Rising star “King” Reina Miura stayed unbeaten with a dominant first-round stoppage victory tonight in featured action at Deep: “79th Impact” in Tokyo, Japan. The charismatic Miura finished South Korean newcomer Young Ji Kim with an armbar late in round one of a 161-pound catchweight bout.

Elsewhere on the card, long-time strawweight contender Emi “Kamikaze Angel” Fujino cruised to an easy first-round submission win against an overmatched Hyun Ju Baek, and standout wrestler Kanako Murata took a three-round Unanimous Decision victory over Yukari Nabe at 121 pounds.

Miura (6-0-0) countered early crosses from Kim (0-1-0) with powerful right hooks that forced Kim to backpedal. Miura rushed forward and landed more right hands before clinching briefly, but the fighters soon separated and both women landed hard shots in an exchange. After straight left hands landed for Kim, Miura used a harai goshi throw to take her to the mat. Kim reversed the throw and wound up in top position on the ground, but Miura quickly swept and she rained down punches from the top. Miura then transitioned to an armbar and the referee waved off the fight at the 4:48 mark of round one.

“I wanted to finish the fight with strikes,” Miura stated backstage. “Finishing with the armbar was okay, but I am not satisfied. I finished with the armbar because I heard the 30-second [round] warning and I wanted to make sure that I got the win in the first round. I will participate on the New Year’s Eve card [for Rizin Fighting Federation], so watch out.”

Fujino (20-10-0, 1 NC) and Baek (0-2-0) traded hooks in the opening seconds of their matchup, and Fujino clinched soon after. She took Baek’s back and hopped into a standing rear-naked choke. Fujino was unable to sink in either hook with her legs, but she was still able to drag the inexperienced Baek down to the mat. Baek could not escape and she tapped out at the 1:50 mark of the opening round.

With tonight’s quick victory, Fujino has now posted wins in four of her past six fights.

Murata (6-1-0) avoided kick-punch combos from Nabe (1-2-0) early in their catchweight contest and she floored Nabe with a counter left cross. Murata battered Nabe with hammerfists on the ground, but Nabe recovered and battled back to her feet. As the fast-paced round continued, Murata attempted a standing arm-triangle choke and she pulled Nabe down to the mat. Nabe escaped and used a scissor sweep to scramble up to her feet, only to be taken right back down with a harai goshi throw. The round ended with Murata on Nabe’s back hunting for a submission.

In the second stanza, Murata set up a takedown with a quick combination and she took Nabe’s back soon after. Nabe eventually escaped out the back and stood up, where she briefly found herself trapped in a standing kimura, and the fighters traded hooks on the feet for the remainder of the round. Murata countered Nabe’s kicks with two more takedowns in round three, which allowed her to attack with an arm-triangle choke attempt from half-guard. Nabe prevented her from passing to side control and Murata closed out the fight with a last-ditch leglock attempt.

Scores were 30-26 and 30-27 twice for Murata, who has won back-to-back fights since suffering her lone career defeat against Rin Nakai in December.

“After the rule changes, the fight content changed and the overall event was too long, but the fighters forgave me for that,” Deep boss Shigeru Saeki said backstage after the event had concluded. “[Rizin FF founder Nobuyuki] Sakakibara was in attendance, so everyone on the card wants to fight for Rizin.

“I was unable to find a suitable opponent for Emi Fujino, as all potential opponents were from a lighter weight class. [Yukari Nabe] improved a lot and I expect her to continue to rise. The female fights had finishes, which helped the event to flow well, but the Deep Jewels audience has more passion for female fights and women’s bouts in Deep are received a bit differently.”

(Photo Credit: Deep Jewels)