As previously reported, Koji Takeda (8-1) was one of the first confirmed when it came to fighters who would be competing at DEEP 92 Impact in October. Now, finally, he has an opponent.
In his most recent outing, the DEEP lightweight champion Takeda made his RIZIN debut and lost to the always-exciting Damien Brown. This was his first loss, but previous to this setback, the 24-year-old had looked sensational on the regional scene in Japan.
After beginning his career with a 7-0 record, utilizing a surplus of sick pro-wrestling style slams mixed with an absolutely smothering top game, Takeda found himself in a lightweight title match against a legend. In October of last year, Koji Takeda fought DEEP king Satoru Kitaoka and dethroned to leglock-specialist by unanimous decision to become the new champion.
Looking to make the first defense of his lightweight title nearly a year to the day after winning it, Takeda will face another DEEP legend in the form of Juri Ohara (25-16-3, 1NC).
A professional since 2009, Ohara has fought an incredible 40 times under the DEEP banner. This means that for the past decade, Ohara has been tearing it up in one of Japan’s most prolific organizations – almost exclusively. He has also had a few standout fights in Grachan, Pancrase, ROAD Fighting Championship, and Vale Tudo Japan.
With numbers like this, you may not belive that Ohara is just 28-years-old, but he is. In his last four bouts, Ohara’s one loss came by way of split decision. This was thankfully followed up by a vicious first-round knockout just one week ago at DEEP 91 Impact.
Finally, in what will be his 41st fight in the promotion, Juri Ohara fights for lightweight gold on October 22.