DEEP 47 Impact Preview

This weekend DEEP run their 47th Impact show from Korakuen Hall. It's a decently stacked card highlighted by the conclusion of the LHW GP tournament, a big female exhibition/retirement match and some solid Bantamweight action.

In the DEEP Light-Heavyweight GP semi-final round, Yoshiyuki Nakanishi (6-1-0) will face Christian “Tonton” M’Pumbu (14-2-1) in the first bracket. Yoshiyuki Nakanishi does not have a ton of fights under his belt, but of the six wins he does have only one went to the judges. Three of his six wins ended by way of 1st round KO. Nakanishi won his first round match against Tomoaki Hata scoring a keylock submission win late in the 1st round. His opponent will be the Frenchman Christian M'Pumbu. He has an impressive looking record with fourteen wins in seventeen appearences although many wins have come against less regarded fighters. However, he does hold victories over UFC's Stefan Struve, M-1 fighter Marcus Vanttinen and KSW fighter Krzysztof Kulak. M'Pumbu, who is undefeated in his last five fights beat Yuji Sakuragi in his first round tournament match.

The second semi-final brackets see's Ryuta Noji (9-5-0) taking on Shunsuke Inoue (7-4-2). Noji, the Pancrase and DEEP vet defeated Katsuhisa Fujii in his first round tournament appearance. Since his back to back losses to Dong Yi Yang and Henry Miller in the Heat organization, Noji has bounced back with two solid wins. Shunsuke Inoue booked his spot in the semi's with a uanimous decision win over Minoru Kato. Prior to that he had faced Ryo Kawamura in Pancrase losing a close fight. Despite losing to Kawamura, Inoue has looked very good recently and has only lost once in his last seven outings.

The winner of the tournament will earn a spot in the DREAM LHW GP, so it's a chance for one of these fighters to step up onto the big Japanese MMA stage. Make your picks below in the comment section! I'm going with M’Pumbu vs. Inoue in the finals with M’Pumbu winning it all but I'm interested in your thoughts and predictions.

In the semi-main event, we'll see a match between DEEP Bantamweight champ Masakazu Imanari (18-7-2) who'll face off against Isao Terada (8-9-4) in a non-title match. The 'leglock master' Imanari was a participant in the DREAM Featherweigh Grand Prix and won his first-round matchup against Atsushi Yamamoto by split decision at DREAM.7 but was defeated at DREAM.9 by current DREAM Featherweight champion Bibiano Fernandes. In his last outing at DEEP 46, Isao Terada made quick work of Hiroshi Nakamura handing him his first loss since 2006. Can Terada pull off an upset and beat the champ proving he's worthy of a title shot?

Also on the card will be the exhibition match between two of the world's top pound-for-pound female fighters. 28-year-old Miku Matsumoto (23-4) announced her retirement earlier this year stating that she has become detached from MMA and no longer had the ability to continue serious training or perform as a professional fighter. But before hanging up the gloves she will meet Megumi Fujii (19-0) in fight many fans have wanted to see for years. Megumi Fujii is currently the #1 ranked pound-for-pound female and her 19 fight win streak dates back to 2004. Unfortuently this is an exhibition match meaning we'll only see 1x 5 minute round.

Another good undercard match-up will see Bantamweight Tomoya Miyashita (16-7-8) taking on Darren Uyenoyam (5-2). Miyashita has only lost twice in his last twelve fights and will be looking to get back on track after losing to another top Japanese Bantamweight Atsushi Yamamoto. The American Darren Uyenoyam, who fights out of Ralph Gracie Jiu-Jitsu camp makes his return to Japan after defeating Brad Royster in a Strikeforce fight back in 2008. 

Checkout the full lineup after the jump.

Deep - 47 Impact
April 17, 2010
Korakuen Hall
Tokyo, Japan

#12 - Deep LHW Championship Tournament Final - 2R x 5 min.
Noji/Inoue vs. Nakanishi/M’Pumbu

#11 - Bantamweight - 3R x 5 min.
Masakazu Imanari (18-7-2 / Team Roken)
vs. Isao Terada (8-9-4, 1 NC / Alliance-Square)

#10 - Welterweight - 3R x 5 min.
Ryuki Ueyama (10-13-4 / U-File Camp)
vs. Hidetaka Monma (16-9-3 / Monma Dojo)

#9 - Exhibition Match - 1R x 5 min.
Miku Matsumoto (Club Barbarian)
vs. Megumi Fujii (AACC)

#8 - Bantamweight - 2R x 5 min.
Tomoya Miyashita (16-7-8 / Power of Dreams)
vs. Darren Uyenoyama (5-2 / Ralph Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy)

#7 - Openweight - 2R x 5 min.
Kazuhisa Tazawa (4-1-1 / Thug Life)
vs. Roque Martinez (5-2 / Spike 22)

#6 - Deep LHW Championship Tournament Reserve Match - 2R x 5 min.
Bernard Ackah (4-3 / freelance)
vs. Minoru Kato (2-9-3, 1 NC / freelance)

#5 - Deep LHW Championship Tournament Semi-Final - 2R x 5 min.
Ryuta Noji (9-5 / Pancrase Garo)
vs. Shunsuke Inoue (8-4-2 / Yoshida Dojo)

#4 - Deep LHW Championship Tournament Semi-Final - 2R x 5 min.
Yoshiyuki Nakanishi (6-1 / Team M.A.D.)
vs. Christian “Tonton” M’Pumbu (15-2-1 / Yogata Fight Team)

#3 - Openweight - 2R x 5 min.
Hidehiro Fujinuma (7-4-2 / freelance)
vs. Yoichi "Wakashoyo" Babaguchi (1-4-1 / freelance)

#2 - Lightweight - 2R x 5 min.
Yasuhiro Kawasaki (4-1-1 / R-Blood)
vs. Tomoya Kato (8-1 / Bonds)

#1 - Welterweight - 2R x 5 min.
Yusaku "99" Tsukumo (8-4 / WK Tiger Place)
vs. Yoshitomo Watanabe (7-11-2 / AACC)

Deep Future Fight - Welterweight - 2R x 5 min.
Akimitsu Tsuchiya (5-2-1 / Honma Dojo)
vs. Shawn Dean (0-5 / Kaminari Dojo)