Headlined by a rescheduled super atomweight bout between Namiko “Hime” Kawabata and former Pancrase champion Honoka Shigeta, eight fights are now confirmed for Deep Jewels 49, which takes place on May 25th in Tokyo, Japan. Officials announced seven new fights for the card on Monday.
Kawabata and Shigeta were first booked to face each other at Deep Jewels 48 one month ago, but the fight was postponed when Shigeta sustained an injury. Among the other matchups announced for Deep Jewels 49 is a 58kg co-main event between Aoi Kuriyama and Yuka “Dosukoi” Okutomi.
Kawabata (5-4-0) and Shigeta (4-1-0) will each cut slightly more weight for their 49kg fight next month after initially being booked at 50kg for the planned Deep Jewels 48 bout. Kawabata scored a key win in September after struggling in bouts at higher weights. Shigeta, who is 17 years younger than Kawabata, will seek a fresh start at a much lower weight in Deep Jewels after losing her Flyweight Queen of Pancrase title to Shizuka Sugiyama in July.
The co-feature between Kuriyama (8-5-1) and Okutomi (3-1-0, 1 NC) is also an important one for both competitors. Kuriyama is in the midst of a four-fight winning streak that includes three first-round knockouts, and she is one of the top strikers on the Deep Jewels roster. Okutomi went 5-0 as an amateur and won her first three pro fights before being dominated by Momoko Saito at Deep Jewels 44. That bout was ruled a No Contest due to Saito missing weight, but Okutomi suffered her first official loss in her ONE Championship debut in July when she was choked out by Faine Mesquita. Okutomi hopes to get herself back on track by handing Kuriyama her first loss in more than two years.
In other featured action at Deep Jewels 49, Saki Kitamura (3-4-0) battles Princess Saaya (1-2-0) in 49kg super atomweight action. While both are skilled strikers, Kitamura and Saaya have each been hindered by inconsistency. Kitamura has alternated between losses and wins dating back to her pro debut, but her performances in her four most recent fights have shown marked improvements and her very active fighting schedule does appear to be paying off. Saaya earned her first pro win in November, but she dropped a Split Decision to Misaki Suda at Deep Jewels 48.
The 44kg microweight division will also be featured when Rena Kobayashi (5-4-0) takes on unbeaten 16-year-old Mahina China (2-0-0). Kobayashi has won three of her past four fights including a lopsided second-round TKO win against Kyoka “Chibisai” Minagawa at Deep Jewels 48. Her lone defeat in the past two years came against Akari Kamise. China (2-0-0) debuted for Deep Jewels at the young age of 15 this past March and won her first two fights against Minagawa and Momoko Yamazaki. She is one of the top young prospects on the Deep Jewels roster, but this will be her toughest test to date.
Rounding out the confirmed fights for Deep Jewels 49, the aforementioned Akari Kamise (4-2-0, 1 NC) faces Miku Yokose (1-1-0) at atomweight; Yua Yokose (1-1-0) takes on Yura Narumoto (0-1-0, 1 NC) in a 54kg matchup; Elena faces Chanrina in a 60kg kickboxing bout; and former Rizin FF ring girl Akipi (1-1-0 amateur) clashes with Misaki Horiuchi (0-0-0 amateur) in amateur strawweight MMA action.
Deep Jewels 49 takes place on May 25th at New Pier Hall in Tokyo, Japan.