DEEP 60 - 10/19/2012: Kikuno vs Kishimoto, Shoji vs Choi, DJ taiki vs Kitada And More!

DEEP held a press conference at DEEP IMPACT gym in Tokyo on Friday.

As usual, next DEEP event at Korakuen Hall is stacked with today's top Japanese MMA fighters that are not signed to UFC or Bellator.

DREAM veteran Katsunori Kikuno will take on Yasuaki Kishimoto from team MMA Dojo Cobra-kai in Osaka.

Kikuno lost to Satoru Kitaoka in DEEP 58 and in the same event, Kishimoto lost to Daisuke Nakamura in the DEEP lightweight title fight. So this is the battle between two losers, and this means, this is going to be a "survival fight" for these two fighters. The winner will get back into the line for a title shot and the loser may have to go back to fighting in a smaller DEEP event.

DEEP held a press conference in Tokyo on Friday and many confirmed fighters for this event attended, including Kikuno and Kishimoto.

The first one to speak was Kikuno, "I am desperate. I couldn't produce a good result in the last fight so this time I just have to come through. In regards to his fight against Kitaoka, " I am going to summarize that in one word, 'intimidated'. I have to be more courageous."

Then he talked about Kishimoto, "He knows his fight style. Its not like he is exceptionally good in one department yet he knows how to win a fight.  A difficult opponent."

Kishimoto was next one to speak, "I wanted to fight a tough opponent so I am very happy with this match-up. I have to show 'my MMA' and win."

In addition, DEEP added nine more fights including SHOJI vs Doo Ho Choi, DJ taiki vs Toshiaki Kitada, and Takafumi Otsuka vs Naohiro "Chokugeki Gamon" Mizuno, and following are the comments from fighters attended this press conference.

Kazuhiro Nakamura vs. Ryuta SakuraiKazuhiro Nakamura:

"Honestly I thought about quitting and starting my next career but I can still move well and I still want to fight so I set my goal on becoming DEEP champion. Sakurai is the best Japanese fighters at this weight class so I am very excited about this fight. But I feel like I already won this fight though."

Ryuta Sakurai

"He is famous than me so I am motivated for this fight. But I don't think he is such a tough opponent. He is a human being too so if I hit him he will fall."

Takafumi Otsuka vs. Naohiro "Chokugeki Gamon" MizunoTakafumi Otsuka:

"Its been a while since I fought but I have been training and my motivation is very high for this fight. I only know my opponent's name. I just have to be in better conditioning then him on the day of the fight."

Naohiro "Chokugeki Gamon" Mizuno:

"I left PUREBRED Omiya and became freelance. Then I got this offer so I feel this is a big chance for me."

DJ taiki vs. Toshiaki KitadaDJ taiki:

"This is going to be my fifth fight in DEEP this year. Considering my age I gotta get title soon otherwise I will be an old man without any title. If my opponent doesn't make a weight, then I will lock him in the sauna and put him under my surveillance until he makes the weight. Also DEEP said if I win two more then I can do the title fight therefore I accepted the offer. Also I really want DEEP to start administrating ranking system and open scoring system."

*However DEEP head Shigeru Saeki vetoed all of DJ taiki's demands (and misunderstanding about getting a title shot after two wins) on the spot.

Toshiaki Kitada:

"I want that (bantamweight) belt so I just really wanna win."

SHOJISHOJI:

"My opponent defeated all Japanese fighters he faced so far, and I heard DEEP was having trouble finding his opponent so I volunteered to fight him. I want to beat Do Ho Choi and do the title fight."

Katsunori Kikuno vs. Yasuaki Kishimoto

East and West Presents
DEEP 60
Friday, October 19th, 2012
At Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
Doors Open - 17:30 / Fight Starts - 18:00

Confirmed Cards (Subject to Change):

DEEP Light-heavyweight Title Match - 5 min / 3R
Yoshiyuki Nakanishi (Japan / TRIBE TOKYO M.M.A.) vs Yuki (Japan / TEAM TACKLER)

Middleweight Bout 5 min / 3R
Ryuta Sakurai (Japan / R-BLOOD) vs Kazuhiro Nakamura (Japan / R-BLOOD)

Middleweight Bout 5 min / 3R
Katsunori Kikuno (Japan / ALLIANCE) vs Yasuaki Kishimoto (Japan / MMA Dojo Cobra-kai)

Bantamweight Bout 5 min / 3R
DJ taiki (Japan / Freelance) vs Toshiaki Kitada (Japan / Paraestra Chiba)

Bantamweight Bout 5 min / 3R
Takafumi Otsuka (Japan / AACC) vs Naohiro "Chokugeki Gamon" Mizuno (Japan / Freelance)

Welterweight Bout 5 min / 2R
Hidehiko Hasegawa (Japan / Academia Az) vs Takahiro Kawanaka (Japan / BRAVE)


Ticket Prices:
VIP - 15,000 yen / SRS - 10,000 yen / A - 8,000 yen / B - 6,000 yen 
*500 yen more at the door.


Report by Shu Hirata
Photo courtesy of DEEP blog: The Wild Side of the DEEP (http://www.deep2001.com/blog2/)