Yesterday we were LIVE and in person at Deep Impact 85. This card was packed with exciting fights and it did not disappoint. Deep is becoming more and more international and this card proved it with fighters coming in from the US and Korea to compete against some of the best fighters in Japan. If you love JMMA action you need to watch this event. You can see it on YouTube here:
This card was a mixed bag of both female and male fighters. Most of the time Deep runs separate events for the two. This time viewers were in luck and got to see the best of both worlds. As the main card kicked off the 5th match on the card put up Rizin fighter, Kana Watanabe up against Asami Nakai. This fight looked like Nakai was going to finish it up in the first round. That was all changed when Watanabe got a take down late in round 2 and finished her off with a quick Armbar.
The fight after that one was a Stormburner for sure. It was Si Woo Park Vs. Emi Tomimatsu. This was one that we were looking forward to. Normally in Deep Jewels Tomimatsu has one of the coolest walkouts. She has her friend come out and play an awesome METAL guitar solo. This time, it was a bit toned down and there was no guitar solo. The fight on the other hand did not disappoint. These two warriors went to war in the cage. Si Woo Park has serious boxing skills that proved to be to much for Tomimatsu. In about the 3rd round there was a question of if Tomimatsu’s ground game could be too much for Park as it has in the past with other opponents. At the end of the fight, Park walked away with a Unanimous Decision.
Next up was the first fight of the evening with one of Josh Barnett’s next gen warriors. It was Alyssa Garcia Vs Sarami. Sarami hails from Yokohama Pancraism Gym. It is a gym owned and run by the famous Kitaoka Satoru. If you do not know who that is, stop right now and search for him on Youtube. Their entrance to the area is epic. They come in singing and dancing all wearing school girl’s uniforms. It is entertaining to say the least but they are there for business.
This was an excellent fight and the match up was nearly perfect if you look at their past fights. This was going to be a strong fight both standing and on the ground. It ended in a 2nd round KO from Alyssa Garcia landing on the side of the head of Sarami followed up by a bit of ground and pound.
This brings us to the Co- Main Event of the event. Makoto Kamaya Beats Kaito Sakamaki was a very exciting fight that goes the full distance. Sakamaki made some good attempts at trying to catch Makoto Kayama in a few heel hooks towards the end of the fight, but in the end the judges thought that Kamaya won it. He gets the Unanimous Decision.
The main event of the evening was great and it brought together two power towers of JMMA. Takafumi Otsuka Vs. Victor Henry. Victor Henry was a staple and a fan favorite before in Pancrase. He earned the nickname “Japanese Killer” but completely rejected that nickname. He said after winning a fight “Please don’t call me Japanese Killer. I love Japanese people and Japan.” After that heartfelt statement he became a fan favorite among all JMMA fans.
Takafumi Otsuka on the other hand has been a force to reckon with in JMMA for years. In the last 3 years he has only lost to Shintaro Ishiwatari twice. He was destroying any man who dared to step in the cage with him. We are talking straight up killer in the cage. This fight with Henry was long talked about in JMMA circles. It was a fantasy fight for many and it was a back in forth war between these two monsters of JMMA. Finally Henry lands a vicious body kick to Otsuka while his back was to the cage. This compression was enough to drop Otsuka and give Henry the win. As soon as this was done and before the ink was dry on the paper, Henry asked for a shot at the Deep Belt. This will be an amazing End of Year show if he can get the contract signed. We will wait to see!
Results:
Victor Henry Beats Takafumi Otsuka by TKO (front kick to the body). Round 3, 1:34
Makoto Kamaya Beats Kaito Sakamaki by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)
Alyssa Garcia Beats Satomi Takano by TKO (left high kick). Round 2, 2:05
Si Woo Park Beats Emi Tomimatsu by unanimous decision (30-27×3)
Kana Watanabe Beats Asami Nakai by submission (armbar). Round 1, 4:01
Daiki Hata Beats Kyosuke Yokoyama by unanimous decision (29-28×3)
Koji Takeda Beats Juri Ohara by unanimous decision (20-18×3)
Noboru Kawahara Beats Yutaro Muramoto ends in a majority draw (19-19, 18-20, 19-19)
Kosuke Terashima Beats Rikuto Shirakawa ends in a majority draw (20-18, 19-19, 19-19)
Ryuji Takashio Beats Yusuke Matsubaya by unanimous decision (20-18×3)
Taichi Isogai Beats Hiroyuki Sugiura by submission (rear-naked choke). Round 1, 1:23