While we still don’t know who Hidehiko Yoshida will be fighting in the main event of his “Astra” retirement show on April 25th, two of Yoshida Dojo’s top featherweights — Michihiro Omigawa and Tatsunao Nagakura — had their opponents finalized today.
One of the most unfortunate refugees in the J-Rock/World Victory Road fallout, the resurgent Omigawa (9-8-1) will see his first action of 2010 when he faces American Top Team product Micah Miller (13-3, 1 NC) in a 143-pound affair.
Following an 0-2 run in the UFC at 155 pounds, Omigawa reinvented himself as a featherweight in 2009, racking up a 5-1-1 record on the year and nearly winning Sengoku’s Featherweight Grand Prix – a tournament from which almost no fan nor pundit gave him a chance of advancing past the first round of. Most recently, the man affectionately known as “Michi” out-slugged Dream’s Hiroyuki Takaya on New Year’s Eve.
Miller, meanwhile, has become one of the sports youngest journeymen since parting ways with World Extreme Cagefighting. Since 2008, the 23-year-old has competed for five different promotions, including Dream, where he was decisioned by eventual tourney finalist Yoshiro Maeda. Miller’s won three straight since, and last fought in September, when he choked out current WEC signee Anthony Morrison at Shine Fights 2.
Unbeaten prospect Nagakura (5-0) will meet ex-lightweight Akihiko Mori (8-7-1). Nagakura was Deep’s 2008 featherweight “Future King” tournament winner and has yet to see the second round of a bout, while Mori is perhaps most noted for being one of two men to hold a win over Maximo Blanco, albeit by disqualification.
Previously announced was a welterweight bout between Yuya Shirai (18-8) and former Cage Rage champion Che Mills (8-3, 1 NC). Other fighters currently listed as participants on Astra’s website include Kazuhiro Nakamura, Denis Kang and Makoto Takimoto.