Final Valkyrie Featherweight Champion “V.V” Mei Yamaguchi put herself in contention for a new title with a key victory today at Jewels: “20th Ring” in Tokyo, Japan. Yamaguchi defeated Emi Tomimatsu for a second time and now hopes to challenge for the Jewels Lightweight Queen Championship.

Top Jewels star Shizuka Sugiyama made a successful return to action after a lengthy layoff while training abroad, but she had a much tougher fight on her hands than many had anticipated. Sugiyama earned a Split Decision victory over MMA pioneer Megumi Yabushita in a featured main card bout.

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Japan’s all-female Jewels promotion made its debut at Differ Ariake Arena on Saturday afternoon in Tokyo. Jewels: “20th Ring” was headlined by a 114-pound rematch between final Valkyrie Featherweight Champion “V.V” Mei Yamaguchi and fellow Jewels title contender Emi Tomimatsu.

Also on the card, Kozue “Azuma” Nagashima made her third appearance for Jewels when she faced Ji Yun Kim in the kickboxing co-main event. Shizuka Sugiyama returned to action against Megumi Yabushita in a featured MMA bout. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for Jewels: “20th Ring.”

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A hand injury has forced Leslie “The Peacemaker” Smith out of her featured bantamweight bout with Amanda “Lioness of the Ring” Nunes at Invicta Fighting Championships 2 on July 28th in Kansas City, Kansas. Hawaii’s Raquel “Rocky” Pa’aluhi has stepped in to face Nunes on the card.

MMARising.com confirmed the change with a source close to the promotion today. Smith is believed to have suffered a hairline fracture and a timetable for her return is not yet known. Pa’aluhi is Nunes’s third planned opponent after her original foe, Milana Dudieva, also withdrew due to an injury.

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All main card fighters successfully made weight today for this weekend’s Jewels: “20th Ring” card in Tokyo, Japan. The event takes place tomorrow afternoon at Differ Ariake and will be headlined by a 52-kilogram rematch between former Smackgirl rivals “V.V” Mei Yamaguchi and Emi Tomimatsu.

Other main card bouts include a kickboxing match between NJKF Bonita Boxeo champion Kozue “Azuma” Nagashima and South Korean challenger Ji Yun Kim and a battle between top Jewels star Shizuka Sugiyama and MMA pioneer Megumi Yabushita. Weigh-in results are available below.

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Fifteen-year-old kickboxing champion Seira Aragaki returns to Jewels for the first time in over a year at Jewels: “20th Ring” on Saturday in Tokyo, Japan. The J-Girls and two-division M-1 titleholder faces off against South Korean taekwondo champ Hyo Kyung Song in a three-round shoot boxing match.

Aragaki made her debut for Jewels at “15th Ring” in July 2011 and earned a Unanimous Decision victory over Wano Sato. She is regarded as one of Japan’s top young female kickboxers. Song makes her first appearance for Jewels on Saturday and joins teammate Ji Yun Kim on the “20th Ring” card.

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Next Saturday’s Invicta Fighting Championships 2 event has undergone a late change as Austria’s Jasminka Cive has been forced out of her bout with Jewels champ Ayaka Hamasaki. Lacey “The Ladie” Schuckman now faces Hamasaki on the card, which takes place in Kansas City, Kansas.

The change was officially announced by the promotion today and comes after Cive was unable to secure a visa in time to compete. Hamasaki has yet to taste defeat as a professional and is one of Japan’s most skilled female fighters. Schuckman has posted wins in four of her past six fights.

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Former top welterweight contenders Jake “The Juggernaut” Ellenberger and Josh Koscheck will look to get back in the title hunt when they face off at UFC 151: “Jones vs Henderson” on September 1st in Las Vegas, Nevada. The bout was officially announced today and serves as the co-main event.

Ellenberger appeared to be one win away from a shot at the UFC Interim Welterweight Championship before his six-fight winning streak was snapped by Martin “The Hitman” Kampmann on June 1st. Koscheck is coming off of a Split Decision loss to fellow wrestler Johny Hendricks at UFC on FOX 3.

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On Monday night, top amateur prospect Tecia “The Tiny Tornado” Torres captured her third MMA title at American Battle Championship: “Rumble at Renegades 11” in West Palm Beach, Florida. Torres defeated Amber “The Apex Predator” Stautzenberger for the ABC 115-pound championship.

In a span of just ten months, Torres has become MMA’s premier amateur female competitor and she has totalled wins over some of the top fighters in the 115-pound amateur division. Now training with the renowned American Top Team in Florida, Torres plans to make her professional debut this Fall.

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