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| Mika Nagano, Emi Tomimatsu |
Today on their blog, JEWELS announced what I guess will be the main event of the Mar. 30 Shin-kiba 1st Ring show. Mika Nagano will face Emi Tomimatsu in what JEWELS is trying to sell as a Lightweight Championship contender elimination match. It seems that the winner of this match will get a shot at Ayaka Hamasaki's JEWELS Lightweight Championship. The question is whether either of them deserve a title shot regardless and whether this should be a main event. The match will be full MMA rules and is contracted for two five minute rounds. Though Mika Nagano looks like an idol, she's actually been wrestling since high school and wrestled in the famed wrestling program at Chukyo University. But her pro MMA career has been a disappointment. Her record is 11-8. Her last fight was a win over Rina Tomita on the Dec. 15 JEWELS show. It was Tomita's retirement match and the third time Nagano has beaten her. In her fight before that, she got TKOd by Alex Chambers on the Oct. 27 Brace Girls show in Australia. Emi Tomimatsu started out ten years ago as a pro wrestler in JD Star. She left pro wrestling for MMA in 2006. Her record is 5-5 but she has been 3-1 since returning after a 3 1/2 year break due to injury. Her last fight was a loss to VV Mei on the July 21 JEWELS show. Her three wins were not over elite fighters. So why is this a main event? It really should be on the midcard. It was suggested to me that both girls are pretty and therefore appeal to the JEWELS regular fanbase. And my response was "Oh, you mean the dirty old men." Women's MMA in Japan has the same problem as women's pro wrestling. They aren't on network TV in Japan and Samurai TV isn't enough to attract new fans. The same older male fans come to every JEWELS show just like they all go to Ice Ribbon shows. I don't even know if this match will be the main event. It wouldn't be the first time JEWELS made a kickboxing match the main event. Oh well, at least both girls will look good on the poster.
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