The Defining Moment: An Earth-shaking atomweight knockout

One spherical, one punch, lights out, and face down.

There was no purpose to consider the rematch would go any in another way than the primary striker vs. grappler affair did. A redemptive concussive blow mentioned in any other case, snapping a historic 23-fight unbeaten streak.

DEEP 25 Impression on Aug. 4, 2006, in Tokyo, Japan left an enduring impression, highlighting one of many greatest knockouts ever seen in a real pioneer conflict between atomweight stars Satoko Shinashi and Hisae Watanabe. 5 years after the promotion’s incarnation, the bout nonetheless stands as a pivotal second for girls in MMA historical past.

“No doubt, the second Shinashi vs. Watanabe 2,” DEEP Founder Shigeru Saeki responded when requested what DEEP’s greatest second is. “It was a combat the place each fighters hated one another and the build-up to the combat was wonderful, and the combat itself was wonderful, and the end result was WOW. When was the final time a girls’s knockout left a much bigger impression than a males’s knockout? That combat was wonderful from the build-up to the tip. It’s onerous to high that one.”

Like most MMA promotions in 2001, the newly based DEEP wasn’t thinking about having girls on the roster. Fortunately for these seeking to compete, there was Smackgirl in Japan which began to achieve some traction till inevitably folding across the time Saeki opened as much as feminine opponents in 2004.

Names like Shinashi, Watanabe, and Miku Matsumoto had been all on the spot staples for the unique crop of expertise. DEEP turned the primary of its sort, holding fights between women and men on the identical playing cards versus women-exclusive occasions like in Smackgirl or the U.S.’s Hook N’ Shoot. It’s been occurring ever since and DEEP is arguably one of the best promotion worldwide to persistently host all-female occasions.

“When girls’s MMA was taking place in Japan, it was loads of floor sport and DEEP Jewels form of set the bar with normal MMA and it form of reintroduced what was occurring internationally,” Flyweight veteran Shizuka Sugiyama mentioned. “For me, I’ve all the time felt that Japanese girls’s MMA, our business, we had been form of those who began specializing in girls’s preventing and really feel like we’ve been doing this, placing in on a regular basis. However as time passes, it was very disappointing to see the extent of competitors and general idea of girls’s MMA has form of been taken over by the west. That’s when DEEP Jewels got here in and so they set the bar on the worldwide stage for girls’s MMA.

“I used to be there, I’ve seen all of it occur. So in that sense, I feel DEEP Jewels positively has an essential half in our business as of proper now.”

“Princess” Shinashi is merely 4-foot-10 and solidified herself as certainly one of MMA’s all-time smallest fighters in addition to among the best. Any dimension distinction was by no means an element for Shinashi. It was the norm.

The superior grappling prowess led to submission victories in 17 of the previous DEEP champion’s first 23 bouts. In 2023, the Tokyo native will re-tie the document for many MMA fights for a lady when returning to motion this weekend (Sat., Feb. 11, 2023) at DEEP 112 Impression.

Profitable streaks of such levels are all the time a sight to behold, particularly in a sport like MMA the place the surprising is usually anticipated. Shinashi shortly turned a pillar for girls in MMA for extra causes than one.

“For me, what was very enjoyable on the time was that I used to be in a position to put down my very own tracks,” Shinashi mentioned. “I might be the one making the tracks for everyone that follows. And that course of was positively one thing pleasant. The explanation why — and there was Shooto, Pancrase, DEEP — doubtlessly all these promotions doing girls’s fights finally. However the purpose why I picked DEEP was due to Mr. Saeki. His persona was positively one of many explanation why I made a decision to combat for DEEP.

“When it comes to the significance of DEEP for girls’s MMA, they positively began issues out and Pancrase, Shooto, all of them adopted in placing on girls’s fights. So I feel it was essential what DEEP did and I feel I used to be in a position to put down the precise tracks for the following era.”

Saeki noticed one thing in Shinashi that he felt may very well be present in all feminine fighters. There was a selected attraction that wasn’t being seen with the boys. Might that simply have been as a result of girls in MMA had been uncommon on the time? To an extent, after all. In the end, the perceptions had been extra black and white, and the DEEP boss could even admit it himself.

“It’s simpler to get emotionally connected to every fighter,” Saeki mentioned. “However the prejudice in the direction of girls’s MMA was nonetheless robust. Some fighters didn’t need to combat on the identical card as girls preventing on. We needed to get rid of floor and pound due to the attitude. I’m glad that issues are slowly beginning to change.”

Strikes on the bottom had been by no means a difficulty for Shinashi. Her opponents both went to sleep or tapped out earlier than getting the chance to land or be landed on.

Within the case of Watanabe, alternatively, her fights didn’t typically must go to the mat.

The cheetah-print-wearing warrior was a kickboxer by nature and fought each combat as if it had been her final. Followers quickly found there was simply one thing totally different about Watanabe. This 105-pound girl packed the ability of a bantamweight.

In concept, the lighter the burden class, the much less energy the fighters can have. There are all the time outliers, although. Watanabe made positive her opponents knew she was precisely that.

“Shinashi vs. Watanabe 2 was fairly huge as a result of it additionally occurred in DEEP,” mentioned former UFC heavyweight champion Josh Barnett. “Large rematch, dramatic knockout, Watanabe had received a event referred to as Golden Muscle or one thing like that. It was part of this selection present New Yr’s Eve factor and he or she had received a event there, a one-night eight-woman event. She began to get some actual footing within the MMA scene so it was additionally fairly cool to see that there’s some women on the market — not very many — however some which have precise official one-punch knockout energy at 105 or 115 kilos.”

Whereas Watanabe wasn’t on the identical form of loopy streak as her rival, losses had been few and much between with solely 4 in 19 outings.

Watanabe was far more signifiable as a face of Smackgirl throughout her early rise, if not the face. 15 of these first 19 appearances had been below the banner, and 10 had been knockouts. The motion was all the time imminent with the Kanuma, Tochigi native.

Amongst these first 21 of Shinashi’s wins was Watanabe, who got here up quick in bout No. 8 as a professional. A failed physique kick at distance introduced Watanabe inside vary of her tiny counterpart, permitting Shinashi to seize an arm and work a visit to the mat. From there, Shinashi jumped on the ankle and cranked away, scoring an emotional victory over her proficient foe.

It wasn’t Watanabe’s first profession loss and it wouldn’t be her final. One thing stood out about that one, although. A fireplace was lit and he or she received 12 of her subsequent 13 bouts main as much as the Shinashi rematch.

“If that rivalry introduced consideration, and if that story is the rationale why individuals need to come watch me combat, watch us combat, then I feel it labored properly,” Watanabe mentioned. “I feel I noticed on social media or Twitter or one thing the place Mr. Saeki was speaking about how we had this big rivalry, we hated one another, there was simply a lot dangerous blood between us … I actually don’t assume that was the case. There was nothing private between us. There’s no hating one another, it was only a good competitor. That’s how I have a look at it.

“Clearly, she was positively a purpose of mine once I first began. She was already competing on the highest stage once I first began and in our first matchup, I misplaced. Ever since that, it turned certainly one of my objectives to rematch her and beat her. Apart from that, there’s no private stuff between us, we didn’t hate one another. It was a superb competitor. That’s how I have a look at it.”

On the floor stage as a fan, there was nothing to not like about Shinashi vs. Watanabe. It was nearly as good as two fighters obtained at their respective crafts. What wasn’t seen or recognized about had been the attainable implications.

PRIDE FC was going robust on the time as a official competitor to the UFC. Fighters like Shinashi particularly garnered a lot consideration that talks had been had about bringing girls into the group. In response to Shinashi, had she defeated Watanabe of their rematch, she would have been set to debut within the PRIDE ring.

Saeki was all on board with letting his celebrity go down that route if attainable. Nonetheless, timing and circumstances prevented something from ever going down as PRIDE was purchased out by the UFC and ceased to exist in 2007, one yr after the rematch.

“If PRIDE had lasted for an additional two years, it could have been a special story,” Saeki mentioned. “I did consider having girls’s MMA throughout the DREAM days. I prompt [Yuka] Tsuji, Shinashi, Watanabe, and [Megumi] Fujii as a four-woman event for DREAM, however it didn’t occur.”

For a lot of girls competing earlier than the UFC launched them to its roster, equality was its personal combat. It was all the time males over girls or separating them completely. This solely motivated fighters like Shinashi and Watanabe to go away their marks, so after they met, the expectations had been justifiably excessive.

Headline an occasion was all the time certainly one of Shinashi’s objectives, or on the very least be on a essential card together with males. DEEP 25 Impression checked that field with the massive rematch co-main eventing the night of motion.

Since they first fought, the hazard component of dealing with Watanabe turned clearer and clearer as her resume grew. From the opening bell, Shinashi wished nothing to do with the hanging as Watanabe sought physique kicks and compelled her opponent into dropping low in evasion.

An early takedown positioned the pair in full guard, proper the place Shinashi wished her. The issue was that Watanabe had some tips up her sleeve this time, threatening with an arm crank from the place. The knockout artist whipped out a triangle armbar try, scaring the submission wizard. Scrambled to their toes, a cannonball punch missed from Watanabe, resulting in her getting arm-dragged to the mat. Watanabe once more tried an armbar to the shock of the commentary staff.

Jockeying for place, the 2 obtained again to their toes and it occurred. One other cannonball wound up from the south pole and linked violently with Shinashi’s chin, slumping the unbeaten legend into the ring ropes.

“My most memorable combat was once I misplaced to Hisae,” Shinashi mentioned. “How I coped with my loss was that I ran away. I left every thing behind and I ran away to Sao Paulo, Brazil on my own. I booked every thing on my own, my flights, the place to remain. I simply had my vacation spot the place I wished to coach and I simply ran away for about two months. There I used to be in a position to form of reset my thoughts to a degree the place, ‘Hey, properly, I’m nonetheless alive. She didn’t kill me, I’m nonetheless alive, I’m nonetheless right here.’

“The setting was nice, the individuals surrounding me had been nice and I feel with that assist I used to be in a position to refresh and reset my thoughts to get again into aggressive mode. I had a combat lined as much as defend my Smackgirl title. So I went again to Japan, did my combat, defended my title, and flew again to Brazil for an additional month. That’s how I form of handled that complete state of affairs.”

Any dangerous blood between the 2 — fabricated or not — had been settled on that evening and in dramatic vogue. They every had their signature wins over the opposite, and that was sufficient regardless of being 1-1 within the sequence.

Shinashi vs. Watanabe 2 acted as a kind of uncommon moments that solely made each fighters develop and get even higher with each succeeding closely within the time that adopted.

“I went into that rematch with the mentality that I simply don’t need to lose,” Watanabe mentioned. “I felt very strongly that I didn’t need to drop this combat. I do consider there have been about six months to organize for this combat. I re-did every thing. I labored as onerous as I may, tougher than ever. Labored on my grappling, labored on my fundamentals, labored on my energy, and I feel that making ready for that rematch itself made me the fighter I’m at the moment. It gave me the inspiration and a superb purpose to alter myself as a fighter.

“When taking a look at that combat proper now, it’s fairly embarrassing to see my grappling is so dangerous. I’m missing a lot method however nonetheless, that combat was a terrific turning level for me. It gave me a terrific purpose to coach tougher and it’s the inspiration of who I’m proper now.

“I’ve nothing however respect for Shinashi-san,” she continued. “Her professionalism, the truth that she bought tons of tickets to her fights, and I do consider she’s the one who constructed DEEP and Jewels. I consider she’s the one who constructed it. With all that being mentioned, I’ve nothing however respect for her and that’s one of many causes I didn’t need to lose this combat.”

MMA was nonetheless in its infancy within the 2000s, so not each single fighter was on the stage they’d finally grow to be all of the years later. Attending to see two of essentially the most basic elements collide was essential to indicate what course issues had been headed. Stylistically, all of it lined up magically.

“Every thing main as much as that combat was simple to comply with and simple to grasp,” Former Smackgirl matchmaker Kinya Hashimoto mentioned. “It was a typical striker vs. grappler and if Hisae would maintain it on her toes, she would get the win. If Shinashi would take her down, Shinashi would almost certainly win. Each fighters had that ego like they proudly thought they had been one of the best in that division. They’d positively have a look at one another and see one another as rivals. They had been each legitimately expert of their respective background. Hisae with the kickboxing and Shinashi along with her Sambo.

“Your entire course of, it wasn’t simply random girls preventing. These had been official opponents who constructed their approach as much as this combat. It was positively the combat that confirmed the business how official girls’s MMA had grow to be. Your entire course of, the story behind it, since you may see every fighter’s path that led so far. I feel that was positively a combat that modified all people’s perspective in the direction of girls’s fights.”

To this present day, Watanabe’s knockout continues to be one of many easiest ever carried out by a feminine fighter. As atomweights, she and Shinashi confirmed that girls are simply as succesful as the boys contained in the ring or cage.

Even now, each of their 40s, Watanabe and Shinashi really feel they’ve one thing to show not simply to their friends, however to themselves.

“For me, it’s and it isn’t the largest accomplishment in my profession,” Watanabe mentioned. “That win is unquestionably a terrific accomplishment in my profession. However I used to be younger and silly. I couldn’t make the most of that huge win to make myself higher.

“The next course of after that win was very disappointing once I look again. I ought to have utilized that win to make myself higher and take myself greater as a fighter. I couldn’t do this. I used to be younger, I obtained upset with very small minor particulars, I couldn’t encourage myself, and I feel that’s one of many explanation why I made a decision to return again [in 2022]. Once I look again, every thing occurred for a purpose and it’s all linked. I nonetheless need to proceed on this journey, I nonetheless need to proceed to combat.”

Shinashi faces Reina Kobayashi in her first combat since 2019 on Feb. 11, 2023, at DEEP 112 Impression in Tokyo, Japan. Watanabe has fought six instances between MMA and kickboxing since ending a six-year hiatus in 2022.