This Saturday, Nirvana is set to face the veteran Shizuka Sugiyama in the opening round of the upcoming Deep Jewels Flyweight Tournament. Despite two fighters having to withdraw from the tournament, Hanako Sawa and Kano Kagaya, the tournament is still looking strong. In addition to Nirvana and Sugiyama, it also includes Rin Nakai, Smoker Gym’s Aoi Kuriyama, the former soldier Te-a, and the Karateka Shoko Fujita. Because of the dropouts, both Te-a and Kuriyama have received a bye in the opening round and will automatically advance to the semi-finals, which are expected to take place sometime in May.(Cover photo courtesy of Marrion Apparel)
As is normal with Deep Jewels, the bouts for the tournament were decided via a random drawing. The participants all did rock-paper-scissors and then selected envelopes. Inside of each envelope was a number and starting at 1, the fighters were able to place their name on a tournament bracket. Outside of the first person to go, each fighter had some level of choice in deciding who they are going to fight. Sugiyama took her time and ultimately decided to face Nirvana. Interestingly, this was the first match decided. At the press conference, after the fights were decided, Nirvana commented, “Sugiyama was already one of the top fighters when I first got started in martial arts and I’d be happy to fight her, even without the tournament. However, I will be the won that advances to the finals.” Later, she told us that she was happy about the tournament and added, “I thought that it was a little early for me to get this chance, so I think it will be a good opportunity to test myself. Last year, my teammate, Saori Oshima, won the Atomweight tournament and became the champion. I also want to fight for the belt one day, so I am honored to have this opportunity!”
Originally from Ibaraki prefecture, Nirvana used to be a drummer in a J-Pop cover band before she started training at T-Blood under the tutelage of Tatsuya Kawajiri. Motivated by a desire not to leach off her parents and to live somewhere outside of Ibaraki, she eventually moved to Tokyo, where she now trains at AACC and Imanari Jiu-Jitsu. Going into her match this Sunday, she has amassed a pro-record of 3-1, with a win over the popular Kate Lotus. It is also worth noting that she fought and defeated fellow tournament participant Shoko Fujita twice during her amateur days. Her opponent, Sugiyama, will have 23 more fights under her belt than her and has a career spanning across close to 14 years. It goes without saying that Sugiyama will be Nirvana’s toughest test to date. Despite Nirvana’s short career, they do have two common opponents, Arami and Yukari Nabe. Sugiyama defeated Arami by armbar and narrowly defeated Nabe by split-decision, whereas Nirvana defeated Arami by decision and lost to Nabe by decision. An aggressive fighter who comes forward with strikes and will drop for kneebars and toe-holds, Nirvana can be expected to bring the fight to her experienced opponent.
Outside of her MMA career and training, Nirvana has also received some attention due to one of her jobs. She is a bartender at Muscle Girls, a bar where all of the bartenders are bodybuilders and Rin Nakai, Ayaka Hamasaki, and Rena’s autographs all hang on the wall. The bar has actually become a popular destination for Youtubers recently.
How to watch
You can watch Nirvana and the rest of Deep Jewels 36 via PPV here. If you are outside of Japan, you can order it here. The PPV is 2,500 yen if you order in advance and 3,000 yen if you order on Saturday.
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