After being pushed back due to the pandemic, Deep Jewels 33 is happening this Sunday at the New Pier Hall, in Tokyo, Japan. The card is highlighted by both a 52kg (115lbs) title match and a 48kg (105lbs) tournament that will crown a new champion. Also on the card is an exciting match between Yukari Nabe and Arami at 56.7kg (125lbs). Interestingly, both fighters are looking to fight abroad, so we can expect both of them to be looking to make a big impression with their performance, as a win will put them one step closer towards making that goal a reality. Yukari seems particularly interested in fighting abroad and at 125lbs, there are a lot of potential options as Invicta FC, One, Bellator, and the UFC all have that division. In my opinion, as she is friends with Invicta FC veterans and now UFC fighters Mizuki Inoue and Kanako Murata, it would make sense for her to follow in their footsteps and go to Invicta FC. The promotion just signed an exciting new TV deal and doesn’t currently have any Japanese fighters on their roster. That being said, One is trying to break into the Japanese market and Kana Watanabe has found success in Bellator, so there are options. In this article, we will look at the match between Yukari and Arami this weekend, introduce their styles, and discuss the match.
Please enjoy.
- Name: Mika “Arami” Arai
- Age: 27
- Record: 5-5
- Height: 160cm(5″3)
- Weight: 48kg – 56.7kg (106-125lbs)
- Notable Opponents: Shizuka Sugiyama, Hikaru Aono, Seika Izawa, Mizuki Furuse
- Style: Aggressive, Grappling
Arami is a pretty interesting fighter. She has fought at drastically different weights and for several promotions. When I spoke to her, she made it clear that she just loves to fight and challenge herself. She fought 4 times in 2020 and went 1-3, but that record is somewhat deceptive. One of those fights was pretty close and the other two were against Sugiyama and Izawa. She doesn’t come from a martial arts background and only started training when she joined a MMA gym. In fact, her coach told her she would probably quit when she first started as she didn’t know what she was getting into and she kept saying she wanted to be a champion. That was roughly 5-6 years ago.
Arami is several inches taller than Yukari, but is likely the smaller fighter. She has told me that her ideal weight is 52kg (115lbs), meaning that while shorter, Yukari is probably bigger than her. In addition, her opponent has an extensive judo background. Taking these facts into consideration, it would seem safe to say that in order to win, Arami will need to keep Yukari from clinching with her and she will need to keep her from getting on top if things go to the ground.
Arami comment: This is my first match this year and I want to go wild! I think she is strong and unique. I especially like the fact that she likes dinosaurs, it makes me feel close to her. I look forward to fighting her!
- Name: Yukari Nabe
- Age: 33
- Record:
- Height: 155cm (5″1)
- Weight: 56.7kg (125lbs)
- Notable Opponents: Kanako Murata, Kana Watanabe, Shizuka Sugiyama, Nirvana, Ameba
- Style: Judo
Having trained in judo since she was in junior high school, it only makes sense that it would play a major factor in Yukari’s skillset. In her last match, against Mikiko “Nirvana” Shimizu, it was on full display. She took her opponent to the ground with some high-velocity throws and also rocked her badly with a punch on the feet. Needless to say, she made a big statement with her performance. Having not fought for over a year due to the pandemic and a knee surgery, we can only expect her to perform better now that she is getting back into the groove of things. It is also worth noting that she is very motivated. First, she quit her job when they told her she had to stop training. Second, every time I have communicated with her she has said the same thing, she wants to fight abroad. She’s already gotten a taste for it, having fought in Korea, trained with One’s champion Angela Lee, and former Invicta FC champion Kanako Murata in California. As a result, she really wants to fight for a promotion like One, Invicta FC, Bellator, or the UFC. She knows that in order to get those promotions’ attention, she will need a dominant win, so we should expect her to be focused and motivated coming into this fight.
As mentioned above, Yukari is likely the bigger and stronger fighter, so she will likely look to use her size, power, and judo to get this match to the ground. While she did show some punching power in her last fight, her judo is her real bread and butter so we should expect her to try to get the fight to the ground, throw some ground and pound, and eventually go for a submission if it presents itself. Arami is a tough fighter and it took Sugiyama 3 rounds to get the submission so it may be difficult to submit her.
Yukari comment: I’ve seen a couple of her fight videos and I get the impression that she’ll come at me swinging pretty recklessly, so I’ll have to calmly deal with that and fight at my own pace.
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