Yuki Motoya made quick work of Chihaya Yoneyaman in the headliner of Deep 99, which took place on Sunday evening at New Pier Hall in Tokyo.
After about a minute of dancing around and trading kicks, Yoneyaman initiated the clinch and pushed his foe against the fence. Motoya was able to reverse and execute a trip to get the fight to the ground.
The former Deep flyweight champion was patient with his approach and waited until the young prospect made a mistake to capitalize.
Not being able to get off his back, Yoneyaman tried to explode to create scrambles and that is where Motoya moved into the mount. He methodically slid further towards the head and eventually locked up the mounted triangle.
With some adjustment after rolling onto his back, Motoya isolated the right arm and extended the hips to get the tap.
Motoya moves to 26-8 and solidifies a place at the top of the bantamweight division with the victory. Meanwhile, Yoneyyaman has his seven-fight win streak put to a halt and drops to 9-2-1.
Best of the rest
In the co-main event, Rikuto Shirakawa did not waste any time and knocked out Yuki Ohara in devastating fashion. When the bell rang to start the first round, Shirakawa put the pedal to the metal and pushed forward at a suffocating pace.
Ohara mostly covered up while trying to pick his shots, however, it was not enough. Throwing power combinations and attacking the midsection allowed Shirakawa to expose the head and look for the kill.
A stinging left hook connected and Ohara was on unstable ground. While he backpedaled, Shirahawa sensed blood in the water and swung wildly with hooks. Multiple punches landed clean and the referee had to step in to end the fight.
The 29-year-old Shirakawa (8-8-1) picks up his first finish since early 2018 and snaps a two-fight skid in the process. Ohara (9-10), on the flip side, is knocked out for the first time in his career and extends his second-longest losing streak to four.
Earlier in the evening, Deep veteran Shuhei Higashi (12-5-1) returned to MMA after a two-year hiatus against Noriyoshi Wada (6-4-1). He immediately dragged his opponent to the mat and locked up a rear-naked choke and extended his win streak to four in a row, dating back to 2017.
Deep 99, Tokyo, November 1st
Yuki Motoya def. Chihaya Yoneyaman via Submission (Armbar), 1R
Rikuto Shirakawa def. Yuki Ohara iva TKO (Punches), 1R
Shuhei Higashi def. Noriyoshi Wada via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke), 1R
Kouya Kanda def. Michio Ito via TKO (Doctor’s Stoppage), 2R
Rui Kato def. Uchu Sakurai via Decision (Unanimous), 2R
Junya Hibino def. Sho Hiromatsu via Decision (Unanimous), 2R
DJ Marco def. Zac Buscape via TKO (Punches), 1R
Kickboxing: LachChai GTGym def. Masato Gasha via Decision (Unanimous), 3R
Tatsuki Okano def. Simon Tse via Decision (Unanimous), 2R
