After recently leaving her long-time AACC team, Ayaka Hamasaki will seek a fresh start when she returns to competition on November 23rd at Deep Jewels 51 in Tokyo, Japan. Hamasaki is set to face Ye Ji Lee, who is coming off of a big upset win in May, in the 49kg super atomweight main event.

Deep Jewels officials announced the headliner and ten additional fights for the card on Wednesday. In the co-main event, former Deep Jewels Interim Strawweight Champion Si Woo “Korean Queen Bee” Park drops back down to the super atomweight division to battle skilled striker Saki Kitamura.

Hamasaki (25-7-0), who previously held titles for Jewels, Invicta FC and Rizin, has had a frustrating few years since losing twice to current Rizin champ Seika Izawa and then battling injuries and inconsistent fight results. She has posted just two wins in the past four years, and a quick submission loss to Moeri Suda in March seemed to be the final straw for the 43-year-old Hamasaki, who has subsequently become a freelancer after parting ways with AACC. The veteran fighter is still a formidable force in the division, however, and she will look to put a stop to Lee’s momentum in November.

Lee (6-7-0) sports a pro record that belies her talents. Her first two pro bouts came as a teenager against Japanese legends Satoko Shinashi and Hisae Watanabe, and Lee first put herself on the MMA map by shocking upsetting Shinashi in their 2017 rematch. The Korean fighter then dropped three straight close decisions in Road FC, followed by a technical submission loss to Mina Kurobe in Shooto, before posting wins in three of her next four fights. In May, she earned another key upset victory by defeating Saori Oshima at Deep: “125 Impact,” and now seeks to shock another top Japanese star.

Park (12-6-0) is well-known for her two fights against Rizin champion Seika Izawa, including their December 2022 rematch which some felt should have ended with Park’s hand raised. She then racked up three straight wins for Deep and Deep Jewels, and became the interim strawweight champion in the process. When Izawa vacated her Deep Jewels strawweight title, Park faced Machi Fukuda in a rematch for the undisputed belt this past month at Deep Jewels 50, but Fukuda prevailed via Split Decision and Park will move back down to 49kg for her next fight.

Kitamura (4-4-0) has so far alternated between losses and wins every fight since making her pro debut in May 2023, but she has improved her skills considerably in recent outings. She has also established herself as one of the top strikers on the Deep Jewels roster, which will pose a different type of challenge for Park, who has primarily faced grapplers during her time competing in Japan. Kitamura last saw action at Deep Jewels 49 in May when she edged out Princess Saaya in a close fight, and she now seeks her biggest win to date.

In other featured action on the card, former Pancrase champion Honoka Shigeta (4-2-0) hopes to put her disastrous Deep Jewels debut behind her when she faces the undefeated Nonoka Sakamoto (2-0-0, 1 NC) in strawweight action. Shigeta, who briefly held flyweight gold for Pancrase, was matched up against Namiko “Hime” Kawabata in a would-be 49kg super atomweight main event at Deep Jewels 49, but Shigeta came in overweight and was subsequently finished by a second-round triangle armbar. Sakamoto has so far finished all three of her opponents, though her win over Mayumi Ono in April was declared a No Contest due to Sakamoto’s inability to make weight. A victory over Shigeta in November would immediately establish Sakamoto as a strawweight title contender.

Elsewhere, Eru Takebayashi (3-4-0, 1 NC) returns to action for the first time in more than two years when she squares off against rising star Sarah Ellen (2-1-0) at super atomweight. Takebayashi reigned undefeated in five amateur and pro bouts for Deep Jewels before taking a step up in competition and suffering tough setbacks including a Split Decision defeat against Deep Jewels and Rizin star Keito “Kate Lotus” Oyama. She rebounded with a decision win, and then very nearly knocked out Saki Kitamura in their Deep Jewels 42 fight before a Kitamura punch broke Takebayashi’s jaw and forced an end to the fight. Ellen, meanwhile, has become a mainstay for Deep Jewels and has won two of three bouts since turning pro. She earned a big knockout victory against Yuko Kiryu at Deep Jewels 50.

Rounding out the professional bouts, Junna Tsukii (1-2-0) tangles with Yura Narumoto (0-3-0, 1 NC) in a strawweight contest; Karin Horii (1-2-0) meets the debuting Miki Oka (0-0-0) in another strawweight matchup; and prospect Suzu Ooi (1-0-0) looks for her second pro win when she battles Koyuki (0-3-0) in a 44kg microweight fight.

In amateur prelim bouts, Marin Yamabuki (2-0-0 amateur) faces Mina Muramatsu (0-0-0 amateur) at strawweight; former Rizin FF ring girl Akipi (1-3-0 amateur) takes on Kokoro Taniyama (1-0-0 amateur) in other strawweight action; Asuka Yokoe (2-0-0 amateur) faces judoka Riko Igarashi (0-0-0 amateur) in a 49kg super atomweight clash; and Serina Wada (0-2-0 amateur) and Mion Wachi (0-2-0 amateur) both aim for their first wins in their super atomweight bout.

Deep Jewels 51 takes place on November 23rd at New Pier Hall in Tokyo, Japan.