-0) has been out of action since she suffered the first defeat of her career against recent UFC signee Claudia “Claudinha” Gadelha at Invicta FC 6 in July. The skilled judoka had previously dispatched of all challengers in Japan and won her Invicta FC debut on the promotion’s second card. During Hamasaki’s absence, she relinquished her Jewels title and an interim champion was crowned in February when Tomimatsu (7-7-0) defeated Inoue (7-2-0), who was disqualified for missing weight but ultimately submitted Tomimatsu in the fight itself.
It remains to be seen whether Deep Jewels officials will book a rematch between Tomimatsu and Inoue to eliminate the controversy that surrounded the result of their initial title bout. Should the promotion move forward in a new direction, Hamasaki may find herself right back in title contention if she remains at 115 pounds. The veteran has recently contemplated making a move down to the 106-pound division where Deep Jewels Featherweight Champion Seo Hee Ham, a woman whom Hamasaki has defeated twice, currently holds the title.
Sugiyama (10-3-0) also suffered the first loss of her career in the Invicta FC cage when she was submitted by Jessica Penne in the inaugural Invicta FC Atomweight Championship bout in October 2012. She dropped two more fights at home in Japan and lost the Jewels Featherweight Queen title to Ham in the process. Under the Deep Jewels banner, Sugiyama has rebounded with wins over Masako Yoshida and Satomi “Sarami” Takano, and a third straight victory could move Sugiyama back into championship contention.
Other fighters who will compete at Deep Jewels 5 include grappling specialists Miyoko Kusaka (4-8-1) and Yuko “Amiba” Oya (7-3-0), as well as unbeaten prospect Tamaki Usui (1-0-0). Matchups will be announced in the coming weeks.
Deep Jewels 5 takes place on August 9th at Shinjuku FACE in Tokyo, Japan.