Deep Jewels 40: Reaction & Results

This past Saturday, after a morning jam-packed with future king fights, Deep Jewels 40 went down at Shinjuku Face, in Tokyo, Japan. The event was officially sold out, with no seats available and standing room only tickets being sold at the door. However, it just wasn’t the fans who came to watch, as figures like Mika Nagano, Emi Fujino, Hagiwara, and Sakakibara were also in attendance. As is the norm, Deep Jewels had a guest commentator for the event, and for Deep Jewels 40 they selected Saori Oshima, fresh off of her victory at Black Combat. All of this to say, that Deep Jewels 40 had the atmosphere of a big show.

In the opening bout before the opening ceremony, Sarah defeated the popular Momoka Yoshikawa via a rear-naked choke, in the sole amateur fight of the night. Afterwards, they introduced the fighters, Hikaru Aono delivered a message to the crowd, and the fighters threw balls into the crowd, with the recipients winning signed posters. With that the opening ceremony ended and the fights went underway.

A broken arm, a choke, and a brawl

Teammates Chibisai and Boss made the 4 and 1/2 drive from Niigata to Tokyo in order to fight in the first two pro-fights of the night. Boss fought first, facing Mana, who was still looking for her first win after dropping her pro-debut. After a back-in-forth opening round, where Boss threatened with a rear-naked choke and Mana threatened with an armbar, Mana took over in the second round and broke Boss’s arm with a double wrist lock, causing the ref to stop the fight.

Mana trying to get Boss to tap, courtesy of Deep Jewels

In the following bout, Chibisai showed off her improved grappling, getting Koyuki in the crucifix, getting into mount, and going for a north/south choke near the end of the 1st round. In the 2nd, she was able to get her opponent’s back and earned her first stoppage to date via a rear-naked choke. Next came PochanZ vs Super Benkei, a sloppy brawl that got the crowd going, with people cheering for both fighters at different times. Unfortunately for PochanZ, she lost the decision and is still looking for her first win. At 43 years old, it will be interesting to see if we seen Super Benkei back anytime soon, as this was only her second pro-MMA fight since 2012.

Takebayashi snaps losing streak, while showing off improved grappling defense

One of 2 Rizin veterans on the card, Eru Takebayashi came into Saturday night’s event riding a 3 fight losing streak. To say that she needed a win would be an understatement, which is too bad, considering she is a very exciting striker. However, recently, she hasn’t been able to utilize her aggressive combos since her opponents have been forcing her to grapple. That wasn’t the case on Saturday.

Eru threw aggressive and powerful combos that rocked Taniyama several times and whenever Taniyama tried to grapple, Eru looked like a young Chuck Liddell sprawling and avoiding the takedown. She would then rush around and take Taniyama’s back, something she did several times. She even had a rear-naked choke attempt near the end of the fight. In the end she picked up a clear-cut decision victory. As Japan tends to produce top-level grapplers in MMA, it will be interesting to see what kind of a fighter Eru develops into. At just 19, she has a bright future ahead of her.

Eru lands a high kick, courtesy of Deep Jewels

Aono out-grapples Lotus, returns to win column

Fresh off her marriage to Shooto Watanabe, Hikaru Aono returned to action for the first time in nearly a year. Across the ring from her was the popular Kate Lotus, who was making her Atomweight debut. Since turning pro, the former bodybuilder has consistently been losing weight, likely with an aim towards competing on a bigger stage like Rizin. However, Aono might have thrown a wrench in these plans, as the elite collegiate wrestler repeatedly took Lotus down and threatened with submissions. At no point in the fight, did Lotus have Aono in danger, while Aono went for several arm-triangles and an armbar.

Hikaru moving to mount, courtesy of Deep Jewels

Not having a background in martial arts like Aono, who started wrestling when she was 7 or 8, Kate entered MMA with a significant disadvantage, but to her credit, she appears to be taking it very seriously. She’s training with skilled fighters like Seika Izawa and Mika Nagano and does look to be making improvements. In fact, just before this fight, she defeated Eru Takebayashi. However, like Eru, Kate seems to be struggling with high-level grapplers, so it will be interesting to see how she does going forward.

Machi shakes up Atomweight division

In the biggest upset of the night, Machi finished Hime in the first round of the co-main event. Clearly not wanting to deal with Hime’s counter striking and reach advantage, Machi went for a takedown instead of touching gloves and clinched with Hime, getting a back lock. For a second, it looked like Hime might break free but Machi was able to get her down with an Ouchigari, something she surely learned in her judo days. Once on the ground, Machi moved quick and got the back mount, where she landed some huge punches that forced Hime to move, allowing her to get the rear-naked choke and render Hime unconscious.

Young and charismatic, despite this being only her 2nd pro fight, Machi already has a lot of supporters and Saeki mentioned that she might face Motono next, setting the stage for an interesting judoka versus judoka bout. This is made all the more interesting, considering Machi trains with Oshima, who is friends and teammates with Motono.

Machi chokes Hime unconscious, courtesy of Deep Jewels

Rin picks up 20th career finish

In the main event, Rin and Aoi got off to a slow start as both looked to take a defensive posture. In fact, they were both warned by the referee for inaction during the first round. However, as the round went on, Rin was able to land some hard punches, while Aoi landed some jabs that appeared to do some damage to Rin’s eye. However, in the 2nd round, Rin started to take over, as she went for a front choke and was eventually able to get Aoi to the ground, where she finished the Osaka based brawler with a rear-naked choke. Afterwards, she gave a speech, where she once again spoke of her desire to fight in the UFC and did her traditional post-fight flips.

At 36 years old, Rin has made it clear that she wants to fight in the UFC and getting this win, puts her one step closer to that goal. However, it will be interesting to see what she does now. Backstage after the event, she told reporters that she would fight whoever her new management wanted her to, including the possibility of fighting on an American based feeder show.

Entrance Tracks

Follow the Fighters

Results

  • Rin Nakai defeated Aoi Kuriyama via Sub (RNC) at 4:31 of RD 2
  • Machi defeated Hime via TKO (RNC) at 4:55 of RD 1
  • Hikaru Aono defeated Kate Lotus via UD after 2
  • Akari Kamise defeated Momoko Yamazaki via UD after 2
  • Eru Takebayashi defeated Hitomi Taniyama via UD after 2
  • Te-a defeated Juicy via UD
  • Super Benkei defeated PochanZ via UD
  • Kyoka Chibisai defeated Koyuki via Sub (RNC) at 2:03 of RD 2
  • Mana defeated Boss Suzuki via TKO (Double Wrist Lock) at 4:47 of RD 2
  • Sarah defeated Momoka Yoshikawa via Sub (RNC) at 1:54 of RD 2

Sold Gloves

As you may know, Deep Jewels sells the fight worn gloves and this is an interesting tool to see who is popular.

The gloves sold at Deep Jewels 40 belonged to:

  • Rin Nakai
  • Kate Lotus
  • Hikaru Aono
  • Momoko Yamazaki
  • Eru Takebayashi
  • Koyuki
Deep Jewels, Reactions, Results
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