With the first Astra event planned for April 24 the match-ups are starting to be announced by the promotion. Today word comes that Micah Miller will face Michihiro Omigawa. Some background on both men from MMA Mania:
Astra Coming Together: Micah Miller v. Michihiro Omigawa
Michihiro Omigawa punctuated a banner year with a knockout of Hiroyuki Takaya at Dynamite!! 2009 on New Year’s Eve. Entering the Sengoku Featherweight Grand Prix last year with a losing record, the former judoka emerged as a tournament surprise, routing the favorites, LC Davis, Nam Phan, and Marlon Sandro to reach the finale. He fell short against Masanori Kanehara in the tournament final via split decision. He then earned a controversial split decision victory over the top flight featherweight, Hatsu Hioki at Sengoku 11.
Micah Miller, the younger brother of UFC lightweight, Cole Miller, will fight in Japan for the second time in his career against Omigawa. The WEC veteran made his Japanese debut when he entered the DREAM Featherweight grand prix; he suffered a close decision loss against the fellow WEC veteran, Yoshiro Maeda, during the preliminary round of the tournament. He has since won three consecutive fights, including the most recent appearance at Shine Fights against Anthony Morrison.
The rise of Omigawa is something that I don’t think many saw coming. For him to burn through Davis, Phan and Sandro was shocking. Personally, I don’t see how he was given the victory over Hioki but the fact that he was able to hang with him is good enough.
Miller is a really tough fight and he should be a clear favorite coming into the fight, but if we learned anything from 2009 it is not to count Omigawa out just because he’s listed as the underdog.
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