Japanese MMA promotion DEEP Jewels will kick off an eight-fighter atomweight tournament at their March 7th event.
The promotion announced on Monday that the fights will join a card taking place at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan.
While matchups for the opening round have not been confirmed, DEEP Jewels announced that the round will include Otoha Nagao, Si Woo Park, Hikaru Aono, Sakura, Aya Murakami, Emi Tomimatsu, Saori Oshima and Nisse.
The tournament was formed after former DEEP Jewels Atomweight Champion Tomo Maesawa retired in October of 2020.
Nagao enters the tournament with an even record of three wins and three losses. She won at the last DEEP Jewels card, defeating Mika Sakamoto via decision.
Representing South Korea’s Team MAD, Park enters the fight after four consecutive MMA wins from 2018 to 2020. Her last bout was a decision win against Oshima, who is also on the card.
Aono enters the tournament after losing a title shot to former champ Maesawa in October. Aono is an experienced DEEP Jewels fighter, having fought her entire 10-fight pro career in the promotion.
Sakura, a rising talent in the promotion, will participate in the bracket as well. After a win in October of 2020, her fourth victory as a pro, Sakura got the call to appear at RIZIN’s New Year’s Eve event. While Sakura stopped her opponent Eru Takebayashi with an armbar in the first round, the result was overturned to a no-contest because Sakura missed weight for the fight.
The first round fight for Murakami will be only her second bout as a pro. She won her pro debut in October, defeating Moeri Suda.
Tomimatsu will return to DEEP Jewels on the card while currently on a three-fight losing streak. While being a veteran of DEEP, Tomimatsu has competed in her last two bouts outside of the promotion. Notably, Tomimatsu recently lost a decision to RENA on a RIZIN card in September. Tomimatsu lost a title shot to Maesawa via decision in 2019.
Oshima will participate in the tournament after a very busy first year as a pro. Oshima made her pro debut in January of 2020, and has since attained a record of three wins and two losses since then.
Mizuki Oshiro, also known as Nisse, will return for her fifth fight as a pro in the opening round. Her last fight was a decision loss to Oshima in September. In her rookie year as a pro, Oshiro had two stoppage wins.
Along with the upcoming tournament scheduled for the event, DEEP Jewels 32 has four previously announced bouts. Among them is a fight for the promotion’s strawweight belt. Here’s the lineup
Bout 4: Miki Motono (5-2) vs. Seika Izawa (2-0) (DEEP Jewels Strawweight Championship)
Bout 3: Yukari Nabe (8-3-1) vs. Micco Nirvana (2-0) (Flyweight)
Bout 2: Amiba (9-8) vs. Shoko Fujita (0-0) (Strawweight)
Bout 1: Momoka Yoshikawa vs. Karin Horii (Catchweight 112 lbs) (Amateur Bout)
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