Japanese MMA promotion DEEP Impact has announced three more fights for their 20th anniversary show, which is scheduled to happen at the TDC Hall in Tokyo, Japan on February 21st. Among them is a matchup between 145-pound champ Juntaro Ushiku and veteran Daisuke Nakamura.
Juntaro Ushiku vs. Daisuke Nakamura
Current DEEP Featherweight Champion Juntaro Ushiku will compete on the card against Daisuke Nakamura. Ushiku is currently on a six-fight win streak that dates back to 2018. His streak culminated in September, where he defeated Satoshi Yamasu to become the new DEEP 145-pound champ.
Nakamura has appeared in DEEP since 2004, putting together a promotional record of 11 wins and six losses. The Pride FC and K-1 alum last competed in September, where he defeated Tatsunao Nagakura to conclude a four-fight losing streak.
The fight will not be a championship bout.
DJ Taiki vs. Kouya Kanda
Former DEEP champ DJ Taiki, also known as Daiki Hata, will fight Kouya Kanda on the card.
Kanda took his first fight outside of DEEP in August, fighting on a RIZIN card. Kanda lost in his appearance against Tetsuya Seki, being stopped in the second round due to a cut. Kanda since returned with a win on the regional scene, defeating Michio Ito on a DEEP card in November.
Taiki returns after a year-long layoff on the card. His last fight, which was in December of 2019, saw him defeat Yuki Ohara with a head and arm choke.
Rikiya vs. Sho Sekihara
A bantamweight fight between Rikiya and Sho Sekihara has been booked for the card.
Rikiya made his DEEP debut in December, defeating Hiroya in the first round with ground and pound. The fight ended a year-long losing streak for Rikiya, as he picked up three consecutive losses in Pancrase before returning to the win column.
Sekihara snapped a two-fight losing streak last month, defeating Ryo Sawada on a Fighting Nexus card. Sekihara stopped Sawada in the first round of the fight.
Full Card:
Bout 9: Satoru Kitaoka (42-21-10) vs. Juri Ohara (27-18-3) (Lightweight)
Bout 8: Yuki Motoya (26-9) vs. Shoji Maruyama (18-13-1) (Bantamweight)
Bout 7: Hideki Sekine (8-5) vs. Seigo Mizuguchi (14-18) (Heavyweight)
Bout 6: Shizuka Sugiyama (19-6-1) vs. Aoi Kuriyama (2-1) (Flyweight)
Bout 5: CORO (16-16-5) vs. Shuhei Higashi (12-5-1) (Bantamweight)
Bout 4: Hiroya (4-6-1) vs. Shunsuke Miyabi (0-0) (Bantamweight)
Bout 3: Juntaro Ushiku (18-7-1) vs. Daisuke Nakamura (29-19-1) (Featherweight)
Bout 2: DJ Taiki (20-13-6) vs. Kouya Kanda (6-3) (Featherweight)
Bout 1: Rikiya (2-3) vs. Sho Sekihara (3-2) (Bantamweight)
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