Two weeks ago, DEEP 92 Impact went down live from the Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. In the main event, it was a rematch between Koji Takeda (9-1) and Juri Ohara (25-17-3, 1NC) with Takeda’s DEEP lightweight title on the line. Unfortunately, following a round two foul, Ohara could not continue.
The bout went to a technical decision, meaning the judges were tasked to score round one and the majority of round two so that a winner could be announced. Three judges gave Takeda the unanimous nod, whilst two called for a draw, meaning Koji Takeda retained his title in controversial fashion.
Immediately following the contest, a rematch was confirmed. And now, we have a date.
December 15, DEEP 93 Impact, the two will fight for a third time in their second title fight. Hopefully, we see more conclusive results this time!
Koji Takeda started his career with a perfect record of 7-0 thanks to his utilisation of ridiculous pro-wrestling style slams and suplexes mixed with an absolutely smothering top game and a powerhouse submission game. In his eighth pro fight, Takeda found himself fighting for DEEP gold against a legend in Satoru Kitaoka. A dominant 25-minute showing saw him win the bout.
The 24-year-old then made his RIZIN debut and suffered his first setback by way of unanimous decision against UFC-veteran Damien Brown. Two weeks ago, despite the controversy, Takeda made the first defense of his lightweight title. Can he make it two in December?
Though not even 30-years-old yet, Juri Ohara has solidified himself as a true legend of the DEEP cage considering he has competed over 40 times under the prestigious banner. He has been a professional fighter since 2009 and has a few standout performances in Panrase, Grachan, FOAD Fighting Championship, and Vale Tudo Japanm but DEEP is where Ohara has truly made a home for himself in this span of time.
Prior to the technical decision loss to Takeda, Juri Ohara scored a vicious first-round knockout to rebound from a controversial split decision call.
DEEP 93 Impact also had a few other bouts announced.
RIZIN fighter, and DEEP megaton champion, Roque Martinez (13-5-2) will defend his title against Seigo Mizuguchi (14-17) who also goes by the fitting moniker of “Mr. Megaton.” Returning to DEEP as a two-fight UFC vet, 22-year-old Naoki Inoue (11-2) will make his twelfth promotional appearance against Toshiaki Kitada (22-12-4) a former tournament champion and multi-time world-title challenger.
Also, a veteran of ONE Championship and DREAM, Tatsuya Mizuno (22-12-1) will look for his eighth-straight against Joshua Robison (8-6-2, 1NC) of Kansas. Finally, a true pioneer for women’s mixed martial arts, former champion Satoko Shinashi (38-3-2) returns in a should-be squash match when she faces Mizuki Oshiro (1-1) of Okinawa.
DEEP 93 Impact goes down on December 15, live from the Ota Ward Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan.
