DEEP, which recently announced the acquisition of Pride FC and Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) veteran Ryo Chonan (15-10), has revealed that "The Piranha" will take on Jutaro Nakao (22-14-4) at DEEP: "43rd Impact" from the Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan, on Aug. 23.
Chonan most recently competed under the UFC banner, amassing a disappointing record (1-3) with the promotion. His last outing was split decision loss to Canadian grappler TJ Grant (14-3) at UFC 97: "Redemption" this past April.
It marked the second consecutive loss for Chonan, which would lead to him getting handed his walking papers and released from his contract.
The good news is that it didn't take long for Chonan to return home -- he has had a solid relationship with the organization throughout his career, hosting 12 of his previous professional bouts. And he once held the promotion's middleweight title.
In fact, Chonan has stated it’s now his goal to reclaim DEEP gold. First up, however, he’ll have to get past crafty veteran Jutaro Nakao.
Nakao has spent most of his career toiling on the small circuits in his home country of Japan. However, he has fought for bigger organizations such as UFC and also Pride FC with varied success. He holds a handful of victories over a few household names, including current lightweight standout Shinya Aoki, which was a while back and very early into Aoki’s career.
DEEP: "43rd Impact" will also feature be a bantamweight title clash between present champion and leg-lock specialist Masakazu Imanari (16-7-1) and Tomohiko Hori (10-4-3). And in other championship action will be defending DEEP featherweight champion Dokonjonosuke Mishima (19-6-2) facing off against Takafumi Otsuka (8-4-1).
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