Deep Jewels Round-table

This Sunday, Deep Jewels will be celebrating their 10th Anniversary at Deep Jewels 42 in Tokyo, Japan. This is a big milestone for what is Japan’s longest running women’s only promotion. In order to celebrate this achievement, I thought it would be fun to reach out to some familiar names in the Japanese MMA / WMMA community and have a little round-table discussion about the promotion. Before getting into the discussion, I’d like to thank the contributors for taking the time to take part. Cover photo is courtesy of Akihito Tatematsu.

The Contributors

Drake Riggs – Host of the BroadenedHorizin Podcast and writer for MMAMania, MMAFighting, and Forbes.

Andrew Benjamin – 1/2 of the WeAreRizinPodcast and a writer for MMASucka.

WMMA Scene Now – Covers WMMA across the globe via Twitter and his Youtube channel.

King Cillo – An active member of the WeAreRizin discord community who has followed the JMMA scene for a long time.

As you are aware, on September 10th, Deep Jewels is holding their 10th anniversary show. So lets start off with broad impressions. With 10 years now under their belt, what do you think of Deep Jewels’ impact on the local Japanese scene? Do you think they’ve impacted MMA globally? If so, how?

King – Deep Jewels has provided a great developmental system for Japan’s women mixed martial art scene. It has surpassed Invicta FC to become the biggest and most active WMMA-only promotion. As a promotional partner of RIZIN FF, it has played a role in developing fighters like Kanna Asakura, Seika Izawa, Saori Oshima, and Kana Watanabe for the bright lights. If Japan is to recapture its dominance in WMMA from the days of Megumi Fujii and Yuka Tsuji, Deep Jewels will play a critical role.

WMMA Scene Now – I would say that not only did Deep Jewels keeps wmma alive in Japan, it’s helped it to reach levels never before seen. Under the guidance of Deep boss Shigeru Saeki, women’s mma stabilized, the rules became stabilized, and fighters were taken more seriously. Certainly, they’ve also helped several fighters become known internationally.

Drake – Absolutely. I think Deep Jewels has had a large impact on the sport and I’ve always equated it to being the Japan version of Invicta… which isn’t necessarily fair since they came first, but it’s easier to describe that way for those who are unaware. But we’ve seen numerous talents, future champions and legends fight in the promotion or be brought up through it. There’s just something about its feel, too. Deep Jewels has always stayed true to itself in how it goes about spotlighting athletes and the overall environment created.

Andrew – I think DJ has been a beacon for joshi MMA. At a time when women’s MMA was completely segmented worldwide, DJ has been a great outlet for women’s fight showcases. While it is a Japanese promotion, we got to see many international women’s fighters start there like Seo Hee Ham. Globally they have certainly shown that divisions like SW and AW and now MicW have legitimate top tier fighters in it, that it is no longer just the cook down the street who trains MMA to keep in shape. Combate Globale has a AW division, Bellator had a fight with two AW in MSG years ago, and One has their AW divsion.

Over the past 10 years, what changes have you noticed in the promotion? Do you think the quality has gotten better? (i.e. production, fight quality, accessibility, fighter quality)

WMMA Scene Now – I would say the quality of matchmaking has been the biggest improvement, which helped produce a better quality of fighter. Production has certainly seen an improvement, which is to be expected. Also, with the move to live-streaming via YouTube, the accessibility of an international audience has finally been achieved.

Drake – If you watch the shows back then compared to now, the production and fight/fighter quality is undeniably much improved. But like I said previously, all while still maintaining that same vibe and feel of it’s beginnings.

Andrew – Production quality has GREATLY increased. The early shows look like old Gabe Sapolsky era ROH shows but there is a charm to that production quality. The biggest change is accessibility. You used to be able to find some full shows on Youtube. Then other shows would be near impossible to find if you weren’t in Japan. I liked the SPWN website as you could pick and choose which shows to buy. I am subbed to their YT channel and while it is expensive at $14.99 they upload and air live almost everything. When it comes to fight/fighter quality, I think the majority of fighters are training in most of the aspects of MMA but you still have fighters who specialize in a specific discipline: grappling, striking, wrestling, etc. And that to me is what makes the fight very compelling.

King – Throughout the years Deep Jewels has improved in every promotional category with the most noticeable being fighter quality. From a competitive standpoint there are now less one-sided gimme fights for established names. Also the fighter roster has become a lot younger which is a sign of MMA’s popularity growing in Japan. There was a point 5 or so years ago when the promotion was dependent on fighters to move tickets that I would consider “Deep Jewels Lifers” like Saori Ishioka, Mina Kurobe, Emi Tomimatsu, Naho Sugiyama, Tomo Maesawa and Mika Nagano.

These fighters really didn’t have the ambition/chance/infrastructure to fight outside the country of Japan or face international fighters which led to a lot of rematches and slow development. The new age fighters like Seika Izawa, Kanna Asakura, Kana Watanabe, Saori Oshima and Miki Motono have a different mindset. Maybe it is a difference in the current day Japanese landscape which has led to opportunities that the older guard couldn’t achieve. I think it is fair to say the level of talent has improved. I can make this claim because they upload their fights to YouTube which has given international fans the ability to see their fighters in action. Deep Jewels has become more accessible and stable domestically than ever before due to broadcasting deals with Japanese companies such as Abema and UNEXT (currently).

Women’s MMA has had its ups and downs in Japan, with its start in 1995, several women’s only promotions emerged, but they all failed. Why do you think Deep Jewels succeeded when promotions like L-1, Smackgirl, and Valkryie all failed?

Drake – Having spoken to Deep’s President Shigeru Saeki, it’s clear he’s just a passionate individual when it comes to the highlighting the women in the sport. I think it helps to have the overall connection with the Deep banner, of course, since Jewels was a separate entity before being absorbed.

Andrew – Good question. I definitley feel DJ weathered a storm of failure. Luckily they they were still operating when promotions like WSOF, Strikeforce and then eventually UFC were signing women so that had to put DJ on it’s toes to replace women on the roster. Then when Rizin came about that created a direct pipeline. Along with these fighters able to branch out from fighting with reality shows, Youtube, SNS, and other ways, these fighters are able to keep their names known and constantly out there.

King – MMA in Japan has a long history of WMMA-only promotions which is similar to how their pro wrestling companies operate with splitting up genders between organizations. There have been more WMMA-only promotions in Japan than the rest of the world combined, however Deep Jewels is the last one standing in the territory. The promoter of Deep Jewels, Shigeru Saeki, is really experienced in the sport dating back to the early 2000’s. Saeki founded Deep in 2001 and worked closely with Pride FC which made him familiar with the MMA business. He doesn’t take a lot of risks and focuses on steady growth, so neither Deep or Deep Jewels experience big losses. His role in the company is vital, there are few MMA promoters that have been working in the business as long as him. The list of promoters being in the sport for 20 years is very exclusive with Dana White, Nobuyuki Sakakibara, Scott Coker, Campbell McLaren and Shigeru Saeki being the only figures. If he didn’t fully take over Jewels around a decade ago and rebrand it as Deep Jewels, it may have faced the same fate as those other promotions mentioned above.

WMMA Scene Now – I think the backing of a known and established mma promotion like Deep helped lend credibility, as well as being run by a well liked and, more importantly, well respected, promoter like “Big Shig” Shigeru Saeki helped show that things were going to be taken seriously. Stabilizing the rules, and making them the same as the men, also gave credibility to the fights and fighters.

With Shooto, Rizin, and Pancrase all also putting on women’s MMA fights, how do you think Deep Jewels compares? Besides being the only women’s only promotion, depending on whether or not you consider Colors and independent promotion, is there anything that sets Deep Jewels apart in your opinion?

Andrew – I think the DJ roster is without a doubt the best of the small 3 promotions. The fighters that have come out of there like Kanna, Ayaka, Mizuki, Sugiyama, Yoko Higashi and many others have gone on to successful careers overseas and in other promotions in Japan. I also feel DJ uses the same fighters much more consistently than the other promotions who will get a fighter, then that fighter might disappear for months on end. At one point I would’ve said that Pancrase was the bigger promotion simply because it was a direct pipeline to the UFC when they were on the Fight Pass, but since leaving we have been seeing less and less of their fighters on those shows. I also like that DJ is just women. It allows them to not be compared to the men if they were fighting on the card or get overshadowed.

King – Deep Jewels has the largest WMMA roster in Japan. Its connection with RIZIN FF is a major strength when it comes to the minds of fighters within Japan because it is the stage with the largest paydays and exposure. It sends more fighters to RIZIN than Shooto and Pancrase combined. Also the promotion has a good connection with AACC which is the leading WMMA gym in Japan, but that may be going away soon with Megumi Fujii’s involvement with Shooto Colors.

Deep Jewels still has an outdated round structure for a lot of their fights which hurts fighter development. Shooto Colors and Pancrase have 5 round title fights which is a big plus when compared to Deep Jewels doing 3 round title fights. While Pancrase books less WMMA fights than the other two, it seems a majority of their WMMA are 3 rounds while Deep Jewels and Shooto Colors still have a lot of 2 round fights. It seems like only the top few fights of each Deep Jewels card receive the 5 min x 3 round treatment. If Deep Jewels continues to keep a deep WMMA roster and a higher output of events than its competition, it should stay on the top.

WMMA Scene Now – I think the true dedication to women’s fighting, and growing the weight classes as a whole, has helped DJ to thrive. Some of the other promoters seem to build around particular fighters, but that lasts only as long as the popularity of those fighters, which can turn on a whim. Shooto Colors seems a step in the right direction, but I’m holding out on judgement for now, as they’re only two events in.

Drake – They all take and give to each other so there’s a lot of similarities to draw from. But I think the focus Deep Jewels puts on its stars is unmatched outside of perhaps RIZIN. There have been a few occasions where I’ve disagreed with headliner choices but the fighter(s) involved may have longevity in the promotion or built a good fanbase, resulting in the decision. That’s just business and respect wrapped into one though. I feel like it isn’t always the case with some of the others.

When you look back over it’s history, what moments stick out to you? Are there any fighters, fights, events, or grand-prixs that you think deserve special mention?

King – When I think of Deep Jewels in 2023, I think of the youth movement that transpired during the COVID year of 2020. During a year it was hard to put on events and gyms had to change training environments, Deep Jewels found intriguing fighters like Seika Izawa, Moeri Suda, Aya Murakami and Saori Oshima to take over as promotional faces. It is one of the rare promotions that improved during the COVID years which says a lot about their front office. My individual fight moment would be Saori Oshima’s armbar victory against Si Woo Park. It was a rematch that ended in a come from behind submission that occurred after a knockdown. Plus it won Saori Oshima the DEEP JEWELS Atomweight Grand Prix.

WMMA Scene Now – Most of my memories will be more recent, as DJ wasn’t always easily accessible in the U.S. Tomo Maesawa defending her title, then immediately having her retirement ceremony, to me stands as the epitome of mma retirements. Emi Tomimatsu’s come from behind submission win over Hikaru Aono, Si Woo Park staying in Japan over the pandemic, improving her ground game, and establishing herself as a force in the atomweight division, Saori Oshima making her name in the atomweight GP and, Seika Izawa exploding out of nowhere.

Drake – Obviously, the Watanabe-Shinashi rematch is a big one and arguably the most significant moment in promotional history. Albeit, unfortunately not a specific DJ moment but worth a mention always. Then the overall rise of Seika Izawa is one of the most incredible things I’ve seen in my time watching MMA. The recent flyweight tournament was a long time coming. The atomweight tournament where Saori Oshima avenged her loss to Si Woo Park was fantastic. Park’s knockout of Hikaru Aono is a standout finish. These are fresher moments in mind, but there’s just a lot to choose from.

Andrew – Amanda Lucas fighting in the promotion. It’s still crazy that George Lucas’ daughter became a pro MMA fighter. I honestly think the GP with Rin Nakai was one of the most memorable and fun GP’s they did. Seeing her insane dominance over her competition was such a fun watch. I also think they put on a bunch of great stuff during the pandemic. We got to see the rise of Izawa, Oshima, Park, and a few others. I also love when they put on the tag team grappling matches because I’m a grappling nerd.

What would you like to see Deep Jewels do in the future?

WMMA Scene Now – Bring in and build up new, young talent from across Asia.

Drake – I’d like to see some location expansion as unlikely as I know it is. The No. 1 thing for me though is to make all fights three rounds and title fights five. We need to get with the times in that regard and it actually is a detriment to the fighters not to have things modernized.

Andrew – I honestly would love to see them put a lot more into English outreach. Doesn’t have to be for their tiny shows in Nagoya. But for their big DJ events and if they continue being on YT, they have no accesibility issues. And with that I would like to see maybe subtitled VTRs on YT, maybe more promotion with English, and small things like that. I think DJ is infinitely better than a promotion like Invicta and they could grow a bigger audience based on their fighter’s personalities with an English speaking audience. I also wish DJ and Deep for that matter would release the fight graphics in both English and Japanese. I don’t know why but sometimes the graphics are only in Japanese and then other times they will have the fighters names in Japanese and English.

King – I would like to see Deep Jewels change up their ruleset. I believe their biggest issue is their thought of not using the 5 min x 3 round structure for all professional fights. I do not care if some of these fighters are inexperienced, they should move to the standard rule structure because it would help with fighter development because it is the global standard. I would also like to see them move to the RIZIN FF ruleset which would add soccer kicks and grounded knees to the playbook.

Like how Mika Nagano and Saori Ishioka were the faces of Jewels and Rena and Ayaka Hamasaki were the faces of women in Rizin, what fighters do you think stand out as having been faces/leaders in Deep Jewels? Were there any fighters that you credit with helping the promotion grow or who really prospered in the promotion?

Drake – Emi Fujino was a big one early on as was Mizuki Inoue who both fought on the first card. Emi Tomimatsu is a must-mention due to her records held. Shizuka Sugiyama as an uncrowned flyweight queen for a lot of the time. Then in recent years, Izawa and Oshima have been the brightest of faces.

Andrew – Easy answers are Seika Izawa and Saori Oshima. I would also point to fighters who got signed to the UFC like Mizuki. But also the mid-tier fighters like Kate Lotus and Mizuki Furuse not on their fighting ability but also they know how to give off likeability, charisma, and that “it” factor. I think DJ benefits from having fighters who are killers in the ring/cage and then others who may not be the most athletic but still give it their all and that sort of spirit is very attractive to folks.

King – Ayaka Hamasaki was the lone potential ranked fighter in Deep Jewels for years besides Mizuki Inoue. Hamasaki’s success in Invicta FC inspired fighters with the thought that Japanese fighters could succeed against international talent. The current day faces of Deep Jewels are Seika Izawa and Saori Oshima who added a lot of legitimacy to the promotion with their performances in RIZIN FF.

WMMA Scene Now – To me, the “road warriors,” the super active fighters who fight almost every other event stand out. Emi Tomimatsu, Mizuki Furuse, Moeri Suda. Special mention to Nanaka Kawamura, who’s idol group performed when she fought, and brought out news fans to the shows.

What do you think of Deep Jewels’ future? Are there any young prospects that stick out to you? If so, who and why?

Andrew – I think DJ has a great future ahead of them. I think Saeki and company are great at finding capable and interesting fighters for DJ. I think they know how to book shows and who to book against each other and with them being on YT they are more accessable than ever before. Some of the young prospects I would say are Machi, Suda, Hanako Sawa, Motono and a few others. I think these fighters have shown themselves to have understood the game of MMA and they all have unique fighting backgrounds and personalities. One is an all rounder, one is a wrestler, one is a BJJ specialist. I also like they showcase the amateur fights on shows with the pros because it gives them an opportunity and that cage/ring time necessary to build themselves up.

King – The 19 year old Super Atomweight, Moeri Suda, has a lot of fights (8-5) for her age, but she has faced a lot of adversity due to her limited ring time and faced veteran fighters. Hopefully, she is the next in line to carry Deep Jewels like the great fighters before her. Machi Fukuda is a 20 year old Strawweight that is quickly running through all the strawweight talent in Japan. Maybe she will make the UFC leap by 2026 if everything goes right.

WMMA Scene Now – Moeri Suda. She’s been very busy for such a young age, and I think she can have a bright future if she continues to grow and work on things. Aya Murakami is looking to be a force at microweight.

Drake – I still think Moeri Suda is going to be around for quite a long time and she’s racking up as much experience as possible, whether in victory or defeat. Machi Fukuda has stood out more recently. I still like Eru Takebayashi as well despite being in a similar or worse (at present) vein as Suda at the time of writing.

What are your thoughts on the Anniversary show itself? Are there any fights or fighters that stick out to you?

King – The 10th Anniversary show headlining fight for the Microweight Championship of Suwanan Boonsorn vs. Aya Murakami is a classic striker vs grappler fight. Si Woo Park vs. Namiko Kawabata should be a great striking contest. Both of these fights should be highly competitive and wouldn’t be out of place on a RIZIN FF card. I’m really hoping Moeri Suda passes the Kate “Lotus” Oyama test with flying colors because she could be a top name for Deep Jewels going forward. There is another fight lower on the card that is under the radar, it involves a huge experience mismatch on the surface between Nori Date (5-6-1) and a debuting Momoko Saito. The interesting part of the contest is Saito because she has an amateur decision victory over the second best Strawweight in Japan, Machi Fukuda. It must be noted that the amateur fight was at Flyweight and not Fukuda’s current class of Strawweight.

WMMA Scene Now – it’s a good lineup. a nice mix of /both veterans, with plenty of young, newer fighters. a good representation of ten years. I only wish it had a few of the fighters that have been around for a long time.

Drake – The co-main event with the return of Park is the clear selling point in my book. Even though Park should be able to get the job done somewhat comfortably, stylistically, she and Hime should put on a banger for as long as it lasts. Murakami and Amp fighting in the main event is interesting too simply because I’ve always liked Murakami as well but I think she should be rightfully favored by a decent margin. Suda and Eru are both back, that’s fun.

Andrew – So I actually am a little down on the Anniversery show. I think it would be a great opportunity to try to get every title defended on the show. I need Amanda Lucas to show up and prove why the OW title is the most sought after belt in DJ. In all seriousness, I feel the show looks on paper to be a regular DJ show. I am usually against a promotion booking too many fights but I would’ve loved to some more title fights on the card along with maybe a big matchup. I know politics are playing a lot into why it hasn’t happened, but this could’ve been a great time to have Oshima vs Izawa. The fights that stick out to me are Nori vs Saito, Pochan Z vs Hosoya and Suda vs Lotus. I am always interested in seeing how someone who is making their pro debut taking on someone who already has a number of fights in their resume. Suda vs Lotus is interesting because Lotus has done her darnest to improve as a fighter and will she be able to physically bully Suda who is all BJJ. One mistake by Lotus and she will be submitted. Pochan Z vs Hosoya is a big girl fight and is going to be ugly and brutal and it will be hilariously bad.

Is there anything you would like to say in closing?

Drake – If you’re interested in seeing who some of the stars of tomorrow could be, specifically at atomweight and strawweight, you gotta watch Deep Jewels. The proof is in the history.

Andrew – I am very happy to see DJ have made it this far and they seem to be doing well. Despite the price I am very happy they are easily accessable on YT and make everything live or at least upload in a timely manner. Unlike Pancrase which is geo blocked and Shooto which I have no idea if they are on YT or not, Deep and DJ is my favorite of the small 3 JMMA promotions. They have many exciting fighters in almost all divisions and their GP’s are always great showcases. I look forward to hopefully a DJ 20th anniversery show.

King – Deep Jewels is the world’s best WMMA-only promotion. Here is an additional piece of evidence to support that claim, I wouldn’t write 1,200 plus words about 2023 Invicta FC.