DEEP

Chonan Victorious in DEEP Homecoming

Fresh off of a disappointing effort in the UFC, Ryo Chonan made a successful return to his former home, picking up a unanimous decision over fellow veteran Jutaro Nakao in the main event of DEEP’s “43rd Impact” show on Sunday morning at at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan.

In the first of two championship fights on the card, grappling specialist Masakazu Imanari retained his DEEP bantamweight title, using a variety of submission attempts to thwart challenger Tomohiko Hori and earn a unanimous decision win.

Continue reading "Chonan Victorious in DEEP Homecoming"

Quick Hits: Struve Tapped to Face Gormley, Weekend Preview & More

— Towering heavyweight prospect Stefan Struve has reportedly been tapped to face undefeated All-American collegiate wrestler Chase Gormley at UFC 104, which takes place on October 24 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.. Bout agreements have apparently been signed. Gormley was originally slated to face Ben Rothwell at the event but Rothwell was recently moved into a main card matchup against Cain Velasquez. [Fighters Only Magazine]

— A number of notable MMA veterans are in action this weekend. Art of Fighting’s latest offering in Tampa, Florida includes Seth Petruzelli, competing for the first time since his 14-second win over Kimbo Slice, going up against Chris Baten. Marcio Cruz and Delson Heleno will be on the AOF card as well. Neil Grove and Brad Pickett will also be defending their respective Ultimate Challenge UK titles in London, England while Dokonjonosuke Mishima, Masakazu Imanari, and Ryo Chonan are in action at DEEP 43 in Japan. [Bloody Elbow]

Continue reading "Quick Hits: Struve Tapped to Face Gormley, Weekend Preview & More"

Rumor: Fedor-Aoki Grappling Match Added to DEEP M-1 Challenge

In a report released today by kamipro.com, top heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko will take on lightweight Shinya Aoki in a grappling match to be held on April 29th in the 3rd installment of DEEP M-1 Challenge.

While there has yet to be an official announcement and the idea of this match-up could seem a tad unbelievable, this isn’t the first time these two names have been thrown around in a potential fight. There’s no secret that Japanese promotions love to put on fights featuring their biggest stars, at times ignoring size and reason, and Fedor and Aoki are two of the biggest fan-favorites.

Luckily for us it was announced yesterday that this event will be streamed live on Japan-MMA.

Shirai Submits Kim at clubDEEP Tokyo

Yuya Shira scored a late submission win over Yoon Young Kim in the main event of DEEP’s “clubDEEP Tokyo: Protect Cup Final” event Saturday in Tokyo, Japan. The win was Shira’s third in as many fights.

With the victory, Shira has now earned a spot in DREAM’s welterweight grand prix, which will begin at DREAM.8 on April 5. The former training partner of Ryo Chonan joins Shinya Aoki, Hayato Sakurai, and Seichi Ikemoto as confirmed participants for the tournament.

Other bouts announced for the event this past week include Croatian middleweight Zelg Galesic vs. Andrews Nakahara, Ikuhisa Minowa vs. Katsuyori Shibata, and a featherweight grand prix opening-round bout between Hideo Tokoro and Daiki Hata.

Complete results from the event courtesy of Sherdog.com:

Yuya Shirai def. Yoon Young Kim - Submission (Rear-Naked Choke), R3
Tomohiko Hori def. Seiji Akao - Submission (Rear-Naked Choke), R2
Shota Utsunomiya def. Satoshi Inaba - Unanimous Decision
Tetsuya Yoshioka vs. Ryoji Suzuki - Draw
Hiryu Okamoto def. Ryosuke Komori - Unanimous Decision
Andrew Belyea def. Yasuaki Kishimoto - Majority Decision
Mateus Irie Nechio def. Noboru Onishi - KO (Punch), R1
Hiroki Hiroki def. Tatsuhiko Nishizaka - KO (Punch), R1
Shunji Kosaka def. Mamoru Nakamura - KO (Punch), R1
Yasushi Kitazaki def. Sen Nakadai - Submission (Armbar), R2
Tomohiko Hori def. Isao Terada - Unanimous Decision

Fight of the Day: Mike Brown vs Takeshi Yamazaki

From DEEP’s “21st Impact” event in October 2005, here’s Mike Thomas Brown vs Takeshi Yamazaki. Round one is above and rounds two and three are after the jump.

Continue reading "Fight of the Day: Mike Brown vs Takeshi Yamazaki"

Fighters on the Move: Herman, Russow, Mishima & More

More details are coming out regarding a potential deal struck between promotional newcomer Bellator Fighting Championships and ESPN Deportes to produce a reality show that could air starting in April of next year. In turn, so is a list of fighters that may be involved with the show as well.

According to MMA Junkie, former EliteXC employees Hector Lombard and Dave Herman have both reportedly been sent offers from Bellator regarding their possible inclusion on the show. However talks are only in the preliminary stages.

Japanese-based World Victory Road has also indicated that they would like to use Herman on their “Sengoku VII” show in January. Two fighters that have competed overseas in the past year - Eddie Alvarez and Jorge Masvidal - round out the list of approached fighters known at this time.

Continue reading "Fighters on the Move: Herman, Russow, Mishima & More"

Imanari Submits Umemura to Win DEEP Title

Masakazu Imanari added yet another DEEP world title to his resume as the former featherweight champion submitted Hiroshi Umemura in less than 30 seconds at DEEP’s “37th Impact” show on Sunday to become the organization’s first-ever bantamweight champion.

Imanari missed a body kick to start things off, allowing Umemura to set himself again before pressing forward. Imanari then moved towards him with a baseball slide on the ground before transitioning into a deep heel hook that forced Umemura to tap.

Miku Matsumoto made a successful defense of her DEEP 106 lb. title with a second-round knockout of longtime rival Misaki Takimoto. Also victorious was EliteXC veteran Riki Fukuda, who led Team DEEP over Team Wajutsu Keishukai with his unanimous decision over Hiroki Ozaki.

Continue reading "Imanari Submits Umemura to Win DEEP Title"

Minowa Subs Frye at DEEP’s “Gladiator”

Ikuhisa Minowa was victorious again in his quest to become Japan’s most successful open-weight fighter, submitting fellow longtime veteran and cult hero Don Frye with a first-round kneebar in the main event of DEEP’s “Gladiator” show this morning at the Momotaro Arena in Okayama, Japan.

After stuffing Minowa’s first takedown attempt, Frye quickly found himself on his back at the start of the bout. Minowa immediately dropped back for a heel hook and locked in the hold, but was unable to force Frye to tap. Minowa eventually switched to a kneebar, which after a few moments, finally forced Frye to give up.

In a team battle between fighters from Korea and Japan, it was Korea that came away with a 4-1 victory. Notable bouts saw UFC veteran Michihiro Omigawa drop a unanimous decsion to Chul Hyun Jung while Jutaro Nakao picked up the lone win for the Japanese, defeating Yong Fun Lee via second-round TKO.

Gary Goodridge lost a hard-fought decision to Hiromi Amada in the first of four K-1 rules bouts. Jan Nortje scored a stoppage of PRIDE veteran Tom Erikson in another.

Continue reading "Minowa Subs Frye at DEEP’s “Gladiator”"

Imanari Challenges for DEEP Title on Sunday

Cage Rage featherweight champion Masakazu Imanari will drop down to the bantamweight division to challenge Hiroshi Umemura for DEEP’s vacant bantamweight title this Sunday at the organization’s “37th Impact” event, which takes place at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan.

The fight will be Imanari’s first since losing his DEEP featherweight title to UFC veteran Dokonjonosuke Mishima via majority decision back in May. It was Imanari’s second career loss to Mishima and his first defeat since dropping a decision to Fredson Paixao in August of 2006.

Umemura brings an eight-fight winning streak into the bout. He last submitted Kunihiro Watanabe with a rear naked choke at a DEEP event in June. Umemura has struggled against top competition throughout the course of his career. He owns losses to WEC veterans Kenji Osawa and Yoshiro Maeda among others.

The card will also feature a female lightweight title bout between Miku Matsumoto and Misaki Takimoto as well as EliteXC veteran Riki Fukuda going up against Hiroki Ozaki.

Continue reading "Imanari Challenges for DEEP Title on Sunday"

Frye-Minowa Signed for DEEP in August

Longtime fan-favorite Don Frye will return to action when he takes on colorful Japanese veteran Ikuhisa Minowa, who will continue his open-weight fighting quest at a scheduled DEEP event entitled “Gladiator” on August 16th in Japan.

The organization announced the event earlier today.

Frye quickly picked up his first win of this year back in January, scoring a first-round knockout of Bryan Pardoe in the main event of a NoLimit Fighting show in Dallas. Despite noticeably falling off talent-wise as he approaches the twilight of his career, Frye has only lost once in his last six fights.

Meanwhile Minowa has strugged as of late, losing three out of his last four bouts. His only win was a submission of former professional baseball player Bum Chan Kang at DREAM’s inaugural event in March. He most recently lost an unanimous decision to Taiei Kin at DREAM.2 in April.

Additional bouts announced for the card include Daijiro Matsui vs. Eun Soo Lee and a K-1 rules bout between Gary Goodridge vs. Hiromi Amada.

HT: Fight Opinion via Japan-MMA