One of Japan’s most prolific female stars is back! Rin Nakai (22-2-1) will descend upon DEEP Cage Impact 2020 in Osaka next month to take on a relative newcomer to the sport.
Opposite the former Valkyrie title-holder is Kana Kagaya (1-0) in what will be her second fight as a professional.
A veteran of Pancrase, Valkyrie, Smackgirl, and the UFC, Rin Nakai is a fan-favorite among fans worldwide. The 5’1 spark-plug is known for her tenacious grappling and her muscle-bound physique that she often uses to muscle her opponents before submitting them with a variety of holds she has mastered over the years.
Following her lone RIZIN appearance, a submission win over the current Invicta FC champion Kanako Murata, Nakai started to establish a new mixed martial arts home with DEEP. Since joining the promotion in early 2018, Rin Nakai has gone 3-0 with two knockouts and one submission. It is worth noting that Nakai was initially supposed to compete at RIZIN 11 as well, but was forced to pull out of her bout with Shizuka Sugiyama due to acute nephritis.
The taller fighter of the two, standing at 5’3, Kaho Kagaya gets the opportunity of a lifetime next month. She made her debut in December of last year, barely scraping by Mao Ueda (1-2) by split decision at DEEP JEWELS 27.
If you are viewing this potential match-up and thinking it’s a massively one-sided fight, you are right. But this is par for the course when it comes to DEEP’s matchmaking of Rin Nakai. In her 3-0 run with the organization, her opponents had a combined record of 1-4.
Speaking of Mao Ueda, the former police officer and judo aficionado will also compete on this show.
DEEP Cage Impact 2020 in Osaka is set to go down on April 12 in Osaka, Japan. The promotion and it’s fans are hopeful the event will go on as planned, despite the coronavirus concerns as of late.