DEEP 88 Impact: Motoya vs. Henry - March 9 (OFFICIAL DISCUSSION)

Deep 88 Impact
March 9, 2019
Korakuen Hall
Tokyo, Japan

Main Card:
Yuki Motoya (23-5) vs.            (16-4) Victor Henry    
Main Event |   Title Fight | Bantamweight | 135 lbs (61 kg)

Roque Martinez (12-4)       vs.  (8-8) Ryo Sakai    
Co-Main Event |   Title Fight | Heavyweight | 265 lbs (120 kg)

Haruo Ochi (18-7)  vs.     (5-1) Namiki Kawahara    
Main Card |   Title Fight | Strawweight | 155 lbs (52 kg)

Yuki Motoya defends title vs. Victor Henry at DEEP 88 Impact

Yuki Motoya (23-5, 1NC) has looked sensational since the loss to Horiguchi in mid-2017, winning five straight. The CB IMPACT athlete defeated UFC-veteran Justin Scoggins a couple weeks back at RIZIN 14 with an early teepee choke submission. Before this he did nearly two months of training in Brazil, this by all accounts really helped his striking and grappling game.

Prior to the Scoggins win, Motoya defeated the likes of Jae Hoon Moon and Kazuma Sone before winning the vacant DEEP Bantamweight Championship with a third-round submission win against Makoto Kamaya at DEEP 86 Impact back in October. He will defend this title in March.

Opposite him come DEEP 88 Impact will be Josh Barnett pupil, Victory Henry (16-4) out of California. The SoCal product has spent the vast majority of his career competing in Japan, becoming a bit of a staple in DEEP and Pancrase.

As a streaking prospect back in 2015, Henry took on Shintaro Ishiwatari in a Pancrase bantamweight title challenge but sadly came up short. In his next three outings, he would go 1-2 but has since returned to form by winning four straight. “La Mangosta” followed up a KO win over RIZIN veteran Takafumi Otsuka at DEEP 85 Impact in August by returning to California and taking out DWTNCS veteran Kyler Phillips. Last month he traveled to Russia, defeating Denis Lavrentyev at RCC 5

DEEP is stacking this card up! Three title fights.