Jewels (mixed martial arts)

Jewels (styled JEWELS in capitals) is a mixed martial arts organization owned by Marverous Japan Co., Ltd. focused on female fighters. It is the direct successor of Smackgirl.[1][2][3] It has a working relationship with fellow mixed martial arts promotion Deep presided by Shigeru Saeki (also the Jewels supervisor).[4]

Jewels
Company typePrivate
IndustryMixed martial arts promotion
PredecessorSmackgirl
FoundedOctober 2008 (2008-10)
HeadquartersShibuya, Tokyo, Japan
Area served
Japan
Key people
Yuichi Ozono (president)
Shigeru Saeki (supervisor)
ParentMarverous Japan Co., Ltd.
Websitew-jewels.jp Edit this at Wikidata

History

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After the women MMA promotion Smackgirl faced severe financial difficulties caused by the unexpected departure of major sponsors and television network deals, an executive from Japanese event production company Archery Inc., Yuichi Ozono, formed the company Marverous Japan and acquired the assets and rights formerly belonging to Smackgirl parent company Kilgore.[3] Since the reputation of Smackgirl was tarnished by all the problems it faced, it was decided to start anew.[3]

On June 9, 2012, it was announced that Jewels has formed a strategic partnership with American promotion Invicta Fighting Championships to cross-promote the world's top female fighters on their respective fight cards in the United States and Japan.[5]

On May 25, 2013 (2013-05-25) Jewels announced that it would cease operations as an independent company, with Yuichi Ozono, then head of Jewels, stepping down and Shigeru Saeki from Deep, formerly supervisor, taking the full direction, and transferring fighters and brand to the new Deep Jewels brand, which would be managed by Deep.[6][7]

Current champions

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Class Champion Since Defences -
Featherweight
65.8 kg (145.1 lb)
  Yoko Higashi May 8, 2022 (2022-05-08)
0
Bantamweight
61.2 kg (134.9 lb)
Vacant
Flyweight
56.7 kg (125.0 lb)
  Rin Nakai May 8, 2022 (2022-05-08)
0
Strawweight
52.2 kg (115.1 lb)
  Seika Izawa March 15, 2022 (2022-03-15)
0
  Si Woo Park (interim) May 26, 2024 (2024-05-26)
0
Atomweight
47.6 kg (104.9 lb)
  Seika Izawa March 24, 2024 (2024-03-24)
0
Microweight
44 kg (97.0 lb)
  Saori Oshima May 26, 2024 (2024-05-26)
0

Championship history

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Featherweight championship

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No. Name Event Date Defenses
1   Yoko Higashi
def. Reina Miura
Deep Jewels 37
Tokyo, Japan
May 8, 2022

Bantamweight championship

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Formerly known as middleweight until May 2015.
No. Name Event Date Defenses
1   Takayo Hashi
def. Shizuka Sugiyama
Deep Jewels 4
Tokyo, Japan
May 18, 2014
2   Ji Yeon Kim Deep Jewels 9
Tokyo, Japan
August 22, 2015
Kim vacated the title when she signed with the UFC.

Flyweight championship

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No. Name Event Date Defenses
1   Rin Nakai
def. Shizuka Sugiyama
Deep Jewels 37
Tokyo, Japan
May 8, 2022

Strawweight championship

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Formerly known as lightweight until May 2015.
No. Name Event Date Defenses
1   Ayaka Hamasaki
def. Seo Hee Ham
Jewels 11th Ring
Tokyo, Japan
December 17, 2010

1. def. Seo Hee Ham at Jewels 17th Ring on December 17, 2011 in Tokyo, Japan
2. def. Yuka Tsuji at Jewels 19th Ring on May 26, 2012 in Osaka, Japan
3. def. Emi Fujino at Jewels 22nd Ring on December 15, 2012 in Osaka, Japan

Ayaka Hamasaki vacated the title on August 31, 2013.
2   Emi Tomimatsu
def. Mizuki Inoue
Deep Jewels 3
Tokyo, Japan
February 16, 2014
3   Mizuki Inoue Deep Jewels 5
Tokyo, Japan
August 9, 2014

1. def. Emi Fujino at Deep Jewels 9 on August 29, 2015 in Tokyo, Japan

Inoue vacated the title on March 15, 2022. Izawa was promoted to full champion status.[8]
-   Miki Motono
def. Asami Naki for interim title
Deep Jewels 29
Tokyo, Japan
July 23, 2020
-   Seika Izawa
def. Miki Motono for interim title
Deep Jewels 33
Tokyo, Japan
June 19, 2021
4   Seika Izawa
promoted to undisputed champion
March 15, 2022
-   Arisa Matsuda
def. Machi Fukuda for interim title
Deep Jewels 43
Tokyo, Japan
November 23, 2023
-   Si Woo Park
def. Machi Fukuda for interim title
Deep Jewels 45
Tokyo, Japan
May 26, 2024

Atomweight championship

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Formerly known as featherweight until May 2015.
No. Name Event Date Defenses
1   Naho Sugiyama
def. Misaki Takimoto
Jewels 17th Ring
Tokyo, Japan
December 17, 2011
2   Ham Seo-hee Jewels 24th Ring
Tokyo, Japan
May 25, 2013

1. def. Sadae Numata at Deep Jewels 2 on November 4, 2013 in Tokyo, Japan
2. def. Saori Ishioka at Deep Jewels 6 on November 3, 2014 in Tokyo, Japan

Seo Hee Ham vacated the title on December 11, 2014.
3   Mei Yamaguchi
def. Satomi Takano
Deep Jewels 8
Tokyo, Japan
May 31, 2015
Mei Yamaguchi vacated the title on April 19, 2016.
4   Naho Sugiyama (2)
def. Emi Tomimatsu
Deep Jewels 12
Tokyo, Japan
June 5, 2016
5   Mina Kurobe Deep Jewels 15
Tokyo, Japan
February 25, 2017 1. def. Satomi Takano at Deep Jewels 19 on March 10, 2018 in Tokyo, Japan
6   Tomo Maesawa Deep Jewels 22
Tokyo, Japan
December 1, 2018 1. def. Emi Tomimatsu at Deep Jewels 26 on October 21, 2019 in Tokyo, Japan
2. def. Hikaru Aono at Deep Jewels 30 on October 31, 2020 in Tokyo, Japan
Maesawa retired following her second title defense.[9]
7   Saori Oshima
def. Hikaru Aono
Deep Jewels 33
Tokyo, Japan
June 20, 2021 1. def. Moeri Suda at Deep Jewels 37 on May 8, 2022 in Tokyo, Japan
8   Park Si-yoon Deep 115 Impact: Deep Vs. Black Combat 2
Tokyo, Japan
September 18, 2023
9   Seika Izawa Deep Jewels 44
Tokyo, Japan
March 24, 2024

Microweight Championship

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A four woman tournament was scheduled prior to Deep Jewels 28 to crown the promotions first Microweight Champion with the challengers being Emi Sato, Mizuki Furuse, Suwanan Boonsorn and Yasuko Tamada with Moe Sasaki as reserve. Furuse and Boonsorn advanced to the final which was scheduled to take place at Deep Jewels 29 before the COVID-19 pandemic, however this event and the match couldn't be rescheduled when the promotion returned with the show. On November 5, it was announced that Furuse would be taking an extended absence as she was both pregnant and getting married. As a result of these developments, Jewels declared Boonsorn as the inaugural champion.

No. Name Event Date Defenses
1   Suwanan Boonsorn - November 5, 2020
2   Aya Murakami Deep Jewels 42
Tokyo, Japan
September 10, 2023
3   Saori Oshima Deep Jewels 45
Tokyo, Japan
May 26, 2024

Tournament champions

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Tournament Winner
Rough Stone Grand Prix 2009 -60 kilograms (132 lb)   Alexandra Sanchez
Rough Stone Grand Prix 2009 -54 kilograms (119 lb)   Mika Nagano
Rough Stone Grand Prix 2009 -48 kilograms (106 lb)   Asami Kodera
Rough Stone Grand Prix 2010 -56 kilograms (123 lb)   Mizuki Inoue
Rough Stone Grand Prix 2010 -52 kilograms (115 lb)   Hiroko Kitamura
Rough Stone Grand Prix 2010 -48 kilograms (106 lb)   Kikuyo Ishikawa
First lightweight queen decision tournament   Ayaka Hamasaki
First featherweight queen decision tournament   Naho Sugiyama
Jewels/Deep Kickboxing Tournament 2012 -47 kilograms (104 lb)   Momoka
Deep - Jewels Lightweight Grand Prix 2013 -52 kilograms (115 lb)   Emi Tomimatsu
Deep - Jewels Featherweight Grand Prix 2015 -48 kilograms (106 lb)   Mei Yamaguchi
Deep - Jewels Atomweight Grand Prix 2021 -48 kilograms (106 lb)   Saori Oshima

Events

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# Event Title Date Arena Location Attendance
68 Deep - Jewels 44 March 24, 2024 New Pier Hall Tokyo, Japan
67 Deep - Jewels 43 November 23, 2023 New Pier Hall Tokyo, Japan
66 Deep - Jewels 42 September 10, 2023 New Pier Hall Tokyo, Japan
65 Deep - Jewels 41 May 28, 2023 New Pier Hall Tokyo, Japan
64 Deep - Jewels 40 February 18, 2023 Shinjuku FACE Shinjuku, Japan
63 Deep - Jewels 39 November 22, 2022 New Pier Hall Tokyo, Japan
62 Deep - Jewels 38 September 10, 2022 New Pier Hall Tokyo, Japan
61 Deep - Jewels 37 May 8, 2022 Korakuen Hall Tokyo, Japan
60 Deep - Jewels 36 March 12, 2022 New Pier Hall Tokyo, Japan
59 Deep - Jewels 35 December 11, 2021 New Pier Hall Minato, Tokyo, Japan
58 Deep - Jewels 34 September 4, 2021 Shinjuku Face Tokyo, Japan
57 Deep - Jewels 33 June 19, 2021 New Pier Hall Tokyo, Japan
56 Deep - Jewels 32 March 7, 2021 Korakuen Hall Tokyo, Japan
55 Deep - Jewels 31 December 19, 2020 Shinjuku Face Tokyo, Japan
54 Deep - Jewels 30 October 31, 2020 New Pier Hall Tokyo, Japan
53 Deep - Jewels 29 July 23, 2020 Korakuen Hall Tokyo, Japan
52 Deep - Jewels 28 February 24, 2020 New Pier Hall Tokyo, Japan
51 Deep - Jewels 27 December 22, 2019 Abeno Activity Center Osaka, Japan
50 Deep - Jewels 26 October 21, 2019 Korakuen Hall Tokyo, Japan
49 Deep - Jewels 25 September 1, 2019 Shinjuku Face Tokyo, Japan
48 Deep - Jewels 24 June 9, 2019 Shinjuku Face Tokyo, Japan
47 Deep - Jewels 23 March 8, 2019 Korakuen Hall Tokyo, Japan
46 Deep - Jewels 22 December 1, 2018 Shinjuku Face Tokyo, Japan
45 Deep - Jewels 21 September 16, 2018 Shinjuku Face Tokyo, Japan
44 Deep - Jewels 20 June 9, 2018 Shinjuku Face Tokyo, Japan
43 Deep - Jewels 19 March 10, 2018 Shinjuku Face Tokyo, Japan
42 Deep - Jewels 18 December 2, 2017 Shinjuku Face Tokyo, Japan
41 Deep - Jewels 17 August 26, 2017 Shinjuku Face Tokyo, Japan
40 Deep - Jewels 16 May 20, 2017 Shinjuku Face Tokyo, Japan
39 Deep - Jewels 15 February 25, 2017 Shinjuku Face Tokyo, Japan
38 Deep - Jewels 14 November 3, 2016 Shinjuku Face Tokyo, Japan
37 Deep - Jewels 13 August 27, 2016 Differ Ariake Tokyo, Japan
36 Deep - Jewels 12 June 5, 2016 Shinjuku Face Tokyo, Japan
35 Deep - Jewels 11 March 5, 2016 Shinjuku Face Tokyo, Japan
34 Deep - Jewels 10 November 22, 2015 Shinjuku Face Tokyo, Japan
33 Deep - Jewels 9 August 29, 2015 Differ Ariake Tokyo, Japan
32 Deep - Jewels 8 May 31, 2015 Shinjuku Face Tokyo, Japan
31 Deep - Jewels 7 February 21, 2015 Shinjuku Face Tokyo, Japan
30 Deep - Jewels 6 November 3, 2014 Shinjuku Face Tokyo, Japan
29 Deep - Jewels 5 August 9, 2014 Shinjuku Face Tokyo, Japan
28 Deep - Jewels 4 May 18, 2014 Shinjuku Face Tokyo, Japan
27 Deep - Jewels 3 February 16, 2014 Shinjuku Face Tokyo, Japan
26 Deep - Jewels 2 November 4, 2013 Shinjuku Face Tokyo, Japan
25 Deep - Jewels 1 August 31, 2013 Shinjuku Face Tokyo, Japan
24 Jewels 24th Ring May 25, 2013 Shinjuku Face Tokyo, Japan
23 Jewels 23rd Ring March 30, 2013 Shin-Kiba 1st Ring Tokyo, Japan
22 Jewels 22nd Ring December 15, 2012 Differ Ariake Tokyo, Japan
21 Jewels 21st Ring September 22, 2012 Shin-Kiba 1st Ring Tokyo, Japan
20 Jewels 20th Ring July 21, 2012 Differ Ariake Tokyo, Japan
19 Jewels 19th Ring May 26, 2012 Azalea Taisho Hall Osaka, Japan
18 Jewels 18th Ring March 3, 2012 Shin-Kiba 1st Ring Tokyo, Japan
17 Jewels 17th Ring December 17, 2011 Shinjuku Face Tokyo, Japan 370
16 Jewels 16th Ring September 11, 2011 Shin-Kiba 1st Ring Tokyo, Japan 822
15 Jewels 15th Ring July 9, 2011 Shinjuku Face Tokyo, Japan 426
14 Jewels 13th Ring & 14th Ring[n 1] May 14, 2011 Shin-Kiba 1st Ring Tokyo, Japan 328 / 324
- Jewels 12th Ring March 11, 2011 Shinjuku Face Tokyo, Japan cancelled[n 2]
13 Jewels 11th Ring December 17, 2010 Korakuen Hall Tokyo, Japan 1216
12 Jewels 10th Ring October 10, 2010 Shin-Kiba 1st Ring Tokyo, Japan 464
11 Jewels 9th Ring July 31, 2010 Shinjuku Face Tokyo, Japan 578
10 Jewels 8th Ring May 23, 2010 Shin-Kiba 1st Ring Tokyo, Japan 438
9 Jewels 7th Ring March 19, 2010 Shinjuku Face Tokyo, Japan 696
8 Jewels - Rough Stone: Second Ring January 31, 2010 Caesar Gym Shin-Koiwa Tokyo, Japan
7 Jewels 6th Ring December 11, 2009 Shinjuku Face Tokyo, Japan 762
6 Jewels 5th Ring September 13, 2009 Shinjuku Face Tokyo, Japan 610
5 Jewels 4th Ring July 11, 2009 Shin-Kiba 1st Ring Tokyo, Japan 464
4 Jewels 3rd Ring May 16, 2009 Shinjuku Face Tokyo, Japan 734
3 Jewels: Rough Stone: First Ring April 19, 2009 Isami Wrestle Budokan Warabi, Saitama, Japan
2 Jewels 2nd Ring February 4, 2009 Shinjuku Face Tokyo, Japan 588
1 Jewels 1st Ring November 16, 2008 Shinjuku Face Tokyo, Japan 645

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Jewels 14th Ring was originally an independent event planned for July 9, 2011. Jewels merged both events in a single date after the cancellation of Jewels 12th Ring.
  2. ^ The event was cancelled a few hours before the start due to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.

References

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  1. ^ "SmackGirl -> JEWELS". 2008-10-24. Archived from the original on 2011-07-13. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
  2. ^ Pozen, Frank (2008-10-24). "SMACKGIRL is dead, long live JEWELS". Retrieved 2010-08-22.
  3. ^ a b c Breen, Jordan (2008-10-30). "Jewels Gets Debut; Hioki-Sato Set for Shooto". USA: Sherdog. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
  4. ^ 2月19日はDEEPイベントですよ![permanent dead link]
  5. ^ "Invicta Fighting and JEWELS Form Strategic Partnership for Women's MMA". Articles. MMAWeekly.com. 2012-08-29. Retrieved 2012-06-09.
  6. ^ Sargent, Robert; Marchand, Dean; Yamamoto, Go (2013-05-25). "Jewels To Cease Operations, DEEP Restores Women's Divisions". News. Canada: MMARising.com. Retrieved 2013-12-23.
  7. ^ "【ジュエルス】尾薗代表が辞任、DEEP JEWELSとして再出発". News (in Japanese). Japan: eFight. 2013-05-26. Retrieved 2013-12-23.
  8. ^ "【DEEP】武田光司と魅津希がベルト返上、大原樹理と伊澤星花が正規王者に「胸を張れる肩書きができました」(大原)". efight.jp. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  9. ^ "Tomo Maesawa taps Hikaru Aono, retires with Deep-Jewels atomweight title". asianmma.com. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
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