5/29 DREAM 14 - RESULTS

Dream has another one in the books. A strong card, but without any heavyweights or light-heavyweights (now that the GP was scratched).

Lots of strong featherweights on the card though. Add to that the legends of "Mach" Sakurai, Sakuraba and Minowa, what more can you ask for?

Spoilers if you read on.

Gracie broke the curse when he won the judges decision, he was simply the better man on the ground. Sakuraba had his chances though, and what the ref was thinking when he in the last round tried to pull up Ralek's pants I have no idea. Still a deserved victory.

Nick Diaz proved too strong on the ground for the legend "Mach" Sakurai, meaning that 2 of the really big Japanese stars lost on this card.

Other Japanese fighters made sure that the home crowd had plenty to cheer for though. "Kid" looks to be back on track with a quick KO win, and Minowa is staying on track with a submission win in the 1st round.

Hiroyuki Takaya has secured his spot at the #1 featherweight contender as he got a strong KO win over Joachim Hansen.

Osawa and Miyata edge out split decision wins

8. Welter: Nick Diaz Def. Hayato "Mach" Sakurai by armbar Round 1 3:54
7. 88kg: Ralek Gracie Def. Kazushi Sakuraba by Decision 3-0
6. Feather: Hiroyuki Takaya Def. Joachim Hansen by KO Round 1 4:27
5. Feather: Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto Def. Federico "Kiko" Lopez by KO Round 1 1:41
4. Feather: "Wicky" Akiyo Nishiura Def. Hideo Tokoro by KO Round 1 2:10
3. Feather: Kazuyuki Miyata Def. Takafumi Otsuka by Decision 2-1
2. Feather: Kenji Osawa Def. Yoshiro Maeda by Decision 2-1
1. Open: Ikuhisa Minowa Def. Imani Lee by rear-naked choke Round 1 4:16

Discuss in the FORUM

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5/29 DREAM 14 - Weigh-in

FEG held the weigh-in for the 14th DREAM earlier today, broadcast live on their website.

Lots of good fights on the card, and Minowaman is giving up 70kg in this fight! Can he do it again?

If you, like me, are wondering about the difference in weight for the featherweights. Nightmare of Battle has the answer:

"As you can see from the weigh-in results everything isn’t as it should. All Featherweight fights on the card are contracted at different weights.

KID/Lopez is at 60kg
Takaya/Hansen is at 65kg
Tokoro/Wicky is at 63kg
Miyata/Otsuka is at 64.5kg
Maeda/Osawa is at 61kg
Mach/Diaz is at 76.6kg

As you can see, it appears that Kiko Lopez missed weight, I am not sure if he weighed in again though. Also, I am sure the fight would still be on.

Main-event:
8. Welter: Hayato "Mach" Sakurai (76.5kg) 35-10-2 vs. 21-7-0 (76.0kg) Nick Diaz

7. 88kg: Kazushi Sakuraba (86.5kg) 26-12-1 vs. 2-0-0 (87.4kg) Ralek Gracie
6. Feather: Joachim Hansen (65.0kg) 19-9-1 vs. 12-8-1 (65.0kg) Hiroyuki Takaya
5. Feather: Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto (59.8kg) 17-3-0 vs. 4-2-0 (62.0kg?) Federico "Kiko" Lopez
4. Feather: Hideo Tokoro (63.0kg) 26-21-1 vs. 10-5-1 (62.8kg) "Wicky" Akiyo Nishiura
3. Feather: Kazuyuki Miyata (64.2kg)8-7-0 vs. 10-4-1 (64.4kg) Takafumi Otsuka
2. Feather: Yoshiro Maeda (60.7kg) 26-8-2 vs. 15-9-2 (61.0kg) Kenji Osawa
1. Open: Ikuhisa Minowa (88.0kg) 45-30-8 vs. 1-2-0 (150.0kg) Imani Lee

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5/29 DREAM 14 - "Kid" Yamamoto Added

FEG have announced the addition of Japanese star "Kid" Yamamoto to Dream 14. His opponent will be Team Quest's Federico "Kiko" Lopez. This fight was supposed to be on the Strikeforce undercard, but has been moved to the Dream 14 event. Both fighters are coming of 2 straight losses, "Kid" losing to "Kiko"'s team-mate, Joe Warren. No doubt that "Kid" will be the crowd favorite here, but both fighters will be eager to start another winning streak. It will be interesting to see what Warren has been able to teach his team-mate.

Picture from GBRing.com


Added:
Feather: Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto 17-3-0 vs. 4-2-0 Federico "Kiko" Lopez

Previously Announed:
Feather: Joachim Hansen vs. Hiroyuki Takaya
Feather: Hideo Tokoro vs. "Wicky" Akiyo Nishiura
Feather: Kazuyuki Miyata vs. Takafumi Otsuka
Feather: Yoshiro Maeda vs. Kenji Osawa
88kg: Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Ralek Gracie
Welter: Hayato "Mach" Sakurai vs. Nick Diaz

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2/28 DEEP 46 Impact - Live Results

DEEP 46 is underway in Korakuen Hall, and as usual I am following the blows on Sherdog's chat.

There has been a few big upsets already. A very good card, and I thought some of the fights would go the distance. So far though, all early finishes.

As usual, there are some announcements in the ring. Bernard Ackah, Yuya Shirai, Katsunori Kikuno, Ryo Chonan, and Miku Matsumoto enteres.

Bernar Ackah was suppose to be in the LHW tournament, but broke his hand. He now would like to fight on the April card, and I am guessing he would be a reserve fight for the tournament there.

Miku Matsumoto is confirming rumors that she will be retiring, announceing that she would like to have an exhibition fight before that. Very sad, as she is one of the top female fighters out there.

Main Event:
13. Feather: Takafumi Otsuka Def. Takeshi Yamazaki by Decision 3-0
12. Middle: Riki Fukuda Def. Hiromitsu Kanehara by Decision 3-0

DEEP Lightheavyweight Tournament Opening Round:
11. Ryuta Noji Def. Katsuhisa Fujii by TKO Round 1 3:18
*Fujii announces his retirement after this fight.

10. Shunsuke Inoue Def. Minoru Kato by Decision 5-0
9. Christian “Tonton” M’Pumbu Def. Yuji Sakuragi by TKO Round 1 2:29
8. Yoshiyuki Nakanishi Def. Tomoaki Hata by armlock Round 1 430

Non-Tournament Fights:
7. Feather: Yoshihiro "Barbaro44" Tomioka Def. Toshiaki Kitada by Decision 2-0
6. Welter: Taisuke Okuno Def. Hidehiko Hasegawa by TKO Round 1 4:09
5. Welter: Shigetoshi Iwase Def. Eiji Ishikawa by anaconda choke Round 1 2:07
4. Bantam: Isao Terada Def. Hiroshi “Iron” Nakamura by KO Round 1 1:11
3. Bantam: Yoshiki Harada Def. Takashige "Crazy Hill" Hirukawa by TKO Round 1 2:33
2. Welter: Yuta Watanabe Def. Yasushi Kitazaki by Decision 3-0

Future Fight:
1. 63kg: Hiroyuki Kobayashi Def. Takahiro Masuda by TKO Round 1 3:15

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2/28 DEEP 46 Impact - Weigh-in Results

The fighters have made weight for tomorrow's big event in Korakuen Hall.

I am very excited to see how the light-heavy weight tournament plays out. The big favorite is Christian “Tonton” M’Pumbu, but Japanese fighters at home should not be underestimated.

The main event on the card will see DEEP featherweight champion, Takafumi Otsuka take on Dream veteran Takeshi Yamazaki.

The event is close to a sell out, and it should be a very good one!

Main Event:
13. Feather: Takafumi Otsuka (65.7kg) 9-4-1 vs. 14-10-3 (65.3kg) Takeshi Yamazaki
12. Middle: Riki Fukuda (83.8kg) 15-4-0 vs 18-22-2 (83.6kg) Hiromitsu Kanehara

DEEP Lightheavyweight Tournament Opening Round:
11. Ryuta Noji (91.7kg) 8-5-0 vs. 9-17-1 (93kg) Katsuhisa Fujii
10. Minoru Kato (92.4kg) 2-8-3 vs. 7-4-2 (93.1kg → 93kg) Shunsuke Inoue
9. Christian “Tonton” M’Pumbu (93.5 → 93kg) 14-2-1 vs. 11-15-1 (90.9kg) Yuji Sakuragi
8. Tomoaki Hata (92.5kg) 3-0-1 vs. 5-1-0 (93kg) Yoshiyuki Nakanishi

Non-Tournament Fights:
7. Feather: Yoshihiro "Barbaro44" Tomioka (65.7kg) 14-7-6 vs. 10-4-3 (65.8kg) Toshiaki Kitada
6. Welter: Hidehiko Hasegawa (77.15 → 77.1kg) 18-12-6 vs. 8-4-2 (77.5 → 77.1kg) Taisuke Okuno
5. Welter: Eiji Ishikawa (76.9kg) 18-15-2 vs. 8-12-3 (76.9kg) Shigetoshi Iwase
4. Bantam: Hiroshi “Iron” Nakamura (62kg) 9-3-5 vs. 7-9-4 (62kg) Isao Terada
3. Bantam: Takashige "Crazy Hill" Hirukawa (62kg) 2-1-0 vs. 2-0-0 (62kg)Yoshiki Harada
2. Welter: Yasushi Kitazaki (77.3 → 77.1kg) 10-6-1 vs. 0-1-1 (77kg) Yuta Aoyama

Future Fight:
1. 63kg: Hiroyuki Kobayashi 1-3-0 vs. 1-2-0 Takahiro Masuda

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2/28 DEEP 46 Impact - Fight Order

DEEP have announced the fight order for DEEP 46, which will be held in Korakuen Hall. It is looking like a very good card too.

The main event will be DEEP featherweight champion, Takafumi Otsuka, taking on DREAM veteran Takeshi Yamazaki. Yamazaki has not had a win in 4 fights, and will be very hungry, but taking on the champion will not be an easy task.

The light-heavyweight tournament have had a change, Carlos Toyota is out and is replaced by another "Hard Combat" fighter. Edison "Pegaredo" (I think it might be Edison Salman Mishio, but I am not sure).

Main Event:
13. Feather: Takafumi Otsuka 9-4-1 vs. 14-10-3 Takeshi Yamazaki
12. Middle: Riki Fukuda 15-4-0 vs 18-22-2 Hiromitsu Kanehara

DEEP Lightheavyweight Tournament Opening Round:
11. Ryuta Noji 8-5-0 vs. 9-17-1 Katsuhisa Fujii
10. Minoru Kato 2-8-3 vs. 7-4-2 Shunsuke Inoue
9. Christian “Tonton” M’Pumbu 14-2-1 vs. 11-15-1 Yuji Sakuragi
8. Edison "Pegaredo" vs. 5-1-0 Yoshiyuki Nakanishi

Non-Tournament Fights:
7. Feather: Yoshihiro "Barbaro44" Tomioka 14-7-6 vs. 10-4-3 Toshiaki Kitada
6. Welter: Hidehiko Hasegawa 18-12-6 vs. 8-4-2 Taisuke Okuno
5. Welter: Eiji Ishikawa 18-15-2 vs. 8-12-3 Shigetoshi Iwase
4. Bantam: Hiroshi “Iron” Nakamura 9-3-5 vs. 7-9-4 Isao Terada
3. Bantam: Takashige "Crazy Hill" Hirukawa 2-1-0 vs. 2-0-0 Yoshiki Harada
2. Welter: Yasushi Kitazaki 10-6-1 vs. 0-1-1 Yuta Aoyama

Future Fight:
1. 63kg: Hiroyuki Kobayashi 1-3-0 vs. 1-2-0 Takahiro Masuda

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8/23 DEEP 43 Impact - Results

DEEP 43 Impact is going on right now in Korakuen Hall. I wont be able to get these up live, but here are the results so far, I will update the rest later tonight.

13. 77.1kg: Ryo Chonan Def. Jutaro Nakao by Decision 3-0

DEEP Featherweight Title Fight:
12. Takafumi Otsuka Def. Dokonjonosuke Mishima by Decision 5-0

DEEP Bantamweight Title Fight:
11. Masakazu Imanari (champion) Def. Tomohiko Hori by Decision 5-0

10. 93kg: Bernard Ackah Def. Ryushi Yanagisawa by TKO Round 1
9. 65.8kg: Toshiaki Kitada Def. Zach Makovsky by rear-naked choke Round 1 4:22
8. 65.8kg: Koichiro Matsumoto Def. Shunichi Shimizu by Decision 3-0
7. 93kg: Hans Stringer Def. Yuji Sakuragi by TKO Round 2 2:11
6. 70.3kg: Won Sik Park Def. Yuichi Ikari by rear-naked choke Round 1 4:58
5. 77.1kg: Yoshitomo Watanabe Def. Zuzu by TKO Round 2 4:56
4. 77.1kg: Yuki Ito vs. Sadao Kondo Draw (1-0)

Future Fight:
3. 70kg: Yasuhiro Kawasaki Def. Tomoya Kato by Decision
2. 67kg: Masato Kataoka Def. Hideyuki Noru by arm-bar Round 12:45
1. 62kg: Tatsuya Tsuchida Def. KZ Round 1 3:01

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8/23 DEEP 43 Impact - Fight Order

Even if there are 2 title fights on this card, Ryo Chonan returning to DEEP = main event! He will face Jutaro Nakao on the way back to reclaiming his DEEP title and I think we will see him take on Fukuda for the title soon.

The 2 title fights on the card should be very interesting, UFC veteran Dokonjonosuke Mishima will be defending his featherweight title against the very talented Takafumi Otsuka . In the bantamweight division, champion Masakazu Imanari will be taking on the experienced Tomohiko Hori, who won the DEEP Protect cup to deserve his title shot. Both these fighters are coming off a loss and it will be interesting to see who comes out on top. Everyone knows what Imanari brings, its just so hard to deal with...

There are some very interesting fights that completes this card. Bernard Ackah continues his fight to again be included in the big leagues, this time taking on a fighter that has seen it all in Ryushi Yanagisawa.

In what might be the most interesting match-up of the night, Paraestra Chiba's Toshiaki Kitada will take on Philadelphia Fight Factory's Zach Makovsky.

Making his DEEP debut is a fighter that has done very well in ZST, Shunichi Shimizu. He will be taking on Koichiro Matsumoto in a fight that might very well end up being fight of the night.

Lots to look forward to in Korakuen Hall on August 23! There should still be tickets available.

****Correction****
Ryo Chonan is the former Middleweight champion, however seems to be fighting at welterweight now (something that I missed). It will be interesting to see if he stays at welterweight. In which case he should be challenging Ikemoto for the title.

13. 77.1kg: Ryo Chonan 15-10-0 vs. 22-14-4 Jutaro Nakao

DEEP Featherweight Title Fight:
12. Dokonjonosuke Mishima (champion) 19-6-2 vs. 8-4-1 Takafumi Otsuka

DEEP Bantamweight Title Fight:
11. Masakazu Imanari (champion) 16-7-1 vs. 10-4-3 Tomohiko Hori

10. 93kg: Bernard Ackah 2-3-0 vs. 24-23-9 Ryushi Yanagisawa
9. 65.8kg: Toshiaki Kitada 8-4-2 vs. 5-1-0 Zach Makovsky
8. 65.8kg: Koichiro Matsumoto 7-2-0 vs. 14-4-5 Shunichi Shimizu
7. 93kg: Yuji Sakuragi 10-14-1 vs. 8-4-1 Hans Stringer
6. 70.3kg: Yuichi Ikari 11-6-3 vs. 6-1-1 Won Sik Park
5. Yoshitomo Watanabe 6-9-2 vs. Zuzu
4. 77.1kg: Yuki Ito 7-3-3 vs. 4-0-0 Sadao Kondo

Future Fight:
3. 70kg: Yasuhiro Kawasaki 2-1-1 vs. 4-0-0 Tomoya Kato
2. 67kg: Masato Kataoka vs. Hideyuki Noru
1. 62kg: Tatsuya Tsuchida 3-3-0 vs. KZ

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8/23 DEEP 43 Impact - 2 Title Fights Announced

DEEP have announced the first couple of fights for DEEP 43, and it will be another awesome card! Already announced are 2 title fights in the most competitive DEEP divisions, bantam- and featherweight.

Both these divisions have world class champions, DREAM veteran Masakazu Imanari is the bantamweight champion and will take on Tomohiko Hori. Imanari is the favorite here, but Hori should not be taken lightly and Imanari is predictable.

The featherweight champion is the UFC and Pride veteran Dokonjonosuke Mishima, he is taking on DREAM veteran, the very talented Takafumi Otsuka. Mishima is a top fighter and defeated Imanari to claim the DEEP featherweight title. This will be a very good fight, both these fighters are very tough and fight with a lot of heart.

Also announced for the event is the return of the former DEEP middleweight champion, Ryo Chonan. He is returning from his short spell in the UFC and I am guessing a title fight with the new champion Riki Fukuda will be in the cards down the line. No opponent for DEEP 43 is announced yet.

Announced:
DEEP Bantamweight Title Fight:
Masakazu Imanari (champion) 16-7-1 vs. 10-4-3 Tomohiko Hori

DEEP Featherweight Title Fight:
Dokonjonosuke Mishima (champion) 19-6-2 vs. 8-4-1 Takafumi Otsuka

Participating:
Ryo Chonan 15-10-0

Read more...

3/8 DREAM 7 - Ishida vs. Nakamura Announced

At yesterday's DEEP event, it was announced that Mitsuhiro Ishida will face Daisuke Nakamura at DREAM 7. This will of course not be a GP fight, but one of the non-GP fights on the card.

Daisuke Nakamura had an amazing 2008, winning all of his 7 fight and only once going the distance. His last loss came to Vitor Ribeiro, and he has only 1 loss in his last 12 fights. This should be a very good fight.

Another one will be the fight between Shinya Aoki and David Gardner. Aoki expressed an interest in fighting on the DREAM 7 card, even though he is scheduled for DREAM 8 as well. DREAM has granted him that request, and I am sure the Japanese fans will be looking forward to that fight. David Gardner is an experienced opponent and he has been to Japan before. On that occation, he was fighting in Cage Force and he lost to Koutetsu Boku.

DREAM 7 is shaping up to be a very good card, main focus will be on the featherweight GP, of course.

Announced:
Shinya Aoki 19-3-0 vs. 16-10-0 David Gardner
Mitsuhiro Ishida 17-4-1 vs. 19-9-0 Daisuke Nakamura

Previously announced:
Masakazu Imanari 15-6-1 vs. 12-5-1 Atsushi Yamamoto
Hiroyuki Takaya 9-6-1 vs. Kim Jong Won
Yoshiro Maeda 23-6-2 vs. 10-2-0 Micah Miller
Chase Beebe 12-3-0 vs. Joe Warren
Takafumi Otsuka 8-3-1 vs. 3-2-0 Bibiano Fernandes
"Wicky" Akiyo Nishiura 9-3-1 vs. 13-2-0 Abel Cullum

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3/8 DREAM 7 - Featherweight GP Match-Ups

FEG have announced the match-ups for the DREAM featherweight GP. DJ Taiki's fight is moved to DREAM 8 due to an injury he sustained in the qualifying fight with Shoji Maruyama earlier this month.

Yoshiro Maeda is returning to Japan from his WEC experience and should be a good addition to this GP.

They are keeping a spot open for "Kid", so I hope we get to see him in round 2.

The weight is set to 63kg.

Early picks for best match-ups:
-Imanari vs. Atsushi Yamamoto should be awesome!
-Takafumi Otsuka vs. Bibiano Fernandes should be a very good fight as well.

There are really no easy match-ups, even if I know next to nothing of the debutants.

Masakazu Imanari 15-6-1 vs. 12-5-1 Atsushi Yamamoto
Hiroyuki Takaya 9-6-1 vs. Kim Jong Won
Yoshiro Maeda 23-6-2 vs. 10-2-0 Micah Miller
Chase Beebe 12-3-0 vs. Joe Warren
Takafumi Otsuka 8-3-1 vs. 3-2-0 Bibiano Fernandes
"Wicky" Akiyo Nishiura 9-3-1 vs. 13-2-0 Abel Cullum

On a side note from the comments, does this post card reveal some participants for DREAM 8?

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3/8 DREAM - Another Participant in the Featherweigh GP Announced

DEEP held an event in Korakuen hall today. It was mainly pro-wrestling, but on the card was a DREAM featherweight GP qualifier.

The fight was between the 2 Pancrase veterans Shoji Maruyama (former Pancrase champion) and Daiki "DJ Taiki" Hata.

DJ Taiki defeated Shoji by decision and by that, qualified for the DREAM GP staring March 8 in Saitama Super Arena.

Added today:
Daiki "DJ Taiki" Hata

Previously announced:
Masakazu Imanari 15-6-1
"Wicky" Akiyo Nishiura 9-3-1
Takafumi Otsuka 8-3-1
Hiroyuki Takaya 9-6-1
Hideo Tokoro 21-15-1
Atsushi Yamamoto 12-5-1
Bibiano Fernandes 3-2-0
Micah Miller 10-2-0
Chase Beebe 12-3-0
Joe Warren
Kim Jong Won

Rumored:
Abel Cullum 13-2-0

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3/8 DREAM Featherweight GP Participants Announced!

Not too many surprises, but it looks like a solid GP. Joe Warren was a name I didnt expect, he is a wrestler coming out of Team Quest, so ti will be interesting to see what he can do.

Some very familiar DREAM fighters in here. Atsushi Yamamoto was expected after his win over Tokoro, but does that mean that Krazy Bee is contributing 2 Yamamoto's? I was also half expecting Kazuyuki Miyata to be in there...

DREAM did announce that they intended 8 Japanese and 8 foreigh fighters, currently there are 6 Japanese and 5 foreign. If we assume (and I am) that "Kid" is in, there is room for 1 more Japanese and 3 foreign fighters. Just to be clear, FEG is saying that "Kid"'s participation is not assured. It is also worth nothing that no European fighter is included.

There should be some very good match-ups in here, it is also interesting to compare the Sengoku GP to the DREAM GP. Seems like DREAM is going more with established fighters (especially the Japanese), where as Sengoku has added some very young fighters.

Masakazu Imanari 15-6-1
"Wicky" Akiyo Nishiura 9-3-1
Takafumi Otsuka 8-3-1
Hiroyuki Takaya 9-6-1
Hideo Tokoro 21-15-1
Atsushi Yamamoto 12-5-1
Bibiano Fernandes 3-2-0
Micah Miller 10-2-0
Chase Beebe 12-3-0
Joe Warren
Kim Jong Won

Winner of DJ Taiki vs. Shoji DEEP 2.10

In addition to announcing the tournament participants, DREAM announced their schedule (which they sort of already had), for 2009. It looks like this:

3.20 DREAM 7 Featherweight GP Round 1 - Saitama Super Arena
4.5 DREAM 8 Welterweight GP - Nippon Gaishi Hall (Nagoya)
5.? DREAM 9 Featherweight GP Round 2 - Kanto (Tokyo) Area
7.20 DREAM 10 Welterweight GP Finals - Saitama Super Arena
9.? DREAM 11 Featherweight GP Finals - Kanto (Tokyo) Area
10.? DREAM 12 (TBA)
12.31 Dynamite - Saitama Super Arena

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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

Read more...

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

Read more...

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

Read more...

10/23 DEEP 38 Impact - Additional Fights Announced

DEEP announced an additional 2 fights for their event on October 23.

Worth noticing in the addition of Masayuki Okude, this fight is pitted as one or the ZST vs. DEEP challenges and should be interesting. Okude has turned a bad run lately and racked up 3 straight wins in ZST. He will be facing "ISE" or Toshikazu Iseno, who has actually lost his only DEEP fight. "ISE" did have a decent run in GCM (Cage Force) though and this should be a competitive fight.

In the other fight, 2 DEEP fighters will square off. Sojiro Orui has had 2 ZST fights, but the rest of his 11 fights are all in DEEP. He will face the very experienced Ryuta Sakurai. Both of these guys lost in the first round of the DEEP middleweight tournament. I would still favor Sakurai in this one.

This is the card as it looks now, there should be lots more fights to be announced.

Added:
Toshikazu Iseno "ISE" 5-4-2 vs. 5-4-5 Masayuki Okude
Sojiro Orui 5-2-4 vs. 17-14-4 Ryuta Sakurai

Previously announced:
Daiki Hata "DJ Taiki" 8-5-3 vs. 15-7-2 Naoya Uematsu
Masanori Kanehara 10-4-5 vs. 6-3-1 Takafumi Otsuka
Satoko Shinashi 28-2-2 vs. 4-13-0 Yukiko Seki
Seigo Mizuguchi 3-3-0 vs. 2-1-0 Shunji Kosaka

Participating:
Riki Fukuda 11-4-0
Yasuhito Namekawa 24-16-3
Yusuke Kawaguchi 7-0-0
Eiji Ishikawa 16-14-3

Read more...

10/23 DEEP 38 Impact

DEEP has announced the first fights for their DEEP Impact 38. It looks like it will be a very good card again. There are no title-fights so far (looks like the Satoko Shinashi fight is a non-title fight), but there are some good fights and with the participants announced it looks very promising.

Yusuke Kawaguchi went through the MegaTon GP without much trouble (one fight was a split decision, the rest were mismatches). After winning the title, he said that fighting in DREAM was the... well, dream... Lets see what Saeki has planned for him. I hope it is someone good.

Also participating are Ryuta Sakurai and Riki Fukuda.

Daiki Hata "DJ Taiki" 8-5-3 vs. 15-7-2 Naoya Uematsu
Masanori Kanehara 10-4-5 vs. 6-3-1 Takafumi Otsuka
Satoko Shinashi 28-2-2 vs. 4-13-0 Yukiko Seki
Seigo Mizuguchi 3-3-0 vs. 2-1-0 Shunji Kosaka

Participating:
Ryuta Sakurai 17-14-4
Riki Fukuda 11-4-0
Yasuhito Namekawa 24-16-3
Yusuke Kawaguchi 7-0-0
Eiji Ishikawa 16-14-3
Toshikazu Iseno "ISE" 5-4-2
Sojiro Orui 5-2-4

Read more...