Satoko Shinashi vs. Hisae Watanabe. This fight was, by far, the most talked about fight in the Japanese women's MMA scene in recent years.
It was for the very first DEEP women’s title, but this one was way more than about the belt. This was a dream match, a highly anticipated rematch, between two very popular MMA fighters in Japan.
Shinashi is a star fighter of DEEP who has got an "undefeated", "Smack Girl title", and "a sold-out sexy photo book" in her resume.
She is an ex-wrestler who has been dominating the Japanese women's MMA lightweight category for almost five years.

Hisae was sharp, kept her range where she could avoid take downs and still landed hard punches.

Hisae is a former Muay Thai international lightweight champion turned MMA fighter. She fought Shinashi back in December 2002 but was taken down rather easily, couldn't do anything on the ground, and tapped out when Shinashi caught her in a heel lock. Hisae, back then, was just a Muay Thai fighter testing out different waters. The turning point of the career came about two years later. In May 2004, she was chosen to compete in the tournament organized by TBS (Tokyo Broadcasting System – Channel 6) for a popular TV show called Ougon Kiniku, the Golden Muscle. Hisae, by winning this one-night, eight- woman MMA tournament, over-night, became a so-called "recognizable face" among Japan's general public. Her solid kickboxing skill, a pretty look and, perhaps, that sexy leopard-print pattern outfit, in addition to enormous exposure from a TV show, made Hisae, the busiest Japanese woman pro-fighter today.
So this was the Ali – Foreman, Leonard - Hearns of the Japanese women's MMA. The battle between two top Japanese female lightweight fighters. One is a champion, and the other is a popular figure looking to take revenge. Although this fight was a fight before The Main Event of the show, the majority of the fans who came to Korakuen Hall came to see this match-up.

Right off the bell, Shinashi shot in but Hisae countered it with a frontal kick. Still, Shinashi came forward. Kept shooting for the legs but Hisae's defense was perfect. She extended her arm straight, pushed Shinashi away, circling around the ring.
Hisae threw low kicks and Shinashi, finally grabbed a kicking leg taking the fight to the ground. Hisae however closed Shinashi into her guard, even attempted a triangle. Shinashi held on, settling on Hisae's guard until the referee stepped in to stand them back up.
Shinashi quickly stepped inside, nailing an ippon seoi, a judo throw, but Hisae, again, from the bottom snapped on an armbar. This apparently gave a boost to Hisae’s confidence level. She faired against Shinashi on the ground. When the fight was back in the standing battle, Hisae looked really comfortable. She started to throw swinging hard punches. The finish came just before the four- minute mark in the first round. Hisae, from no motion, threw a hard right straight. This one nailed squarely on Shinashi's chin, her legs stopped, fell forward, and it was all over. It was indeed a dramatic finish.

A former DEEP Ligh-heavyweight Champion Ryuta Sakurai defeated Professor X in The Main Event of the show.

"It was a complete win. I had a bit of a struggle and frustration because Shinashi was the opponent but I was able to enjoy it out there."
Backstage Hisae was feeling high, "Even on the ground, I was confident that I wouldn't get caught. It was just a matter of sense, of landing a strike. Compared to when I won a belt in Thailand, I feel happier today. I want to continue showing the excitement of women's MMA."

On the contrary, Shinashi never appeared in front of the media.
Instead DEEP head Shigeru Saeki released a statement, "I am sorry that I couldn't come up with it for the fans. Watanabe-san was a much better fighter than I expected. The soft side of my personality surfaced. I would like to take revenge."

A former DEEP middleweight champ Ryuta Sakurai made a comeback by finishing Professor X with an armbar. Jutaro Nakao proved he still is the man at 170 lbs & under, and Fredson Paixao from Gracie Barra defeated DEEP lightweight champion Masakazu Imanari but on this day, Korakuen Hall erupted when two girls stepped into the ring. This maybe is the first time in DEEP history, perhaps in MMA history, that a women's match stole the spotlight from a bunch of male champions.

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