Japan’s #1 Promotion, DEEP 58: Koala Kitaoka Kicks Kikuno Out of Contention

I’ll bet that when the fifty-eighth DEEP card on June 15th was booked and scheduled, Shigeru Saeki didn’t imagine that it would be the most high profile event in Japan.

The death of DREAM is perhaps the final death knell in the chronically stagnant scene of kakatougi in Japan. Not PRIDE, not K-1 in its true form, not Sengoku Raiden Championships, and not DREAM; no big time promotion that captured the hearts of millions of fans globally has been strong enough to overcome the overpowering combination of Yakuza scandals, the obvious mafia stronghold backstage, television companies’ unwillingness to broadcast a show with such scandalous ties, and an increasingly apathetic public, all of which has unfortunately contributed to not only a change in the balance of power within MMA, and the rise of American promotions, but also the near debellation of the Japanese scene.

DEEP are now the “major player”. Who would have called that?

At least they’re entertaining.

One thing that DEEP have going for them, which could potentially aid and assist their now almost nailed on attempt to secure Japanese market dominance, is a handful of internationally known fighters, and the fact that they have another, equally or even more important handful; namely, a handful of events that have been streamed live on the internet.

Whether DEEP officially sanction and arrange a youtube or ustream live feed of their own, or if there’s some blatant piracy going down, it is imperative that a potentially large international fanbase of Mixed Martial Arts fans can watch the DEEP product. With a regular, growing viewership, DEEP could think about resuming their late 2010 plans to branch out abroad, host events on the Asian mainland and attract a global following and international advertisers and partners.

There’s no one stopping them in Japan!

DEEP 58 hosted the truly brilliant J-MMA fight, one that every Japanophile relished the prospect of; Kikuno versus Kitaoka! The Koala Bear hadn’t fought since being handled by his good pal Shinya Aoki on the final Dynamite card that Dream put on, but prior to that was in good form and was a semi-legitimate contender to challenge Aoki for Japanese lightweight supremacy (though let’s face it – after Aoki vs. Kawajiri, and the decline of Takanori Gomi, there is a gulf between Aoki and the other Japanese lightweights so large it makes the Grand Canyon look like a crack in the pavement that only the fattest and least agile people could possibly trip over).

Kikuno on the other hand is so great, he should be on every single MMA card, ever, in every country, until the day he retires. Even if it means doing a “Bum of the Month” campaign, Joe Louis style. Every promoter should sign him up, and if they don’t have any intention of doing so at some point in the future, they don’t have something vital of mine; what the Brazilians call “hespec’”.

As it transpired though, it wasn’t to be his night.

Koala Kitaoka scored decisive takedowns early and late in the bout, and while the flashy striker showed surprising submission defence pedigree in avoiding all subsequent finishes, it was enough to score the bout the way of the Koala. Kitaoka was dogged in his attempts to take the fight to the mat, and despite Kikuno landing his trademark crescent and teep kicks, he failed to land any truly impactful, game changing offence, and the unanimous nod went to the wily veteran and former Sengoku lightweight champion.

The main event pitted boots and burns, Daisuke Nakamura, against a man who was considered one of the rising stars of Japanese MMA in recent years, Yasuaki Kishimoto. The latter endured a career curtailing injury but is back to do damage, and he comes up against a severe test in the 25-13 submission fighter Nakamura.

Kishimoto (14-3), despite his near-year-long layoff, was riding on the crest of an eight fight win streak, his last victories occurring in December 2010 against Kosuke Umeda, and last September versus the capable journeyman Jutaro Nakao (no, not who you’re thinking. He is, to quote Heath Herring, “not a homosexual”. Or maybe he is, I don’t know. Fair play to him if he is. Nothing wrong with it, it’s 2012, what you get up to behind closed doors, etc…). At this point in their respective careers, Kishimoto had a great shot at beating the veteran and moving his own career on to the next level, but Nakamura was no slouch and was the favourite in the eyes of many.

Justly. He maintained a relentless onslaught and took the unanimous decision.

Kishimoto can rebound from this and push on, but on this occasion it was the superior workrate and relentless onslaught (much like Kitaoka’s) that won the bout for him. Kishimoto was forced into a primarily counter-attacking game on the feet, but was repeatedly taken down and pressed into survival mode as Nakamura tried submission attempt after attempt, which secured him a wide decision win and the vacant lightweight championship title to boot, following Mizuto Hirota heading stateside.

On the undercard, Won Sik Park, or “Parky” as he’s affectionately known, was outgrappled in a lopsided decision loss to Kosuke Umeda.

The full card results are as follows (with thanks to the man from Japan, Tony Loiseleur)

-

MATCH	FIGHTERS			METHOD	ROUND	TIME
10	Daisuke Nakamura WIN	vs	Yasuaki Kishimoto LOSS	Decision (Unanimous) Yoshinori Umeki	3	5:00
9	Tatsunao Nagakura WIN	vs	Hideki Kadowaki LOSS	TKO (Punches) Yoshinori Umeki	1	3:35
8	Daiki Hata DRAW	vs	Makoto Kamaya DRAW	Draw (Majority) Samio Kimura	2	5:00
7	Toshiaki Kitada WIN	vs	Katsunori Tsuda LOSS	Submission (Guillotine Choke) Kenichi Serizawa	2	1:26
6	Naoki Samukawa WIN	vs	Yuki Ito LOSS	Decision (Unanimous) Moritaka Oshiro	2	5:00
5	Kosuke Umeda WIN	vs	Won Sik Park LOSS	Decision (Unanimous) Samio Kimura	2	5:00
4	Shigetoshi Iwase DRAW	vs	Yusaku Tsukumo DRAW	Draw (Majority) Akira Shoji	2	5:00
3	Yoshiki Harada WIN	vs	Tomohiko Hori LOSS	KO (Punches) Moritaka Oshiro	1	3:58
2	Isamu Nagase WIN	vs	Hidetora Hidetora LOSS	Decision (Unanimous) Yoshinori Umeki	2	5:00
1	Yasuhiro Kawasaki WIN	vs	Juri Ohara LOSS	Decision (Split) Akira Shoji	2	5:00

DEEP 58 is an interesting start to the new chapter in DEEP history; hopefully one of unparalleled success, rising to previously unseen and unheard of heights… well… “one” can “DREAM” can they not?

Twitter @DanielFletcher_