Deep – Tribe Tokyo Features Stacked Card Headlined by Ryo Chonan’s Retirement Fight

Ryo Chonan will be given the opportunity to win the Deep welterweight belt in his retirement bout, when he takes on reigning champion Dan Hornbuckle on Oct. 20 at the Korakuen Hall in Tokyo.

Chonan (21-13) has fought for Pride and the UFC and is one of only five fighters to ever defeat Anderson Silva, but his last bout will under the banner of the promotion where he has competed for the majority of his career, when he headlines Deep – Tribe Tokyo.

At stake will be the welterweight strap, which Hornbuckle (24-6) won by beating Yuya Shirai by unanimous decision in April. Chonan will be looking to win his second title with Deep. He was the promotion’s middleweight champion from 2006 to 2007, but vacated the belt to sign with the UFC.

Deep – Tribe Tokyo will also see bantamweight champion Yoshiro Maeda (30-13) drop down to flyweight to take on former Shooto champion Mamoru Yamaguchi (26-8-3). Maeda has lost his last two bouts, while Yamaguchi is on a three-fight losing skid.

As the event title suggests, there will be a sizeable contingent from Chonan’s Tribe Tokyo camp.

Yoshiyuki Nakanishi (12-3-1), who is the reigning light heavyweight champion, will be taking on Young Choi (16-9-2) in a middleweight match-up.

Another of Chonan’s teammates will be in action when former welterweight champion Yuya Shirai (23-13-1) goes up against Akihiro Murayama (14-5). Two other Tribe Tokyo fighters still awaiting opponents are ONE FC flyweight Yasuhiro Urushitani (20-6-6) and Takenori Sato (16-8-7), who competes at 170 pounds.