Tag: RIZIN 20

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)

 

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.

 

Two Bellator vs. RIZIN Fights Announced For RIZIN 20

Two Bellator versus RIZIN matchups were announced for RIZIN’s New Year’s Eve show on Thursday at a press conference. The announcement was one of the many at the event, including fights on the Bellator Japan card and Kyoji Horiguchi’s injury.

RIZIN’s Yuki Motoya will face Patrick Mix on the RIZIN 20 card in a bantamweight fight. Motoya recently lost to Hiromasa Ogiukubo at RIZIN 17 via decision. Mix is undefeated as a pro and has fought twice in Bellator since debuting earlier this year. Mix’s last seven wins have come via stoppage.

Also added to RIZIN 20 was Mikuru Asakura versus John Macapa. Asakura is currently on a six-fight tear, recently defeating Yusuke Yachi at RIZIN 17. Macapa snapped a 2018 three-fight losing streak earlier this year, defeating Kevin Croom then defeating Ashleigh Grimshaw two months ago.

Here’s how RIZIN 20 looks so far:

  1. Lightweight Grand Prix Grand Final
  2. Ayaka Hamasaki (19-2) vs. Seo Hee Ham (22-8)
  3. Johnny Case (27-6-1) vs. Tofiq Musaev (16-3) (Lightweight GP Semi-Final)
  4. Patricky Pitbull (22-8) vs. Luiz Gustavo (10-1) (Lightweight GP Semi-Final)
  5. Yuki Motoya (23-7) vs. Patrick Mix (12-0)
  6. Mikuru Asakura (11-1) vs. John Macapa (23-4-2)

 

Kyoji Horiguchi Out of RIZIN 20 Matchup Against Kai Asakura

Kyoji Horiguchi has been pulled from his New Year’s Eve fight against Kai Asakura due to injury, per a press conference on Thursday. It was reported that Horiguchi tore his ACL.

RIZIN says they will announce another main event soon.

Photos surfaced earlier in the week of Kyoji Horiguchi in a wheelchair with a bandage on his right knee.

The fight was set to be a rematch between the two after Asakura earned a first round stoppage win in a non-championship affair.