Flyweight Ace Yuki Motoya, ‘Road to UFC’ Fighter Hiroto Uesako Added to Deep ‘73 Impact’

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One of Japan’s foremost flyweights, Yuki Motoya, will put his Deep title and six-fight winning streak on the line against countryman Sota Kojima this fall.

Officials from the Japanese organization on Wednesday announced that Motoya and Kojima will meet on Oct. 17 at Tokyo’s Korakuen Hall as part of Deep “73 Impact.”

Currently positioned just outside the Sherdog.com flyweight top 10, Motoya is riding a hot streak which includes victories over former Deep ace Masakazu Imanari, Pancrase champ Kiyotaka Shimizu and ex-Resurrection Fighting Alliance titleholder Matt Manzanares. He last saw action on May 16, when he submitted overmatched Korean Jong Heon Chae the opening round. The 25-year-old Nagoya native is on his second stint as Deep flyweight champ, having lost and reclaimed the belt in a pair of bouts with Tatsumitsu Wada.

A teammate of Wada at Hidehiko Yoshida’s Yoshida Dojo, Kojima enters the bout having won four of his last five, with only two defeats in his last 19 outings stretching back to 2011. Kojima is less than one month removed from a split-decision win over onetime Shooto contender Haruo Ochi inside the Deep cage. The 28-year-old from Tokyo has gone the distance in 20 of his 27 careers bouts.

The Oct. 17 card will also feature a featherweight tilt between Hiroto Uesako and Deep mainstay Juri Ohara. A pupil of Yoshihiro Akiyama, Uesako was selected to compete on Roy Nelson’s team for the reality show “Road to UFC” but was forced to withdraw from the competition due to a shoulder injury.