Murakami caps of 2022 with dominant win over Nisse -

On Sunday, Aya Murakami defeated Nisse at Deep 111 Impact, in what was Deep’s 19th and final women’s bout of the year, which is coincidentally the same number they had in 2021. In defeating Nisee, Murakami showcased her grappling expertise, earning judges scores of 20-17, 20-16, and 20-18, meaning that one judge actually scored both rounds 10-8 in her favor. Throughout the fight, she went for armbars and heel hooks while Nisse remained on the defensive.

Elsewhere on the card, Ito, Uda, Honda, and Fukuda all advanced to the next round of the Flyweight Tournament, with Ito and Uda finishing their opponents. At 25 years old, both Ito and Uda, have good records, and have competed in Rizin, meaning they are worth keeping an eye on.

Murakami climbs to 5-1

In September, Murakami faced Moeri Suda in a rematch and lost a decision in what was a hard fight. As this was her first pro-loss, there was some interest in how she would respond and while Nisse has struggled with grapplers in the past, there was some speculation that she might be able to use her physicality to push Murakami around. That was clearly not the case, as Murakami dominated. With this win, Murakami gets back into the win column, and even though the bout took place at Atomweight, it re-opens up a possible Microweight title match with Saori Oshima, in what would be a classic Judo versus BJJ showdown.

Originally from Tokushima, a city on Shikoku Island where fellow MMA fighter Rin Nakai lives, Murakami is one of the more interesting personalities to have emerged at Deep Jewels recently. It was in Tokushima that she originally started training BJJ after developing an interest in martial arts from watching Jackie Chan in Rush Hour. After just 6 years, she was made a black-belt, making her the fastest woman to do that in Japanese history. She eventually moved to Tokyo, got a job as a hostess, became a software engineer and transitioned to the IT industry, became a cosplayer, Youtuber, gamer, and more recently has started working at Muscle Girls, the muscle-themed bar where Micco Nirvana used to work. Outside of her quick submissions, she’s also gotten attention from her entrances, which tend to involve her cosplay. All in all, it is easy to see why she’s become a popular fighter and why she’s already be entrusted to main event a Deep Jewels show.