DEEP women’s open-weight champ Amanda “Powerhouse” Lucas earned a hard-fought decision win over pro wrestling veteran Yuiga tonight at DEEP: “Cage Impact 2012 In Tokyo.” Lucas showcased her improved striking and defeated Yuiga by Majority Decision after two rounds in a non-title bout.

Lucas had a much tougher fight on her hands than many had expected and Yuiga, returning to MMA for the first time in more than five years, put on a strong showing in defeat. Lucas was able to outstrike Yuiga with punching flurries in the second round that proved to be enough to earn her the victory.

Lucas (5-1-0) secured a takedown early in the opening round and struck from the top with hammerfist strikes that kept Yuiga (3-6-0) on the defensive. Lucas mixed in knees and short elbow strikes as well until Yuiga was able to sweep into top position. She landed some solid punches of her own before the back-and-forth round came to a close.

In round two, Lucas opted to keep the fight standing and she repeatedly scored with jabs and punching combinations. Yuiga attempted to counter with leg kicks and one-twos, but they had little effect and Lucas remained the aggressor. Lucas backed Yuiga up with more punches in the latter half of the round and her dominance on the feet was not lost in the eyes of the judges.

One cageside judge ruled the competitive bout even, but two favoured Lucas’s aggression and striking. As a result, Lucas was awarded the Majority Decision victory and she has now posted wins in five straight fights since suffering a loss in her pro debut.

Lucas has eyed a move down to the featherweight division for quite some time and she continued her drop down in weight for this fight, coming in at 151.36 pounds.

Winner: Amanda Lucas by Majority Decision after two rounds. She improves to 5-1-0.

Go Yamamoto contributed to this report.