Izawa, Suda, and Machi all return; Deep Jewels 41 -

This Sunday, Deep Jewels returns to action at the New Pier Hall in Tokyo, Japan. This card really highlights the new generation of talent that DJ has developed during the pandemic, specifically Seika Izawa, Moeri Suda, Machi, and Kate Lotus. Suda and Machi will both also be facing foreign opponents for the first time in their careers. Also on the card, we have the return of Sarah, the winner of Sarah vs Sarah, who competed on the popular Breaking Down and Mana, who broke “Boss” Suzuki’s arm in her last bout. Shoko Fujita, the sister of Yamato Fujita, is also set to retire at the event.

Seika Izawa and Amp the Rocket return!

In the main event, two Deep Jewels champions will face off when Seika Izawa, the Strawweight Champion, steps into the cage to face Amp the Rocket, the Microweight Champion. Both haven’t fought in Deep Jewels for some time, with Izawa fighting primarily in Rizin these days and Amp not fighting since defeating Emi Sato in the Microweight Tournament in 2020.

For those that don’t remember, Amp actually became the champion under some odd circumstances when after the title bout with Furuse was delayed due to the corona virus, Furuse got pregnant, so Deep Jewels decided to award Amp the title. In hindsight, Amp hasn’t fought since, while Furuse has fought 5 times.

Despite being the Microweight Champion, Amp has actually only fought at that weight one time, with most of her career taking place in the Atomweight/Super Atomweight divisions. A two-fight Rizin veteran, Amp is known for her explosive grappling, with all of her career wins (5 total) coming via submission. She’s also a quick starter, with all but one of her wins coming in the first round. However, while she does have an explosive grappling game, she has also been submitted twice.

To say that Izawa has exploded onto the scene and rapidly climbed up its ranks would be a massive understatement. Just look at the fact that when Amp fought last in 2020, Izawa hadn’t even made her pro-debut. Since then, she’s amassed an incredible record of 9-0, with wins over Miki Motono (x2), Si Woo Park (x2) and Ayaka Hamasaki (x2), some of the best fighters in the world.

This fight came to fruition when Izawa’s match in Rizin was canceled due to Miyuu Yamamoto suffering an injury. Scheduled as Miyuu’s retirement bout, it has now been postponed to NYE. This is a big match for Izawa in that Yamamoto is a household name in Japan and in fighting her, Izawa will also get some good attention, helping raise her profile in the process.

Suda set to challenge her first non-Japanese opponent

In the co-main event, Moeri Suda, who made her pro-debut at the same event as Izawa, will take on her first non-Japanese opponent, when she challenges the tough Jeong Eun Park. One of if not the most active fighter on Deep Jewels’ roster, Suda actually fought on every Deep Jewels numbered show last year, while also fighting once for Rizin. She’s also recently graduated from high school, which has allowed her to focus even more on her training. In fact, she’s been doing so much physical training that she could barely fit into her high school uniform around graduation.

She’s not only been working on her physical attributes, she’s also been working on her striking recently, with her father saying she has a lot more power in her strikes now. When asked about her future goals, Suda did mention that she wants to fight abroad, specifically mentioning Korea, which seems fitting considering her opponent. As you may recall, Deep sent some fighters to fight in Black Combat earlier and Suda went as a spectator. Watching the event the passionate crowd made an impression on the young fighter, who has fought her entire career to date under covid-related restrictions where cheering wasn’t allowed.

Machi takes on Kim

Machi, is yet another example of Japan’s growing women’s divisions. Having made her debut near the end of 2022, she, Izawa, and Suda, the top portion of this card, are all fighters who made their pro-debuts after the onset of the pandemic. Across the cage from Machi will be Yoo Jeong Kim, a 24 year old ARC and Road FC veteran who has a respectable 3-1 record, with her sole loss coming to the undefeated Yu Jin Shin. It is worth mentioning that both of Kim’s finishes come via RNC.

The now orange haired Machi, who is coming off of a giant 1st round submission victory over Hime in February, will look to build on that momentum when she also faces her first non-Japanese opponent. For those that are unfamiliar, Machi lives in Tochigi and commutes to Tokyo in order to train at different gyms with different sparring partners. Ahead of this fight, she trained with Kanna Asakura, who is a southpaw like her opponent. She also took private lessons from Mizuki Inoue, grappled with Saori Oshima, and trained with the likes of Emi Fujino and Si Woo Park.

It is worth pointing out that Machi is a Strawweight and as Atomweight and Super Atomweight have expanded, Japan’s Strawweight division has dried up, with Saeki even telling Motono she should move down to Atomweight in the past. However, aside from Machi, fighters like Arisa Matsuda have also appeared, perhaps breathing life into the division.