Deep 97, 2 New Champions -

Marred somewhat by a weigh-in snafu by King Reina, Deep 97 saw two new champions crowned. In the main event, Juntaro Ushiku defeated Satoshi Yamasu to become the new featherweight champion. At just 25, the young champion has extended his record to 17-7-1 and is currently on a 6 fight win streak. In the co-main event, Saori Ishima became the new Microweight Champion (44kg, 97lbs) by defeating her opponent via TKO in the first round. An active fighter, the AACC prospect made her debut this year and has since fought 4 times, losing once to Mina Kurobe before dropping down in weight.

In a strange rematch that King Reina asked for, she lost a decision to Marina Kumagai. Prior to the match, King Reina missed weight badly and it was announced that if she won, the fight would be ruled a no-contest. With a growing reputation for being flakey and making poor decisions, King Reina’s coach was checking her weight daily and apparently the day before weigh-ins she was on weight. When asked why she weighed in over, she responded that she must have sleptwalked and ate and drank while she was sleeping. However, the punishment by Deep would not be necessary as Marina made the proper adjustments from their first match and won the decision. Once one of the rising stars in Rizin and on the Japanese scene, it appears that King Reina has some issues to sort out.