1/8 DEEP Mayhem in Macao!

Since its been a while since I have been posting, I have the privilage of being able to chose news that are a bit old. Here is one of them, DEEP is going to Macao in January. The venue will be the Macao Venetian Hotel Resort.

The main even for this one will be the DEEP Megaton title. Also on the card, in non-title fights are the DEEP bantamweight champion Masakazu Imanari and DEEP welterweight champion Yuya Shirai.

BJJ black belt, Marcos Souza will be making his MMA debut (as far as I know) but he should be no stranger to DEEP fans. Last year he took on and defeated Motoki Miyazawa in DEEP X 04.

Another familiar name on the card is TUF 5 veteran Andy Wang.

9. Main-Event: DEEP Megaton Title Fight:
Yusuke Kawaguchi 13-3-0 vs. 6-1-1 Kazuhisa Tazawa

8. Masakazu Imanari 21-7-2 vs. 0-1-0 Jae Hun Moon
7. Yuya Shirai 20-8-0 vs. 0-1-0 Jeong Gyo Park
6. Ryuta Sakurai 20-16-6 vs. 2-3-0 Yoann Gouaida
5. Saori Ishioka 11-5-0 vs. 1-0-0 Ann Wongkhamma
4. Yasushi Kitazaki 10-7-1 vs. 7-7-1 Andy Wang
3. Luiz Andrade I 12-8-3 vs. 4-3-0 Rodrigo Caporal
2. Marcos “Marquinhos” Souza vs. 0-1-0 Alex “Dragon Slayer” Niu
1. Quinton Arendse 1-1-0 vs. Ye Won Nam.

Discuss in the FORUM

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7/3 DEEP 48 Impact - Participants Announced

DEEP have announce 7 fights today for their 48 Impact event to be held in Differ Ariake. There are some very interesting fights between some talented fighters here.

In particular I like the Tatsunao Nakakura vs. Tomoya Kato matchup, but also Yoshiki Harada vs. Masato Kobayashi is a very good and interesting fight between 2 talented fighters.

Also participating at this event will be Eiji Ishikawa and Yusuke Kawaguchi.

Announced:
Shigetoshi Iwase 9-12-3 vs. Jung Hwan Cha
Seigo Mizuguchi 7-6-0 vs. 5-1-1 Kazuhisa Tazawa
Tomohiko Hori 11-8-5 vs. 9-4-5 Hiroshi "Iron" Nakamura
Tatsunao Nagakura 5-1-0 vs. 8-2-0 Tomoya Kato
Yuki Ito 8-5-9 vs. 5-1-1 Yasuhiro Kawasaki
Sadao Kondo 5-0-1 vs. 8-8-3 Kosuto Umeda
Yoshiki Harada 3-0-0 vs. 4-1-0 Masato Kobayashi

Participants:
Yusuke Kawaguchi 11-2-0
Eiji Ishikawa 19-16-2

Discuss in the FORUM

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6/30 DEEP Impact 42 - Fights Announced

DEEP have announced a few fights for their DEEP 42 card. The event will take place in Korakuen Hall on Tuesday June 30. The main event should be the DEEP Middleweight title fight between challenger Riki Fukuda and last year's tournament winner Yuichi Nakanishi, this will be a repeat of the final.

But there are more interesing fights on this card.

2 true veterans of the Japanese MMA scene will face off. Ryuta Sakurai will take on Hiromitsu Kanehara, and between them they have almost 30 years experience. Kanehara's career has been on a slump over the last few years, since 2002 he has only won 2 fights. However, he got a win in his DEEP debut in April and will be looking to build on that. Sakurai on the other hand has had some ok years, but he tends to loose to top fighters like Ryo Chonan and Riki Fukuda. It will be a very interesting battle between the veterans.

A lot of fans will also be excited to see Bernard Ackah on this card. He is returning to the MMA ring after getting a strong win in the ShootBoxing ring in April. He is taking on the experinced Korean Young Choi, Choi has had a mixed start to his DEEP career, with 1-2 record so far.

The undefeated Kazuhisa Tazawa will take on a Korean fighter, and I am not sure of the name, I think it is Jae Young Kim. I believe he is also scheduled to fight on the Art of War card on May 23.

Also look for the talented Hiryu Okamoto, there are lots of good fighters coming from the Mach Dojo and he is one of them. This time he is taking on the veteran Tomoya Miyashita.

Announced:
Ryuta Sakurai 18-15-4 vs. 17-22-1 Hiromitsu Kanehara
Bernard Ackah 2-2-0 vs. 10-5-1 Young Choi
Kazuhisa Tazawa 4-0-1 vs. Jae Young Kim (?) 金親尊氏
Hiroko 2-0-1 vs. 5-8-2 Kenji Nagai
Tomoya Miyashita 10-5-5 vs. 3-1-1 Hiryu Okamoto
Ryota Uozomi 3-1-0 vs. Pat Uncangco

Previously Announced:
DEEP Middleweight Title Fight:
Yuichi Nakanishi 9-8-3 vs. 14-4-0 Riki Fukuda

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2/20 DEEP 40 - Fights Added

DEEP have added 4 fights to this event that is looking increasingly good.

Added today is a fight between Riki Fukuda and Ryuta Sakurai. These fighters met in the first round of last year's middleweight tournament and Fukuda got a decision win on that occation. The winner will challenge Yuichi Nakanishi, who won the tournament last year.

Also added is a last years Shooto Rookie tournament finalist Naohiro Mizuno, facing Hiroto and Kazuhisa Tazawa is taking on American veteran Tim "Big Perm" Persey.

Hidehiko Hasegawa is confirmed as a participant.

I have a feeling you will see some of these fighters on DREAM cards this year, so it will be interesting to see. This is looking like a very good card from DEEP.

Added:
Riki Fukuda 12-4-0 vs. 18-14-4 Ryuta Sakurai
Kazuhisa Tazawa 3-0-1 vs. 9-2-0 Tim "Big Perm" Persey
Hiroto 6-1-0 vs. 4-2-0 Naohiro Mizuno
Shunsuke Inoue 4-3-1 vs. 2-6-0 Minoru Kato

Previously announced:
Seichi Ikemoto vs. 15-8-3 Hidetaka Monma

Participants:
Jutaro Nakao 22-13-4
Katsunori Kikuno 9-1-1
Koichiro Matsumoto 6-1-0
Hidehiko Hasegawa 15-11-5

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12/10 DEEP 39 - RESULTS

The big surprise of the night, Korean Chang Son Jon KO'd Fanjin Son. Son came out swinging, looked like he faked the handshake even. That started the slugfest that the Korean won. Son fell face first and the ref jumped in to save him.

Grudge match of the night was DJ Taiki (wearing his PIMPIT Fight Team shirt) against Naoya Uematsu. Uematsu looked like he had his chances on the ground, but DJ Taiki was able to sit up in his gruard. Strong body punches made Uematsu open up and DJ Taiki took a strong vicotry.

Otsuka vs. Shoji is probably one of the highest paced fights I have ever seen! Otsuka had the rear-naked choke in when the final round ended, but until then Shoji was escaping everything. A very good fight!

Obiya showed a bit of ring rust, and took some punches. In the end he showed that he has very poweful hands, and I am already looking forward to the next fight!!

11. 70.3kg: Nobuhiro Obiya Def. Yoshihiro Tomioka "Barbaro44" by TKO Round 2 2:35

10. 83.9kg: Yuya Shirai Def. Yuichi Nakanishi by Decision 3-0
9. 70.3kg: Takafumi Otsuka Def. Shoji Maruyama by Decision 3-0
8. 63.7: Daiki Hata "DJ Taiki" Def. Naoya Uematsu by TKO Round 1 2:30
7. 70.3kg: Katsunori Kikuno Def. Jang Yong Kim by Decision 3-0
6. 65kg: Chang Son Jon Def. Fanjin Son by KO Round 1 0:17
5. 70.3kg: Seigo Inoue Def. Toshikazu "ISE" Iseno by Decision 3-0
4. Open: Shunsuke Inoue vs. Kazuhisa Tazawa DRAW

DEEP vs. Wajyutsu Keisyukai
3. Yukiya Naito Def. Yuta Watanabe by TKO Round 1 1:25
2. Yusaki Tsukumo Def. Hidenobu Koike by TKO Round 1 5:00
1. Luiz Andrade Def. Shinobu Miura by Decision 2-0

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12/10 DEEP 39 - Weigh-in

The weigh-in for tomorrow's DEEP event in Korakuen hall was done today. No major issues, all fighters made weight.

This should he a very good event, that I wont get to go to... But as its showing just a few hours delayed on Samurai, I should see it tomorrow anyway.

The return of Obiya is something that excites me, and I am looking forward to more than a few fights on this card! There is a very strong rumor that there 3 70.3kg fights are part of a tournament... I have not seen it confirmed, so if someone has a link to this, I would apprecite it. I know I saw it somewhere, but now I cant find it and it doesnt look like its a tournament...

12. 70.3kg:
Nobuhiro Obiya 70.3kg
Yoshihiro Tomioka "Barbaro44" 70.1kg

11. 83.9kg:
Yuichi Nakanishi 83.7kg
Yuya Shirai 83.7kg

10. 70.3kg:
Shoji Maruyama 65.6kg
Takafumi Otsuka 65.7kg

9. 63:
Daiki Hata "DJ Taiki" 63.7kg
Naoya Uematsu 63.2kg

8. 70.3kg:
Jang Yong Kim 70.2kg
Katsunori Kikuno 70.2kg

7. 65kg:
Fanjin Son 64.7kg
Chang Son Jon 65.0kg

6. 70.3kg:
Seigo Inoue 69.8kg
Toshikazu "ISE" Iseno 70.3kg

5. Open:
Shunsuke Inoue 105kg
Kazuhisa Tazawa 121kg

DEEP vs. Wajyutsu Keisyukai
4. 83.9kg:
Yuta Watanabe　84.0kg→83.9kg
Yukiya Naito　82.8kg


3. 77.1kg:
Hidenobu Koike 76.5kg
Yusaki Tsukumo 76.7kg

2. 70.3kg:
Luiz Andrade I 71.0 → 70.3
Shinobu Miura 70.0

Future Fight:
1. Yasuhiro Sakahara vs. Satoru Inaba

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12/10 DEEP 39 - Fight Order

DEEP have announced the fight order for their event next week. That means that the fights are final, and there are 12 fights on the card.

The main-event will see the returning Nobuhiro Obiya facing DEEP veteran Barbaro 44. Obiya is returning after 2 years off and there will be lots of fans excited to see him back. If he is event close to the shape he was, Barbaro 44 should not pose any problems but ring-rust can strike the best of them.

There has been a late change, Eiji Ishikawa has pulled out due to injury and is replaced by another Grabaka fighter, Hidenobu Koike.

For me, this is not as strong as the previous DEEP card, but DEEP 38 was a very good event. On this card, I am most excited about Murayama vs. Ostuka and "DJ Taiki" vs. Uematsu.

Main-Event:
12. 70.3kg: Nobuhiro Obiya 9-3-1 vs. 12-6-4 Yoshihiro Tomioka "Barbaro44"

11. 83.9kg: Yuichi Nakanishi 9-7-3 vs. 13-7-0 Yuya Shirai
10. 70.3kg: Shoji Maruyama 6-3-1 vs. 7-3-1 Takafumi Otsuka
9. 63.7: Daiki Hata "DJ Taiki" 8-5-3 vs. 15-7-2 Naoya Uematsu
8. 70.3kg: Jang Yong Kim 2-2-0 vs. 8-1-1 Katsunori Kikuno
7. 65kg: Fanjin Son 5-3-0 vs. 1-0-0 Chang Son Jon
6. 70.3kg: Seigo Inoue 4-4-1 vs. 6-4-2 Toshikazu "ISE" Iseno
5. Open: Shunsuke Inoue 4-3-0 vs. 3-0-0 Kazuhisa Tazawa

DEEP vs. Wajyutsu Keisyukai
Yuta Watanabe 8-2-3 vs. 14-4-2 Yukiya Naito
Hidenobu Koike 5-8-3 vs. 4-3-0 Yusaki Tsukumo
Luiz Andrade I 7-6-3 vs. 2-3-3 Shinobu Miura

Future Fights:
Yasuhiro Sakahara vs. Satoru Inaba

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12/10 DEEP 39 - Changes (Injury and Addition) **Updated**

Update/correction: I had missed a couple of fights on the card, they are updated now, and the full card that is announced so far is available at the bottom.


The DEEP Impact 39 card has suffered a loss, Jutaro Nakao had to pull out due to injury. Taking his place is Korean Jang Yong Kim, that's right, the guy that upset "K-Taro" in Cage Force earlier this month. That means that Katsunori Kikuno goes from facing one of the most experienced fighters in the game, to facing a new talent. Will be interesting to see if Kim can follow up his win in Cage Force.

Also added to the card is Fanjin Son. Son lost his last fight in the Cage Force tournament to "Wicky" Akiyo, he is a Shooto veteran that has had his last 3 fights in Cage Force. Now he is makeing a move to DEEP. He will be taking on another Korean, Chang Son Jon.

That means that all the 3 additions to this DEEP card will be making their DEEP debuts.

Changed:
Jang Yong Kim 2-2-0 vs. 8-1-1 Katsunori Kikuno

Added:
Fanjin Son 5-3-0 vs. 1-0-0 Chang Son Jon

Announced:
Nobuhiro Obiya 9-3-1 vs. 12-6-4 Yoshihiro Tomioka "Barbaro44"
Seigo Inoue 4-4-1 vs. 6-4-2 Toshikazu "ISE" Iseno
Yuichi Nakanishi 9-7-3 vs. 13-7-0 Yuya Shirai
Daiki Hata "DJ Taiki" 8-5-3 vs. 15-7-2 Naoya Uematsu
Shoji Maruyama 6-3-1 vs. 7-3-1 Takafumi Otsuka
Shunsuke Inoue 4-3-0 vs. 3-0-0 Kazuhisa Tazawa
Fanjin Son 5-3-0 vs. 1-0-0 Chang Son Jon
Jang Yong Kim 2-2-0 vs. 8-1-1 Katsunori Kikuno

DEEP vs. Wajyutsu Keisyukai
Eiji Ishikawa 17-15-2 vs. 4-3-0 Yusaki Tsukumo
Yuta Watanabe 8-2-3 vs. 14-4-2 Yukiya Naito
Luiz Andrade I 7-6-3 vs. 2-3-3 Shinobu Miura

Future Fights:
Yasuhiro Sakahara vs. Satoru Inaba

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12/10 DEEP 39 - Fights Added

Shoji Maruyama, the former Lightweight King of Pancrase will be fighting AACC's Takafumi Otsuka in what should be a very interesting fight. Shoji had a busy first half of 2008, with 3 fights in 5 months. He won the Pancrase Lightweight title agaist Artur Oumakhanov with a kick to the head. He then decided to vacate the title to move down a weight class. His last fight was in DREAM 3, a decision loss to Yamazaki.

Shoji will be facing Takafumi Otsuka who is a very tough fighter. He is the sort of fighter that never gives up and this should be a good fight between 2 talented fighters.

Also added is the Heavyweight fight between Inoue and Tazawa.

It is shaping up to be a good card again for DEEP. The event is being held in Korakuen Hall.

Added:
Shoji Maruyama 6-3-1 vs. 7-3-1 Takafumi Otsuka
Shunsuke Inoue 4-3-0 vs. 3-0-0 Kazuhisa Tazawa

Future Fights:
Yasuhiro Sakahara vs. Satoru Inaba

Previously announced:
Nobuhiro Obiya 9-3-1 vs. 12-6-4 Yoshihiro Tomioka "Barbaro44"
Jutaro Nakao 22-13-4 vs. 8-1-1 Katsunori Kikuno
Seigo Inoue 4-4-1 vs. 6-4-2 Toshikazu "ISE" Iseno
Yuichi Nakanishi 9-7-3 vs. 13-7-0 Yuya Shirai
Daiki Hata "DJ Taiki" 8-5-3 vs. 15-7-2 Naoya Uematsu

DEEP vs. Wajyutsu Keisyukai
Eiji Ishikawa 17-15-2 vs. 4-3-0 Yusaki Tsukumo
Yuta Watanabe 8-2-3 vs. 14-4-2 Yukiya Naito
Luiz Andrade I 7-6-3 vs. 2-3-3 Shinobu Miura

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