Category: MMA News

Two Kickboxing Bouts Added To RIZIN 20

Two kickboxing bouts were announced for RIZIN’s New Year’s Eve event RIZIN 20, including TEPPEN gym names Tenshin Nasukawa and Taiju Shiratori.

RIZIN and RISE Kickboxing’s ace Tenshin Nawsukawa will face Rui Ebata. Ebata is 42-3-3 in kickboxing, currently riding a 11-fight winning streak that dates back to 2016. The fight was announced as a 56 kg “Special Rules” kickboxing fight via Twitter on Thursday afternoon (Japan time).

Nasukawa is 35-0 in kickboxing, winning five times in 2019. He recently won the 58kg Rise World Series kickboxing tournament.

RIZIN 20 will see a kickboxing rematch between Taiju Shiratori and Taiga, who recently matched up against each other at RIZIN 19. A third round overhand right from Taiga scored a knockdown, making the fight much closer than it was before.

Former K-1 kickboxer Taiga holds a professional record of 21-10-1, with a 1-2-1 record in RIZIN. Shiratori has been undefeated with three wins in RIZIN, holding a 18-5-1 record altogether.

RIZIN 20 will take place at 1 AM EST on December 31st live from Saitama Super Arena.

Here’s the full card for RIZIN 20 as of right now:

  1. Ayaka Hamasaki (19-2) vs. Seo Hee Ham (22-8) (RIZIN Super Atomweight Championship)
  2. Kai Asakura (14-1) vs. Manel Kape (14-4) (RIZIN Vacant Bantamweight Championship)
  3. Jiri Prochazka (25-3-1) vs. C.B. Dollaway (17-9) (RIZIN Light Heavyweight Championship)
  4. RIZIN Lightweight GP Grand Final
  5. Johnny Case (27-6-1) vs. Tofiq Musaev (16-3) (RIZIN Lightweight GP Semi-Final)
  6. Patricky Pitbull (22-8) vs. Luiz Gustavo (10-1) (RIZIN Lightweight GP Semi-Final)
  7. Tenshin Nasukawa (35-0) vs. Rui Ebata (41-2-3) (123 lbs Kickboxing Special Rules)
  8. Taiju Shiratori (18-5-1) vs. Taiga (21-10-1) (136 lbs Kickboxing)
  9. Yuki Motoya (23-7) vs. Patrick Mix (12-0) (135 lbs)
  10. Mikuru Asakura (11-1) vs. John Teixeira (146 lbs)
  11. Lindsey VanZandt (7-2) vs. RENA (9-3) (112 lbs)
  12. Vitaly Shemetov (23-10) vs. Simon Biyong (6-1) (205 lbs)
  13. Jake Heun (14-9) vs. Satoshi Ishii (22-10-1) (231 lbs)
  14. Shintaro Ishiwatari (26-7-4) vs. Hiromasa Ogikubo (19-4-2) (134 lbs)

 

Three More Fights Added To Bellator Japan

Three more fights have been added to Bellator’s December 29th event which is co-promoted with RIZIN.

RIZIN’s super atomweight fighter Kanna Asakura return to face Jayme Hinshaw. The American fighter has picked up a 4-3 record fighting in King of the Cage. She will be coming back from a 17-month layoff, last fighting in the summer of 2018. Asakura bounced back from a loss to Miyuu Yamamoto in August, defeating Alesha Zappitella via split decision at RIZIN 18.

The sole kickboxing bout on the card will see former K-1 kickboxer Ren Hiramoto return to face Takahiro Ashida. Hiramoto fought for four years as a pro in K-1, recently being absent from kickboxing for a year. With a background in judo, Ashida has a 23-10-2 record in MMA. He has mostly fought in the regional promotion DEEP Impact, with appearances in other promotions as well.

Also added to the card was a heavyweight matchup between Sergey Shemetov and Shoma Shibisai. Shemetov has never fought in RIZIN or Bellator, but his brother Vitaly Shemetov has. Shibisai made his return to RIZIN at RIZIN 19, defeating Chang Hee Kim in just over a minute.

Here is the full Bellator Japan card as of right now:

  1. Fedor Emelianenko (38-6) vs. Rampage Jackson (38-13) (Heavyweight)
  2. Benson Henderson (28-8) vs. Michael Chandler (19-5) (Lightweight)
  3. Lorenz Larkin (21-7) vs. K-Taro Nakamura (35-10-2) (Welterweight)
  4. Ilara Joanne (9-4) vs. Kana Watanabe (8-0-1) (Flyweight)
  5. Goiti Yamauchi (24-4) vs. Daron Cruickshank (22-12) (Lightweight)
  6. Andy Nguyen (6-8) vs. AI (5-1) (Strawweight)
  7. Ren Hiramoto vs. Takahiro Ashida (68 kg Kickboxing)
  8. Ryuichiro Sumimura (14-7) vs. Jon Tuck (10-5) (Lightweight)
  9. Jarred Brooks (15-2) vs. Haruo Ochio (19-7-2) (Strawweight)
  10. Hiroto Uesako (16-8) vs. Yusuke Yachi (20-9) (Lightweight)

Kai Asakura Finds New Opponent In Manel Kape, And Other Additions To RIZIN 20

Another pack of fights were announced for RIZIN 20, including a new bantamweight championship matchup.

Set for New Year’s Eve at Saitama Super Arena, Kai Asakura will now face Manel Kape for the promotion’s vacant Bantamweight Championship. The fight is a rematch, as Asakura previously defeated Kape via decision in 2018.

Kyoji Horiguchi was originally meant to defend his bantamweight belt against Asakura, although injury forced him to pull out and vacate his belt.

Former UFC fighter C.B. Dollaway will make his RIZIN debut in a light heavyweight championship bout against promotional veteran Jiri Prochazka. The fight will end Dollaway’s decade long tenure in the UFC.

Fresh out of participating in the 2019 PFL season, Satoshi Ishii will face Jake Heun. Although previously being under the PFL/WSOF banner as well, Heun never collided with Ishii. Heun is on a two-fight winning streak, recently defeating Vitaly Shemetov due to a cut at RIZIN 17.

Also added to the card was a clash of two highly ranked JMMA fighters in Hiromasa Ogikubo and Shintaro Ishiwatari. Both coming off of wins from RIZIN 17, the matchup is one that could determine who is next for a bantamweight title shot.

Vitaly Shemetov will make his second appearance in RIZIN on New Year’s Eve, welcoming Cameroon fighter Simon Biyong to the promotion. As previously mentioned, Shemetov lost to Heun in his promotional debut.

The day before, a rematch between RENA and Lindsey VanZandt was announced at a Shoot Boxing event.

Here’s the full card for RIZIN 20 as of right now:

  1. Ayaka Hamasaki (19-2) vs. Seo Hee Ham (22-8) (RIZIN Super Atomweight Championship)
  2. Kai Asakura (14-1) vs. Manel Kape (14-4) (RIZIN Vacant Bantamweight Championship)
  3. Jiri Prochazka (25-3-1) vs. C.B. Dollaway (17-9) (RIZIN Light Heavyweight Championship)
  4. RIZIN Lightweight GP Grand Final
  5. Johnny Case (27-6-1) vs. Tofiq Musaev (16-3) (RIZIN Lightweight GP Semi-Final)
  6. Patricky Pitbull (22-8) vs. Luiz Gustavo (10-1) (RIZIN Lightweight GP Semi-Final)
  7. Yuki Motoya (23-7) vs. Patrick Mix (12-0) (135 lbs)
  8. Mikuru Asakura (11-1) vs. John Teixeira (146 lbs)
  9. Lindsey VanZandt (7-2) vs. RENA (9-3) (112 lbs)
  10. Vitaly Shemetov (23-10) vs. Simon Biyong (6-1) (205 lbs)
  11. Jake Heun (14-9) vs. Satoshi Ishii (22-10-1) (231 lbs)
  12. Shintaro Ishiwatari (26-7-4) vs. Hiromasa Ogikubo (19-4-2) (134 lbs)

C.B. Dollaway To Challenge For Jiri Prochazka’s Light Heavyweight Title In RIZIN Debut

Former UFC fighter C.B. Dollaway will move to Japanese MMA promotion RIZIN for his next fight, challenging Jiri Prochazka for the promotion’s Light Heavyweight Championship at RIZIN 20.

The fight will take place on New Year’s Eve at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. It will be one of the three championship bouts on the card.

Dollaway won season seven of the UFC’s TV series The Ultimate Fighter. He fought in the promotion for a decade, getting a record of 11-9 before his departure.

Jiri Prochazka has attained a record of 9-1 since joining RIZIN in 2015, avenging his singular loss earlier this year against King Mo, winning his championship in the process.

Prochazka has yet to defend his belt since winning it in April.

RENA To Meet Lindsey VanZandt In Rematch At RIZIN 20

A rematch from Bellator 222 will take place on New Year’s Eve, as RENA will face Lindsey VanZandt at RIZIN 20. The fight was announced on Tuesday at Shoot Boxing’s “Ground Zero Tokyo 2019” event and later confirmed on Twitter.

The first meeting between the two was on the Bellator 222 preliminary card, with VanZandt getting a first round rear naked choke win. The fight was the first for RENA outside of Japan.

RENA bounced back from her Bellator loss by defeating Alexandra Alvare in 20 seconds at RIZIN 19.

VanZandt has fought twice since her Bellator win, winning one and losing one both in Invicta FC. Back in August she went to a three round decision loss against Jessica Delboni. More recently she stopped Shino VanHoose in under a minute with a leg kick win.

RIZIN 20 is currently headlined by Ayaka Hamasaki attempting to defend her RIZIN Super Atomweight Championship against Seo Hee Ham. The fight is also a rematch, as Hamasaki defeated Ham in their first two meetings back in 2011 and 2010.

 

Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson Set For April 18

After reports surfaced earlier this week of a clash between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson, it was confirmed on Friday night.  The meeting between the fighters will take place on April 18th at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, USA.

Reported by Brett Okamoto of ESPN, it was made official last night that Nurmagomedov would defend his UFC Lightweight Championship against Ferguson. The report details a meeting between Ferguson’s team and the UFC yesterday, where they signed the contract for the fight.

Nurmagomedov’s side signed off on the fight earlier in the week, as his manager Ali Abdelaziz tweeted a photo of the contract.

Nurmagomedov has held the UFC’s Lightweight Championship since early 2018, defeating Al Iaquinta to get the vacant belt. Since then he has bested Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier.

Ferguson currently carries a 12-fight winning streak, recently prevailing over Donald Cerrone in June.

Conor McGregor To Return On Jan. 18 To Face Donald Cerrone

After a 15-month layoff from MMA which included numerous controversies, Conor McGregor will return to fight “Cowboy” Donald Cerrone at UFC 246 in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.

First reported by Brett Okamoto at ESPN, news broke Thursday afternoon that McGregor and Cerrone would fight in a headlining fight that is not for a championship and is a welterweight bout.

In his time off, McGregor has been competing in court. Last March, McGregor had criminal charges dismissed in a case where he took someone’s phone and threw it into the ground.

More famously, in August a video surfaced of McGregor punching a man at a bar. Earlier this month he received a fine of 1,000 euro, pleading guilty to assault.

Last month, the New York Times reported that McGregor was being investigated in Ireland for sexual assault for the second time this year.

McGregor’s last fight was in late 2018, losing to Khabib Nurmagomedov in the fourth round via rear naked choke. That fight was for the Lightweight Championship.

Cerrone will attempt to snap a two-fight losing streak, recently losing in the first round to Justin Gathje.

 

Kyoji Horiguchi Loses Bellator Bantamweight Championship Due To Injury

The effect of Kyoji Horiguchi’s torn ACL and damaged meniscus continued this week, as he has vacated his Bellator Bantamweight Championship.

Bellator president Scott Coker put out a statement on Wednesday regarding the announcement, saying “he has elected to vacate his title & allow the division to move forward in his absence.”

Earlier this month, Horiguchi’s New Year’s Eve fight against Kai Asakura was cancelled due to his injury. Asakura’s replacement opponent has yet to be announced.

Horiguchi’s 13-fight winning streak was broken in August, when he lost in just over a minute to Kai Asakura at RIZIN 19.

He had a dominant 12 months prior to the loss. On 2018 New Year’s Eve, Horiguchi submitted Darrion Caldwell in the third round at RIZIN 14 to win the promotion’s Bantamweight Championship.

After an easy win against Ben Nguyen in April, Horiguchi went on to defeat Caldwell in a rematch at Bellator 222, taking Caldwell’s Bellator Bantamweight Championship.

Yoshinori Horie To Return To Pancrase In February Against Yojiro Uchimura

After a short one-fight stint in the UFC, Yoshinori Horie will return to his home promotion of Pancrase to face Yojiro Uchimura on February 16th.

GONG Kakutogi broke the news on Wednesday that the featherweight will be featured on Pancrase 312, the first show of the year from the promotion.

Horie’s UFC debut was unsuccessful, losing in the third round via head kick from Hakeem Dawodu at UFC 240.

Making his pro MMA debut in Pancrase, Horie had a powerful 8-1 run before getting called up to the UFC.

Uchimura’s upcoming fight is a return to the promotion is his own sense, as he lost a kickboxing bout on the ONE Japan Series back in September. Uchimura’s record within Pancrase is 6-5-1.

Pancrase’s final event of 2019 takes place on December 8th, with Emi Fujino and Jang Hyun Ji headlining the card in a five round fight.

Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson In The Works For April

The highly anticipated matchup between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson could happen on April 18th at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, USA, sources say.

First reported by Brett Okamoto of ESPN and further backed up by Damon Martin at MMAFighting, it has been reported that the two lightweights will headline a card on that date. An official announcement by the UFC has yet to be made.

On Monday, Nurmagomedov’s manager Ali Abdelaziz tweeted a photo of a contract, saying “The champ signed his bout agreement against Tony Ferguson.”

Ferguson and Nurmagomedov were first supposed to face off at UFC 223, although a torn knee ligament for Ferguson soiled the plans.

He returned from his injury in late 2018, defeating Anthony Pettis on UFC 229, a card which Nurmagomedov headlined against Conor McGregor.

Nurmagomedov made his second defence of his UFC Lightweight Championship in September, defeating Dustin Poirier with a third-round rear naked choke.

Ferguson is riding a 12-fight winning streak that dates back to 2013. Most recently, he prevailed over Donald Cerrone after a doctor’s stoppage before round three.