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| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Mixed martial artspromotion |
| Founded | 2001; 24 years ago (2001) |
| Founder | Shigeru Saeki |
| Headquarters | , |
| Website | http://www.deep2001.com |
Deep (previouslyDeep2001) is aJapan-basedmixed martial arts promoting and sanctioning organization. It is promoted byShigeru Saeki who is also the former Public Relations Director ofPride Fighting Championships. Their inaugural event took place in 2001 and featuredPaulo Filho andRoyler Gracie. On May 17, 2008, Deep announced a partnership withZST to share fighters, co-promote shows and eventually unify the promotions.[1]
Deep was established in 2000 as "Deep 2001", and the first event was promoted on January 8, 2001. In 2003, Deep 2001 changed its name to Deep.
Deep started playing the role of a subcontractor forPride Fighting Championships sinceDream Stage Entertainment (DSE) started promoting thePride Bushido series in September 2003, which focused training Japanese fighters atmiddleweight andlightweight. As a result, a number of Japanese fighters, such asRyo Chonan andIkuhisa Minowa, started their careers fighting in DEEP before moving on to larger and more famous MMA promotions.
Deep is also known as one of the few major Japanese organizations to cultivate Korean talent, includingDong Hyun Kim,Chan Sung Jung, andDoo Ho Choi - all of which have moved on to successful careers in theUltimate Fighting Championship.
Deep began promoting bouts with female fighters at its 13th event on July 13, 2003.
On February 22, 2008, Deep implemented the weight division system created byNevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) for its male fighters.
On December 19, 2009, Deep started to use aUFC-styleoctagon for theirCage Impact events.
At a press conference held inMacau on December 1, 2010, DEEP announced its first international event, which was to be held in Macau in 2011. However, low levels of interest and dismal tickets sales led DEEP to cancel the event.[2] Deep has yet to host an event outside Japan.
In February 2011, it was announced that Deep and the MMA division ofSmash had formed an amateur promotion named the Japan MMA League (JML).[3]
On May 25, 2013 (2013-05-25) the all-female MMA promotionJewels announced that it would cease operations as an independent company, with Yuichi Ozono, then head of Jewels, stepping down and Shigeru Saeki from Deep, formerly supervisor, taking the full direction, and transferring fighters and brand to the new Deep Jewels brand, which would be managed by Deep.[4][5]
As of April 16, 2013, Deep has held a total of 194 events comprising 2202 fights, all of which have taken place inJapan. As of December 23, 2013 (2013-12-23), two events of the all-female fighters brand Deep Jewels have been held.
| Division | Champion | Since | Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|
| Megatonweight |  Roque Martinez | July 15, 2017 | 3 |
| Heavyweight | Vacant | – | |
| Middleweight |  Joao Batista Yoshimura | Jul 4, 2021 | 0 |
| Welterweight |  Yoichiro Sato | Jul 14, 2024 | 0 |
| Lightweight | Kimihiro Eto | Mar 9, 2024 | 0 |
| Featherweight | Jin Aoi | Mar 9, 2024 | 0 |
| Bantamweight | Vacant | Mar 30, 2024 | – |
| Flyweight | Ryuya Fukuda | Mar 29, 2024 | 1 |
| Strawweight | Haruo Ochi | May 26, 2024 | 0 |
| Division | Champion | Since | Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|
| Openweight |  Amanda Lucas | Febr 18, 2012 | 0 |
| Atomweight | Vacant | Mar 9, 2019 | – |
| Microweight | Saori Oshima | Sep 20, 2020 | 1 |
Deep Based out ofNagoya, Japan. Broadcast their fights locally onSKY PerfecTV! (Fighting TV Samurai channel) and streaming onAbemaTV.
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