2/20 DEEP 40 - Pictures

Better late than never, these pictures are from DEEP 40 on Friday and it was a very enjoyable event. Even if it was one of the earliest finishes I have experienced, due to the last 3 fights finishing very quick.

The night started very good, Mach-Dojo's Hideto Kondo had his pro debut against Hiroshi Kobayashi and it was a very competitive fight. Hideto would have gotten my decision, but with it being future fight it does not go to the judges. It ended in a draw.


The second future fight of the night was also very entertaining. Muneyuki Sato took on AACC's Yasuhiro Motomura and really had to fight for his win. Here he is receiving a flying knee.


Eventually the bloody Muneyuki Sato was able to turn the fight and finished Motomura with some strong ground and pound.


The main card kicked off with Naohiro Mizuno vs. Hiroto, Mizuno fought his way to a strong win.


Kota Okazawa (red shorts) Defeated Alliance's Yuki Ito by a close decision.


Hiroki Nagaoka (orange shorts) Defeated AACC's Yoshitomo Watanabe by decision.


Shunsuke Inoue vs. Minoru Kato was a very close fight. Kato was the much taller fighter, but was unable to capitalize on the reach advantage in the 1st round. In the 2nd Inoue got tired and it ended in a deserved draw.


Kazuhisa Tazawa took on Tim "Big Perm" Persey in an entertaining fight, but quick fight. Persey came out hard, but his conditioning let him down and Tazawa got the win.


Former DEEP champion, Hidehiko Hasegawa, returned to the DEEP ring to take on Makoto Ishikawa. As usual, the fight went to decision, with Hasegawa coming out on top.


The lightweight tournament kicked off with Koichiro Matsumoto and Jutaro Nakao. Uematsu came out with a good tactic, and you can see the result on Nakao's right thigh. Matsumoto got the decision.


Korean Bu Kyung Jung exploded onto the scene a little over a year ago, almost submitting Shinya Aoki. Now, 3 fights later he is yet to record a win. Against Katsunori Kikuno he learned not to block high kicks with his face... I think after 3, he will have his guard up next time.


Riki Fukuda manhandled Ryuta Sakurai. Sakurai did not look in his usual shape and I wonder if he had a knee injury coming in... If he didnt, he certainly had going out.


Time for the main event, Hidetaka Monma took on DEEP champion Seichi Ikemoto for a spot in the DREAM welterweight GP. The DEEP champion won convincingly.