TOKYO, Aug. 5 -- Four DEEP champions topped off a busy card as the promotion presented its latest Impact card within the confines of Korakuen Hall.
Hasegawa took the title from long reigning champion Jutaro Nakao (Pictures) last February, while Kim has been on fire in the DEEP ring, going undefeated in his five appearances and knocking out his last three opponents.
Throughout this bout it was quite obvious Hasegawa wanted nothing to do with Kim on the feet. The champion was constantly rushing in for the clinch or going for the takedown on the dangerous striker, but Kim proved to be very difficult to get to the mat, sprawling Hasegawa's shots and keeping his balance in the clinch.
The long-limbed Korean delivered most of his damage while standing by circling the ring and connecting punches from a distance and while in the guard, Kim used his reach to connect with heavy punches.
By the end of the second round Hasegawa's face was bruised and swollen, testament to the effectiveness of the unmarked Kim's strikes.
Kim continued to pelt the champion in the third, connecting a vicious kick to the face while Hasegawa was down on the mat. After Hasegawa was ordered back to his feet by the referee, Kim quickly scurried to his back and pulled off a big suplex, dropping Hasegawa onto his shoulders. The impact from the suplex stunned the champion, allowing Kim to easily take the mount and deliver down punches on his defenseless opponent.
Hasegawa was out after the first couple of punches, and with only three seconds remaining in the final round, the referee stopped the onslaught, giving Kim the TKO victory.
Ironically, with this victory, Kim is now in line for another shot against Hasegawa, this time for the title.
DEEP women's champion Hisae Watanabe (Pictures) put her title on the line in her bout against Miku Matsumoto (Pictures).
Watanabe, perhaps one of the best female strikers in Japan, was on the receiving end a lot in this one. Matsumoto connected with a big right hand off the bell and continued to land throughout the duration of the fight, largely dominating in the striking department.
The Club Barbarian fighter got all of the takedowns on the champion, but Watanabe looked a little sharper on the ground, going for Kimuras and armbars while on her back. Despite this, Miku was still able to pass guard and reverse to top position.
Towards the end of the second round, Matsumoto went for a leg submission before the final bell, but she could not finish and the fight went to the judges. Matsumoto was awarded the majority decision, giving her the DEEP women's title.
DEEP lightweight champion Kazunori Yokota (Pictures) was supposed to square off against Anthony McDavitt (Pictures), but the American fighter was nearly seven pounds over the contracted 155-pound weight limit. As a result, he was pulled from the event.
Short a fighter, the DEEP brass pulled Minoru Tavares Tsuchiya from his scheduled undercard bout to fight the champion in a non-title affair. With only one fight on his record, this was definitely a big chance for the Hard Combat fighter.
Yokota displayed an excellent sprawl throughout, avoiding the many takedown attempts that Tsuchiya threw against him. After a failed shot, Yokota passed the guard to side-control. From here he applied an armbar. Tsuchiya did a good job of defending until the champion freed the arm and extended the technique, forcing a tap at the 3:53 mark of the first round.
DEEP featherweight champion Masakazu Imanari (Pictures) began pulling out this usual theatrics early on in his non-title bout against Korean Kim Jong Man, standing sideways to his opponent and moving strangely around the ring.
Jong Man looked a bit hesitant to attack the unpredictable Japanese fighter, but eventually knocked Imanari to the canvas with a grazing punch.
Once in the champion's guard, Jong Man narrowly escaped an armbar only to find himself seconds later in another. This time there was no chance to escape, and that tap came at 3:28 of the first round.
Purebred Omiya's Makoto Ishikawa (Pictures) had the edge in striking in his bout against "Barbaro44" Yoshihiro Tomioka (Pictures), landing great left hooks as Tomioka was coming in.
But just as it seemed like things were going his way, Tomioka connected with a big right hand at the ropes, stunning the Shooto veteran. From here Tomioka continued with a big unanswered flurry of punches to the chin until the referee stopped the bout at 3:12 of the second round.
Yuya Shirai (Pictures) made pretty quick work of Kozo Urita (Pictures), scoring a takedown and applying an armbar for the tapout victory at 2:42 of the first round.
Ryuichi Murata (Pictures) had some great judo hip tosses in his bout against Soujirou Ohrui (Pictures), but couldn't capitalize on them before the SK Absolute fighter worked his way back to his feet. The bout went to the judges and was ruled a draw.
Yang Dong-Li scored an early takedown and pounded from half-guard against Keigo Takamori, forcing the referee to stop the bout at the 1:57 mark to give the Korean fighter the TKO victory.
Grabaka jiu-jitsu ace Takeshi Yamasaki largely controlled on the ground in his bout against Toshiaki Kitada, passing the guard and working for the back. The bout went the distance and Yamazaki was awarded the majority decision.
Yusuke Kawaguchi (Pictures) absolutely destroyed former sumo Iro Zeki with punches, forcing the referee to end this one at the 1:30 mark of the first round.