, occasionally nicknamed and , is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

-born

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

female

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

. She previously fought in the MMA promotion

Jewels A gemstone (also called a fine gem, jewel, precious stone, or semiprecious stone) is a piece of mineral crystal which, in cut and polished form, is used to make jewelry or other adornments. However, certain rocks (such as lapis lazuli, opal, a ...

and now competes for

Deep Deep or The Deep may refer to: Places United States * Deep Creek (Appomattox River tributary), Virginia * Deep Creek (Great Salt Lake), Idaho and Utah * Deep Creek (Mahantango Creek tributary), Pennsylvania * Deep Creek (Mojave River tributary), C ...

Background

Sugiyama was born on in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, United States. Sugiyama has an older brother. She graduated from the sports faculty of the

Tokai University is a private non-sectarian higher education institution located in Tokyo, Japan. It was founded by Dr. Shigeyoshi Matsumae. It was accredited under Japan's old educational system in 1946 and under the new system in 1950. In 2008, Tokai Un ...

. While in the Tokai University, she was first introduced to the Karate-Do Zendokai association and began studying

karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...

at 18 years old. She got her black belt in Karate in 2009. Sugiyama participated in the Japan Open 2007 Vale Tudo Real Fighting Karate-do Championship Series, placing second in the general category for women, being defeated by

Saori Ishioka is a Japanese people, Japanese female mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist, kickboxer and karateka. She has participated in MMA promotions Smackgirl and Jewels (mixed martial arts), Jewels. Her nickname is Shooting Star. Background Ishioka w ...

. In 2008, she was the winner of the Japan Open 2008 Vale Tudo Real Fighting Karate-do Championship Series 57 kg. She would repeat this feat in 2009. Shortly before her professional debut in MMA, she had a grappling match and was defeated by Hitomi Sakamoto.

Mixed martial arts career

JEWELS

She debuted on at ''

Jewels 1st Ring ''Jewels 1st Ring'', originally was the inaugural mixed martial arts (MMA) event of the then newly created women's MMA promotion Jewels. The event took place on at Shinjuku Face in Kabukicho, Tokyo, Japan. Background Women's promotion Smackgi ...

'', defeating Harumi with a

rear naked choke The rear naked choke (RNC) is a chokehold in martial arts applied from an opponent's back. The word "naked" in this context suggests that, unlike other strangulation techniques found in jujutsu/judo, this hold does not require the use of a keikogi ...

submission Deference (also called submission or passivity) is the condition of submitting to the espoused, legitimate influence of one's superior or superiors. Deference implies a yielding or submitting to the judgment of a recognized superior, out of re ...

. She would win her next fight against Shiho by TKO on . At '' Jewels 3rd Ring'' on , Sugiyama defeated

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including the ...

fighter Celine Haga by unanimous decision. In another dominant performance, Sugiyama defeated Mika Harigai by unanimous decision on . Making her debut with the Shoot boxing promotion, Sugiyama once again faced Hitomi Sakamoto, who had defeated Sugiyama in a grappling match. This time, Sugiyama defeated Sakamoto by decision. Sugiyama's first loss came against

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

fighter

Alexandra Sanchez Alexandra Baron is a German female mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter. She won Jewels' tournament Rough Stone Grand Prix 2009 at the -60 kg category. Background Baron was born on in Hamburg, Germany. Her birth name is Alexandra Sanchez, and ...

in the opening round of the 2009 Jewels Rough Stone Grand Prix 60 kg on . Sugiyama rebounded back with a unanimous decision victory over Yukiko Ozeki at ''

Jewels 6th Ring ''Jewels 6th Ring'' was a mixed martial arts (MMA) event held by MMA promotion Jewels. It took place on at Shinjuku Face in Kabukicho, Tokyo, Japan. Background The event featured the Rough stone grand prix tournament finals, in which Asami Kod ...

'' on . At ''

Jewels 7th Ring ''Jewels 7th Ring'' was a mixed martial arts (MMA) event hosted by MMA promotion Jewels. It was held on at Shinjuku Face in Kabukicho, Tokyo, Japan. Background Jewels events for 2010 were announced on . On , Jewels announced the first four figh ...

'' on , Miki Morifuji defeated Sugiyama by unanimous decision. Sugiyama was announced for ''

Jewels 9th Ring ''Jewels 9th Ring'' was a mixed martial arts (MMA) event held by MMA promotion Jewels (mixed martial arts), Jewels. The event took place on at Shinjuku Face in Kabukicho, Tokyo, Kabukicho, Tokyo, Japan. Background On , Jewels announced that the ...

'' in a shoot boxing match against

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

Esui Erdenebilegiin Bolormaa (born on ), better known by her ring name is a Mongolian female professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. She is considered as Mongolia's first female professional wrestler and also the first female mixed martial a ...

, but she suffered a broken collar bone and a dislocated shoulder during training, which forced her to withdraw from the event. Returning after her injury, Sugiyama faced Esui in a MMA bout at ''

Jewels 11th Ring ''Jewels 11th Ring'' was a mixed martial arts (MMA) event held by MMA promotion Jewels (mixed martial arts), Jewels. The event took place on at Korakuen Hall in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan. The event hosted the Jewels Lightweight Queen t ...

'' on . Esui defeated Sugiyama by TKO (corner stoppage) early in the second round. Sugiyama was scheduled to face Mayumi "Super Benkei" Aoki at ''

Jewels 12th Ring ''Jewels 12th Ring'' was a planned mixed martial arts (MMA) to be held by MMA promotion Jewels. The event was planned to be held on at Shinjuku Face in Kabukicho, Tokyo, Japan but it was cancelled a few hours before the start due to the 2011 Tō ...

'' on in

Tokyo, Japan Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

, and planned to travel to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

for one year to study after the fight. However, the event was cancelled after the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami earlier in the day. Sugiyama returned to Jewels to face

Megumi Yabushita is a retired Japanese female mixed martial artist, kickboxer, professional wrestler and judoka. She has participated in several Japanese professional wrestling and mixed martial arts promotions. She is a Japanese national judo champion and a form ...

at ''Jewels 20th Ring'' on . She defeated Yabushita by split decision. Sugiyama faced Yurika Tanaka at ''Jewels 21st Ring'' on . She defeated Tanaka by TKO in the second round. Sugiyama was set to face

Roxanne Modafferi Roxanne Vincenta Modafferi (born September 24, 1982) is an American retired mixed martial artist, who most recently fought for the UFC. Though she last fought in the flyweight division, she has fought in multiple weight classes in her career. A p ...

at ''Jewels 22nd Ring'' on . However, Modafferi suffered a neck injury in training and withdrew from the fight on December 13. Sugiyama next faced Sung Eun Kim at ''Jewels 23rd Ring'' on . She won the fight by TKO in the first round.

DEEP JEWELS

On , Sugiyama made her

debut against Chisa Yonezawa at ''Deep: Tokyo Impact - Lightweight GP 2013 Semifinal''. She defeated Yonezawa by TKO in the first round. Sugiyama next faced

Ji Yeon Kim Kim Ji-yeon ( ko, 김지연; born October 18, 1992), often anglicized Ji Yeon Kim, is a South Korean mixed martial artist (MMA). She was the Jewels and Gladiator women's bantamweight champion. She competes in the Women's Flyweight division of ...

at ''Deep: Cage Impact 2013'' on . The fight ended in a majority draw after two rounds. In her third appearance with DEEP, Sugiyama was scheduled to fight Mizuho Sato at Deep-Jewels 3. She beat Sato by a first-round TKO, after the ringside doctor was forced to stop the bout. Sugiyama was scheduled to fight

Takayo Hashi Takayo (written: , or ) is a feminine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *Takayo Fischer Takayo Fischer (née Tsubouchi; born November 25, 1932) is an American stage, film and television actress, as well as voice actor, ...

at Deep-Jewels 4 for the inaugural middleweight title. Hashi won the fight by TKO, near the end of the third round. Sugiyama was scheduled to fight Yurika Nakakura at Deep Jewels 6. She won the fight by unanimous decision. At Deep - Dream Impact 2014: Omisoka Special, Sugiyama was scheduled to fight the multiple-time

World Boxing Council The World Boxing Council (WBC) is an international professional boxing organization. It is among the four major organizations which sanction professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), International Boxing Federation ...

title challenger

Emiko Raika Emiko Raika (来家恵美子, born January 24, 1975 in Kyoto, Japan) is a Japanese female professional boxer and mixed martial artist. Although more Japanese women have taken up traditionally male sports such as karate, kickboxing and wrestling ...

in the latter's sophomore MMA appearance. Sugiyama won the fight by technical submission, forcing her opponent's corner to throw in the towel, as Raika refused to tap. Sugiyama was next scheduled to fight Yukinari Nabekawa at Deep-Jewels 15. She won the fight by split decision. Sugiyama extended her winning streak to four, after beating Satsuki Kodama by an armbar at Deep Jewels 17. Shizuka was scheduled to make her RIZIN debut at the Rizin World Grand Prix 2017: 2nd Round event, being scheduled to fight

Kana Watanabe is a Japanese mixed martial artist. She is competing in the Flyweight division of Bellator MMA. Kana Watanabe spent most of her career fighting in her native Japan, until she began fighting in Bellator MMA. As of December 13, 2022, she is #7 in ...

. Watanabe won the fight by a unanimous decision. Returning to DEEP, Sugiyama was scheduled to fight Sachiko Fujimori at Deep Jewels 20. Sugiyama won the fight by unanimous decision. Sugiyama was scheduled to fight a rematch with

Rizin - Heisei's Last Yarennoka!. Watanabe convincingly won the rematch, knocking Sugiyama out after just eleven seconds. In her first fight outside of Japan, Sugiyama was scheduled to fight Chan-Mi Jeon at Double G FC 02. She won the fight by unanimous decision. Sugiyama once again returned to DEEP, as she was scheduled to fight Asami Nakai at Deep Jewels 25. Sugiyama won the fight by an armbar. Sugiyama was scheduled to fight Kano Kagaya at Deep-Jewels 29, in Kagaya's sophomore MMA appearance. Kagaya later withdrew due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

and was replaced by Mika Arai. She won the fight by a technical submission, due to an armbar. Sugiyama was scheduled to fight at DEEP's 20th anniversary event, against Aoi Kuriyama. Sugiyama won by a first-round TKO.

Deep-Jewels Flyweight Grand Prix

Sugiyama faced Mikiko Shimizu in the Deep-Jewels Flyweight Grand Prix quarterfinal bout at Deep Jewels 36 on March 12, 2022. She won the bout via split decision. On May 8, 2022, she was scheduled to face Aoi Kuriyama in the DEEP JEWELS Flyweight Grand Prix semi-final held at Deep Jewels 37. However, Kuriyama missed weight, resulting in Sugiyama receiveing a bye to the final. In the final on the same day, she faced

Rin Nakai is a Japanese professional female mixed martial artist. Starting her MMA career in 2006, she has participated in the organizations Pancrase, Smackgirl, Valkyrie and the UFC. Nakai has been rated amongst Top 10 of Women's Flyweight and Bantam ...

, losing via armbar at the end of the first round.

Outside mixed martial arts

Sugiyama posed for a

photobook A photo book or photobook is a book in which photographs make a significant contribution to the overall content. A photo book is related to and also often used as a coffee table book. Early Early photo books are characterized by their use of ...

published by Kamipro and has also appeared in an Internet TV show called Stickam TV.

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 21–7–1 ,

, Technical Submission (armbar) , Deep Jewels 37 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:53 ,

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 21–6–1 , Mikiko Shimizu , Decision (split) , Deep Jewels 36 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 20–6–1 , Aoi Kuriyama , TKO (punches) , DEEP 100 Impact - 20th Anniversary , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:40 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 19–6–1 , Mika Arai , Technical Submission (armbar) , Deep Jewels 29 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:49 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 18–6–1 , Asami Nakai , Submission (armbar) , Deep Jewels 25 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:04 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 17–6–1 , Chan-Mi Jeon , Decision (unanimous) , Double G FC 02: Fight To Prove , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

, South Korea , , - , Loss , align=center, 16–6–1 ,

, TKO (punch) , Rizin - Heisei's Last Yarennoka! , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:11 , Saitama, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 16–5–1 , Sachiko Fujimori , Decision (unanimous) , Deep Jewels 20 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 15–5–1 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , Rizin World Grand Prix 2017: 2nd Round , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Saitama, Japan is the capital and the most populous city of Saitama Prefecture, Japan. Its area incorporates the former cities of Urawa, Ōmiya, Yono and Iwatsuki. It is a city designated by government ordinance. Being in the Greater Tokyo Area and lying 1 ...

, , - , Win , align=center, 15–4–1 , Satsuki Kodama , Technical Submission (armbar) , Deep Jewels 17 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:53 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 14–4–1 , Yukinari Nabekawa , Decision (split) , Deep-Jewels 15 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 13–4–1 ,

, Technical Submission (armbar) , Deep - Dream Impact 2014: Omisoka Special , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:06 ,

, , - , Win , align=center, 12–4–1 , Yurika Nakakura , Decision (unanimous) , Deep Jewels 6 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 11–4–1 ,

, TKO (punches) , Deep-Jewels 4 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:20 ,

, Japan , Deep-Jewels Inaugural Bantamweight Championship , - , Win , align=center, 11–3–1 , Mizuho Sato , TKO (doctor stoppage) , Deep-Jewels 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:15 ,

, Japan , , - , Draw , align=center, 10–3–1 ,

, Draw (majority) , Deep: Cage Impact 2013 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 10–3 , Chisa Yonezawa , TKO (punches) , Deep: Tokyo Impact - Lightweight GP 2013 Semifinal , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:16 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 9–3 , Sung Eun Kim , TKO (punches) , Jewels 23rd Ring , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:01 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 8–3 , Yurika Tanaka , TKO (punches) , Jewels 21st Ring , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:24 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 7–3 ,

, Decision (split) , Jewels 20th Ring , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 6–3 ,

, TKO (corner stoppage) ,

, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:13 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 6–2 , Miki Morifuji , Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 6–1 , Yukiko Ozeki , Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 5–1 ,

, Decision (unanimous) ,

Jewels 5th Ring ''Jewels 5th Ring'' was a mixed martial arts (MMA) event held by MMA promotion Jewels. The event took place on at Shinjuku Face in Kabukicho, Tokyo, Japan. Background Jewels announced on that ''Jewels 5th Ring'' would take placed at Shinjuku ...

, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Hitomi Sakamoto , Decision (unanimous) , Shoot Boxing Girls Tournament 2009 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Mika Harigai , Decision (unanimous) ,

Jewels 4th Ring ''Jewels 4th Ring'' was a mixed martial arts (MMA) event hosted by promotion Jewels. The event took place on at Shin-Kiba 1st Ring in Koto, Tokyo, Japan. Background On , Jewels held a press conference in which president Yuichi Ozono announced ...

, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Celine Haga , Decision (unanimous) , Jewels 3rd Ring , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Shiho , TKO (knees to the body and punches) , Jewels 2nd Ring , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:55 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Harumi , Submission (rear-naked choke) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:55 ,

, Japan ,

Submission grappling

''Legend'':

Championships and accomplishments

* Japan Open 2007 Vale Tudo Real Fighting Karate-do Championship Series general category women runner-up * Japan Open 2008 Vale Tudo Real Fighting Karate-do Championship Series 57 kg winner * Japan Open 2009 Vale Tudo Real Fighting Karate-do Championship Series 57 kg winner

References

External links

Shizuka Sugiyama Awakening Profile
*
Profile
at Fightergirls.com
Profile
at

Profile
at Zendokai Yokohama
Official blog

Official blog
at kakutoh.com * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sugiyama, Shizuka 1987 births Living people Tokai University alumni Japanese female karateka Bantamweight mixed martial artists Japanese female mixed martial artists American female mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists from New York (state) Mixed martial artists utilizing karate Sportspeople from New York City American female karateka 21st-century American women

Background

Mixed martial arts career

JEWELS

DEEP JEWELS

Deep-Jewels Flyweight Grand Prix

Outside mixed martial arts

Mixed martial arts record

Submission grappling

Championships and accomplishments

See also

References

External links