DEEP President Shigeru Saeki held a press conference at the DEEP Official Gym today in order to announce a handful of bouts for DEEP 43rd Impact on August 23rd. It's shaping up to be a big show for the promotion - which is closing in on its 10th anniversary - as some major stars return home from the larger shows like UFC and DREAM.

Previously announced were title bouts between bantamweight champ Masakazu Imanari (16-7-1) and 2009 DEEP Protect Cup winner Tomohiko Hori (10-4-3); plus featherweight ace Dokonjonosuke Mishima (19-6-2) defending against AACC's Takafumi Otsuka (8-4-1). Today, it was revealed that Ryo Chonan's (15-10) first opponent back in Japan will be fellow UFC veteran and former DEEP welterweight champion Jutaro Nakao (22-14-4). Chonan seemed to brush off questions about going back to a larger promotion, saying that he is focused on reclaiming his DEEP title for now (and also expecting his second child in September).

On the same show, popular personality Bernard Ackah (2-3) will square off against legendary Pancrase vet Ryushi Yanagisawa (24-23-9), who makes only his second MMA apperance since 2001, when he lost to Fedor Emelianenko in RINGS. His return comes as a bit of a surprise, to say the least - I believe he's been doing some kickboxing and pro wrestling with ZERO1 in the meantime - but a crafty veteran like Ryushi should still be able to pull out a win at the age of 37 if he can withstand the power of Ackah.

One fight on the undercard that I'm particularly interested in is "The Outsider" prospect Tomoya Kato (4-0) taking on R-Blood's Yasuhiro Kawasaki (2-1-1). Kato is a very tough guy, a 23-year-old former drag racer turned bodyguard who now fights alongside fellow BONDS security workers Riki Fukuda and "ISE" Iseno; he won his June DEEP debut in 90 seconds via TKO, the same way he won all three of his Outsider bouts.

Photos via Kamipro and GBRing.