Deep makes another impact in Osaka

A good week for Osakan MMA fans will get better, when Deep brings their 36 Impact card to Zepp Osaka on July 27.

With Dream's lightweight grand prix finale already set for July 21 at Osaka Castle Hall, Deep's offering later that week will feature Deep welterweight champ Hidehiko Hasegawa (Pictures) make the second defense of his title, as he puts his strap on the line against Seichi Ikemoto (Pictures).

Hasegawa won the title from Jutaro Nakao (Pictures) in February 2007, and made the first defense of his title last October, when he held South Korean slugger Dong Hyun Kim (Dong Hyun Kim' class='LinkSilver'>Pictures) to a draw, after being destroyed in their August non-title bout. However, Hasegawa is coming off a lackluster draw with journeyman Hiroki Nagaoka (Pictures) in May. Ikemoto, who last heel hooked Do Won So (Pictures) in December, challenged for the Deep title in March 2006 in front of his hometown Osakan crowd, where he dropped a majority decision to Jutaro Nakao (Pictures).

Hasegawa and Ikemoto met in September 2005, with Ikemoto taking the unanimous decision victory.

Also in action on the card, Koichiro Matsumoto (Pictures) meets Tomoyuki Fukami (Pictures), and Isao Terada (Pictures) faces Toru Harai (Pictures). Also on the bill, Young "Ryo" Choi, Seigo Mizoguchi, will be in action Makoto Kamaya.

Osaka has become a city frequented more and more by Deep as of late. In 2004, Deep staged their 14 Impact card in Osaka, as well as a clubDeep event, but did not return to the city for nearly three years until last July's 30 Impact event. Since then, Deep has gone back twice for a clubDeep card in October, and December's fantastic Protect Impact in Osaka.

Kengo calls it a career

Another Japanese veteran has decided to call it a career, as Kengo Watanabe (Pictures) has announced he's hanging up the gloves.

A heavyweight journeyman, Watanabe made his pro debut in 1998 after gaining prominence as a standout rugby player in Japan. While never a top flight competitor, Watanabe did climb into the ring with the likes of Bas Rutten (Pictures) and Lyoto Machida (Pictures), as well as UFC vets Ron Waterman (Pictures), James Lee and Wade Shipp (Pictures).

Watanabe also spent time stateside in recent years training with Colin Oyama and Team No Limits. He ends his career with a 8-13-3 mark, with his last bout held in Feb. 2007, where he blitzed former sumo standout Yoichi "Wakashoyo" Babaguchi in 20 seconds.

"I'll return to my private life now," Watanabe wrote on his blog earlier this week. "I am thankful to all the friends who supported me, and all those who helped me.

"Ten years in MMA made me grow up, and become myself," Watanabe continued. "Everything in life has a meaning; there are no detours. Thank you."

Watanabe's announcement comes on the heels of Keita "K-Taro" Nakamura, Hisae Watanabe (Pictures), Miki Shida (Pictures) and Setsu Iguchi (Pictures) all announcing their retirements, while former Shooto world champions Akira Kikuchi (Pictures) and Akitoshi Hokazono (Pictures) retired earlier this year.

Elder statesmen make the marquee for Saturday Shooting Disco

It may be a departure from past events featuring the youngest, hippest Shooto up-and-comers, but Gutsman Shooto Dojo will return to Shinjuku Face on Saturday for the fifth installment of their Shooting Disco series.

While in many cases the Shooting Disco series has focused on Shooto's best and brightest up-and-comers and its most exciting commodities, this Friday's main event will see 38-year-old Junji Ikoma (Pictures) meet 37-year old Jin Akimoto (Pictures) in a 123-pound rematch.

Ikoma and Akimoto met this past January and fought to a close if not thrilling draw. With one victory in his last five bouts, a win is crucial for Ikoma to keep pace in a deepening 123-pound talent pool. Akimoto, a 13-year Shooto veteran, dropped to 123 pounds last September looking to kick-start his flagging career and get his first victory in six years.

In a bout which greater reflects the general Shooting Disco themes, So Tazawa (Pictures) and recently promoted Junya Kudo (Pictures) will square off in a 132-pound contest. After a four-fight winless streak against some of the division's best talent including current Shooto world champ Masakatsu Ueda (Pictures), the 26-year-old Tazawa destroyed 123-pound world champ Shinichi "BJ" Kojima in January, submitting "BJ" and dashing his hopes of being a two-division Shooto world champ. Meanwhile, the undefeated Kudo earned his Class A Shooto license in dramatic fashion this past March, starching veteran Akira Kibe (Pictures) in 98 seconds in one of the year's most brutal knockouts.

In a pivotal bout to stratify the developing 115-pound class, Atsushi "ATCH Anarchy" Takeuchi will take on Noboru "Shinpei" Tahara, while in what should be an exciting 168-pound contest, slugger Taisuke Okuno meets Yoshitaro Niimi (Pictures) with a Class A promotion likely on the line.

In other undercard action, Eiji Murayama (Pictures) meets Yuji Inoue (Pictures), Ayumu "GoZo" Shioda tangles with Seiji "Oz" Otsuka, Shin Kochiwa throws down with Daisuke "Hunt" Okumiya, Hidenori Noshino squares off with Kenichiro Marui (Pictures), Yosuke "Flying Monkey No. 2" Saruta battles Nozomu Otsuka, and in a 123-pound rookie tournament quarterfinal, Hiroaki Ijima faces Noriyasu Fujita.

Feather, bantam quarters put Cage Force tourneys on track

Greatest Common Multiple will finally get their Cage Force tournaments resuscitated this Sunday at their usual digs of Differ Ariake in Tokyo.

The card will feature two featherweight tournament quarterfinals, pitting Antonio Carvalho (Pictures) against Yuji Hoshino (Pictures), and Tomohiko Hori (Pictures) against Fanjin Son (Pictures). In two bantamweight quarterfinals, Takeya Mizugaki (Pictures) will tangle with Daichi Fujiwara (Pictures), and unorthodox Wajyutsu products square off when Katsuya Toida (Pictures) meets Tetsu "Hadairo" Suzuki.

GCM had great success with their 155- and 170-pound tournaments last year, producing high quality talent that put Cage Force on the map as a high-quality international MMA promotion. The two tournament champions, Artur Oumakhanov (Pictures) and Yoshiyuki Yoshida (Pictures), have gone onto to secure deals in Dream and the UFC, while the runners-up, Kotetsu Boku (Pictures) and Dan Hardy (Pictures), have done likewise. However, injury issues, scheduling conflicts, and money demands have forced GCM to scramble to get all the tournament quarterfinals completed and get their two tournaments back on track.

Carvalho, the consensus favorite in the Cage Force featherweight tournament, hasn't fought MMA since last November, when he was halted in his sizzling fight of the year candidate with Hiroyuki Takaya (Pictures). However, Carvalho did take Shoot Boxing standout and K-1 MAX vet Hiroki Shishido to a hard-fought extension-round decision last month in the Shoot Boxing ring. Hoshino, undefeated over the last three years, last fought in September when he took a 28-second submission victory over heavy hitter Eriya Matsuda (Pictures).

The unknown but skilled Hori has fought largely on smaller Mars and Deep cards, and is coming off of the biggest win of his career over Korean brawler Jong Man Kim in Seoul last March. The puissant-punching Son hasn't fought since last November, when he took a tough loss in a hard-fought majority decision to fellow savvy striker Koji Yoshimoto (Pictures).

Mizugaki, who was originally supposed to face Brazilian jiu-jitsu stud Robson Moura (Pictures) before money demands forced Moura from the bracket, was injured in preparing for his April 5 quarterfinal, and has yet to see action this year after last dominating journeyman Seiji Otsuka (Pictures) in December. Fujiwara fought on April 5's Cage Force card in a non-tournament bout, where he was submitted by fellow tournament competitor Tetsu Suzuki (Pictures) in an entertaining up-and-down bout.

Suzuki's victory over Fujiwara moved his record this year to 2-0 after a tidy decision victory over Hiroyuki Tanaka (Pictures) in March. Toida will drop to 135 pounds after a career at featherweight, which has seen him win only once in his last six bouts.

The 145-pound victors will join the already-advanced "Wicky AKiyo" Akiyo Nishiura (Pictures) and Takeshi Yamazaki (Pictures) in the featherweight semifinals, while the 135-pound winners will rub elbows with Masahiro Oishi (Pictures) and Taiyo Nakahara (Pictures) in the bantamweight semis.

Also set for the Cage Force bill in non-tournament action, former Shooto world 183-pound champion Shiko Yamashita (Pictures) will drop to 170 pounds to face undefeated Motoki Miyazawa, while tough Shooto vet Akihiro Murayama (Pictures) meets Rikuhei Fujii (Pictures) in a middleweight bout.

Powergate to crown lightweight Kansai king Sunday

Far to the west, grassroots Kansai promotion Powergate will bring their brand of "west Japan rhythm and blues fighting" to the KBS Hall in Kyoto, with their lightweight championship on the line.

Last year, Powergate's schedule revolved around a 16-entrant 143-pound grand prix, which saw unheralded Daiki Ozaki (Pictures) win four close decisions en route to becoming Powergate's featherweight king. The victory also earned him a bid into this year's GCM Cage Force featherweight tournament.

This year, Powergate has staged two more tournaments at 154 pounds and 183 pounds. In April, Shooto vet Keisuke Sakai (Pictures) took a unanimous decision over Powergate star Hiroki "Goodman" Tanaka to claim the middleweight championship, and this weekend, Hideki Kishimoto will face Zenta Yamazaki to crown the promotion's lightweight champion.

Both Powergate mainstays, Kishimoto took decisions over Kazuto Kawagoe and Yusuke Hoshiko to advance to the final, while Yamazaki's road ran through Fumihira Umezono and Masafumi Kawano.

In other action on the eight-fight card, Yuki Takasaka will meet Takayoshi Ono, while Grabaka veteran Hidenobu Koike (Pictures) meets Shooto vet Toru Ishinaka (Pictures).