Former Deep Jewels Lightweight Champion Emi Tomimatsu is set to make her return to action on August 29th at Deep Jewels 9 in Tokyo, Japan. The well-rounded veteran will face off against fellow atomweight contender Tomo Maesawa on the card, which is headlined by a pair of title fights.
Tomimatsu is coming off of a Split Decision loss to rising star Mina Kurobe in her atomweight debut at Deep Jewels 7. Maesawa’s two-fight winning streak was snapped by Deep Jewels Featherweight Grand Prix finalist Satomi “Sarami” Takano, who edged out Maesawa at Deep Jewels 8.
Tomimatsu (8-10-0) earned a shot at the inaugural Deep Jewels Lightweight Championship by defeating promotional postergirl Mika “Future Princess” Nagano at Deep Jewels 2, and she was awarded the title in February 2014 when her opponent, Mizuki Inoue, missed weight for their championship fight. Inoue avenged the controversial disqualification loss by submitting Tomimatsu for the title this past August. After going 1-1 in her next two fights, Tomimatsu dropped down to 105 pounds and suffered a narrow decision loss to the then-unbeaten Kurobe in February.
Maesawa (5-5-0) went winless in her first three fights against some of the top female fighters in Japan, including Nagano and Kurobe, but she turned her career around with victories in five of her next six fights. The streak included notable Deep Jewels wins over grappling ace Yuko “Amiba” Oya and Yukiko Seki, which propelled Maesawa into the semi-final round of this year’s Deep Jewels Featherweight Grand Prix. She was outpointed by Takano in an entertaining bout and now looks to get back into the title hunt by defeating Tomimatsu next month.
In addition to the Tomimatsu-Maesawa bout, two grappling matches have also been added to the Deep Jewels 9 card. Megumi Sugimoto faces Natsumi Mukai in one, while the retiring Miyoko Kusaka faces an opponent to be determined in the other.
Deep Jewels 9 takes place on August 29th at Differ Ariake in Tokyo, Japan. The caged event features a Deep Jewels Bantamweight Championship rematch between Takayo Hashi and Ji Yeon Kim and a Deep Jewels Strawweight Championship trilogy fight between Mizuki Inoue and Emi “Kamikaze Angel” Fujino.
(Photo Credit: Deep Jewels)