Deep Jewels staged its fourth all-female fight card today at Shinjuku FACE in Tokyo, Japan. Deep Jewels 4 was headlined by the first Deep Jewels Middleweight Championship matchup between promotional star Shizuka Sugiyama and former Smackgirl 128-pound champion Takayo Hashi.
Today’s co-main event featured the return of former Jewels postergirl Saori “Shooting Star” Ishioka, who took on prospect Satomi “Sarami” Takano. Deep Jewels Featherweight Champion Seo Hee Ham faced Yuuki Kira in a kickboxing match. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for the card.
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KSW Women’s Champion Karolina Kowalkiewicz retained her 115-pound title with a first-round submission victory tonight at KSW 27: “Cage Time” in Gdańsk, Poland. The Polish rising star kept her unbeaten record intact by defeating Austria’s Jasminka “Impressive” Cive with a slick armbar.
Kowalkiewicz, who signed on with Invicta FC earlier this year, continues to impress with each passing fight. She took Cive down early in tonight’s title bout and prevented her from doing anything on the ground. After working for a rear-naked choke, Kowalkiewicz switched to an armbar for the tapout win.
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Finnish standout Katja “Killer Bunny” Kankaanpää rebounded from her first professional loss with an impressive submission win tonight at Fight Night 10 in Lappeenranta, South Karelia, Finland. Kankaanpää finished Ukrainian prospect Alyona Rassohyna with an armbar in the night’s co-main event.
Kankaanpää put on one of her best performances to date in tonight’s fight and she was relentless with her attacks on the ground. Elsewhere on the card, Vuokko Katainen and Kate Jackson fought to a Split Draw, and Suvi Salmimies earned a Unanimous Decision win over Clemence Schreiber.
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Bantamweight Queen of Pancrase Rin Nakai picked up one of the biggest wins of her career tonight at Pancrase 258 in Tokyo, Japan. Nakai earned a clear-cut Unanimous Decision victory over Invicta FC contender Sarah “The Monster” D’Alelio in a non-title bout during part one of tonight’s card.
Nakai kept D’Alelio pinned down throughout the three-round fight and she threatened with numerous kimura attempts from top position. D’Alelio’s defence was solid, but Nakai dominated the action on the mat and cruised to victory on the judges’ scorecards. She has now won six straight fights.
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The Ultimate Fighting Championship came to the U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio tonight for UFC Fight Night 40: “Brown vs Silva.” The event was headlined by a five-round welterweight matchup between local favourite Matt “The Immortal” Brown and Brazilian standout Erick “Índio” Silva.
In tonight’s co-main event, Costas Philippou battled Lorenz “The Monsoon” Larkin in a pivotal middleweight showdown. Erik “New Breed” Koch took on Daron “The Detroit Superstar” Cruickshank and Neil Magny faced Tim “The Dirty Bird” Means. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for the card.
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Three days after she celebrates her 16th birthday, highly-touted prospect Yukari Yamaguchi will make her professional kickboxing debut at J-Girls: “The Shining Wild Angels 2nd” on June 22nd in Tokyo, Japan. Yamaguchi faces veteran Megumi Igawa in a 105-pound mini flyweight bout on the card.
Yamaguchi, the younger training partner of Deep Jewels and Invicta FC star Mizuki Inoue, has torn through the competition in the amateur ranks and she brings an eight-fight winning streak into her pro debut. Igawa put an end to a tough losing skid by winning her most recent kickboxing match in February.
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Mere weeks after winning her long-awaited pro debut, 15-year-old “Muay Thai Genius” Saya Ito returns to the ring on May 18th at Tenkaichi 71 in Koza, Okinawa, Japan. Ito is set to face off against former J-Girls Mini Flyweight Champion Haru “Taj Mahal” Tajima in a three-round bout.
Ito captured numerous titles during her 93-fight amateur kickboxing career, which included more than 40 fights against male opponents. She won her pro debut on April 27th. Tajima became the first J-Girls Mini Flyweight Champion in 2008 and now competes for the first time since late 2010.
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TUF 18 semi-finalist Sarah “Cheesecake” Moras is set to make her official UFC debut on July 6th at The Ultimate Fighter 19 Finale in Las Vegas, Nevada. Moras faces off against unbeaten Octagon newcomer Alexis “Sneaky Zebra” Dufresne in a featured bantamweight bout on the card.
UFC officials confirmed the matchup today following an initial report from MMAFighting.com. Both Moras and Dufresne make their returns to action after recently recovering from injuries. Moras put on a strong showing during TUF 18 and Dufresne most recently demolished Kim Couture in February.
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