At 20 years of age, Akimoto rides a consecutive 5 fight win streak, he now looks to defeat a former RIZIN champion in spectacular fashion. Continuing to rise up the ranks and solidify himself as JMMA’s next superstar.

A professional since 2008, Kleber had amassed an MMA record of 21-4-1 by the time Akimoto turned just 10 years old. A former KSW and RIZIN Champion with an 89% finish rate, Kleber looks to spoil the rise of Akimoto and submit him on a pathway to regaining his RIZIN Featherweight Title.

So far this year, RIZIN have held 2 numbered events and 3 Landmark events, with RIZIN 52 being held in March, RIZIN 53 being held in May and Landmark 13, 14 and 15 being held in April, June and July respectively.

RIZIN 54 will have 10 matches in total, all contested under RIZIN MMA Rules. In this guide I will cover every match taking place and give an account of each fight.

At the end of the article, I’ll dedicate a section to my picks.

Please follow along below!

- ARATA MIZUNO VS KAIWEN LI -

The first match of the card will be contested at Featherweight, with the debuting Arata Mizuno facing Kaiwen Li.

(9-1 vs 16-8)

At 23 years of age, Arata Mizuno has long been regarded as one of JMMA’s brightest prospects. He’s an effective striker with great clinch control. He holds a record of 9-1 and currently holds the Interim DEEP Featherweight Title. In high school, Mizuno began attending a nearby dojo after being inspired by Mikuru Asakura's YouTube channel. Aiming to be a professional fighter, he’d eventually make his MMA debut in 2023, where he’d win via submission in the first round. 7 consecutive victories across both Fighting Nexus and DEEP would follow, including a DEEP Featherweight Grand Prix win.

After suffering his first defeat against Jin Aoi, Mizuno bounced back with a decision victory against former RIZIN Featherweight Champion, Juntaro Ushiku, winning the Interim DEEP Featherweight Title. Ahead of his RIZIN debut, Mizuno promises to deliver a performance that exceeds expectations.

China’s Kaiwen Li was dubbed ‘‘China’s Takanori Gomi’’, by Japanese fans due to both his fighting style and his appearance. He’s an action fighter with unrelenting pressure and grit. As a child, Kaiwen’s hometown was unsafe and his family had him practice wrestling from the age of 8 to keep him away from trouble. He won the Hunan freestyle wrestling championship multiple times, before transitioning to MMA at 18 years of age. Kaiwen went 9-3 in ONE Championship, securing five knockouts, one submission and three decision victories.

After his spell in ONE, Kaiwen entered the 2023 Road To UFC tournament and was victorious in his first two outings, however he’d lose in the final via an armbar submission. Kaiwen would enter the 2025 Road To UFC tournament as well, scoring a brutal knockout in the opening round, but suffering a decision loss to Japanese fighter Keiichiro Nakamura in the next round. Kaiwen signed with RIZIN in 2026, debuting against Ryo Takagi, where he’d suffer a knockout loss just 1 minute into the fight. Unwilling to give up, Kaiwen says he will use his explosive striking to secure his first RIZIN victory against Arata Mizuno.

Mizuno is a southpaw striker with an effective jab, in his fight with Kaiwen he should look to command the ring and establish his tools early. As the faster fighter, I’d like to see a consistent jab, splitting the guard of Kaiwen and allowing for a straight shot to land directly on the chin. Mizuno will need to fight a clean fight, chaos will only work in favour of his opponent. Mizuno needs to fight defensively responsible and limit his output to singular strikes at a time, throwing long combinations in range against Kaiwen won’t work in his favour. If Mizuno stuns Kaiwen, he’ll need to rush the finish and pour the pressure on, while Kaiwen is a tough fighter, his recovery has shown to be worsening with each fight. Mizuno needs to keep an appropriate distance throughout this fight and use the double underhook clinch to counter pressure.

Kaiwen is a powerful striker with heavy hands and constant pressure. Kaiwen often starts his attacks with 2 leaping hooks, darting into range and hoping to find the chin of his opponent. Kaiwen will thrive in chaos, but it needs to be controlled to an extent, he’s open to counter strikes and almost all of his KO/TKO losses have come via a counter shot that was thrown in response to Kaiwen’s pressure. In this fight, he cannot afford to keep his hands low. Kicks may be of use as well. He needs to make sure Mizuno feels his power early, breaking any rhythm and refusing to let him establish any of his tools. Kaiwen needs to move forward and corner his opponent, limiting his movement and space to circle, those are the moments he’s most likely to land his powerful fight ending blows.

- NAOKI VS ISSA HOSOKAWA -

The next match is contested at a Catchweight of 69kg, with NAOKI facing Issa Hosokawa.

(3-2 vs 0-0)

Naoki’s first experience in martial arts came at 5 years old, he describes being forced to pursue Goju-ryu karate, which his older brother was practicing at the time. He was a massive fan of PRIDE FC growing up and joined a gym when he was 18 with the intention of becoming a professional MMA fighter. Naoki made his RISE debut in 2015, going on a 6 fight winning streak to begin his kickboxing career. In 2021, Naoki faced Hideki Sasaki for the RISE Lightweight Title, where he’d win via unanimous decision and become Lightweight Champion.

In 2025, Naoki made his MMA debut in DEEP, knocking his opponent out in the first round. His RIZIN debut would follow and he’d lose a decision to 46 fight veteran Takahiro Ashida at Super RIZIN 4. Naoki would have two more fights in DEEP before returning to RIZIN against Kaisei Kuroi, who he’d knock out with brutal knees in the clinch after escaping a deep armbar attempt. Naoki is a member of Fighter’s Flow Gym, a gym that specialises in helping crossover martial artists compete in MMA, Naoki credits his head coach Takao Ueda for allowing him to fully express himself in MMA.

Like his opponent, Hosokawa has a karate base, practicing Kyokushin Karate from the age of 6. In 2023, Hosokawa participated in a tournament featuring 100 street fighters from across the country and emerged victorious, signing a 10 million yen contract with Breaking Down in November 2023. Hosokawa had four fights in Breaking Down, going 3-1.

His RIZIN debut would take place on New Year’s Eve, just 23 days after his decision loss to YURA. Hosokawa faced Sho Patrick Usami in a RIZIN OFG (Open Finger Gloves) Kickboxing rules match. After a difficult fight, Usami landed a brutal combination of body strikes, forcing him to the canvas in the 2nd round.Hosokawa then returned to Breaking Down, fighting six more times, winning three and losing two. In this time, Hosokawa captured the Breaking Down Lightweight Title. In his second RIZIN appearance and his professional MMA debut, Hosokawa plans to finish Naoki and display his strength.

In this match, I believe that Naoki is the much more refined striker and can cause issues for Hosokawa in a pure striking match. Whether he chooses to strike or not, we remain to see. I think that Naoki will be the superior grappler and can take the fight to the mat if necessary. Naoki should look to mix up his targets, firing kicks and punches to the body and head of Hosokawa.

In Hosokawa’s case, he’s simply going to have to look for a knockout shot. In a pure striking match, I think that he’s outmatched and can’t keep up with Naoki. He should look to avoid being tied up in the clinch, as well as look to sprawl and defend potential takedowns. If Hosokawa fears the takedown too much, it will open up big opportunities for his opponent to land. Naoki has had his chin cracked before, and it wouldn’t be shocking if Hosokawa found a similar sort of shot.

- JOE HIRAMOTO VS JOLLY -

A Flyweight match follows, Joe Hiramoto faces Jolly.

(3-2 vs 4-0)

Inspired by his older brother Ren, Joe Hiramoto began training kickboxing at the age of 5. A tough fighter with tons of heart, Joe often digs deep to win fights, displaying his growing strength with each MMA outing. At 20 years of age, Joe made his professional MMA and RIZIN debut on New Year’s Eve of 2023, facing YUSHI and defeating him via unanimous decision. Since his debut, Joe has gone 2-2, competing in both RIZIN and DEEP.

Joe trains alongside his older brother Ren Hiramoto and close friend Tatsuki Shinotsuka at STG (Still The Goat) under the guidance of JMMA veteran Takafumi Otsuka. The alliance between Joe, Ren and Tatsuki is known as ‘BLACK ROSE’. All three members have mocked Jolly’s team Fighter’s Flow for being soft and uncool. In his match against Jolly, Joe wants to prove to everyone that Black Rose is superior to Fighters Flow.

Before MMA, Jolly lived a life of chaos and danger. During high school, he joined a biker gang, got into fights repeatedly, was arrested for assault five times and expelled from high school in his second year. Undefeated in MMA, Jolly is an aggressive grappler who hunts submissions early. Jolly made his professional MMA debut in 2018, knocking his opponent out in just a minute. In 2020, he appeared on Rukiya Anpo’s YouTube project as a brawler, was scouted and became Anpo's apprentice. At this time, Jolly owned multiple hostess clubs, although he would later sell these businesses to concentrate on martial arts. Jolly competed in Breaking Down 3 times, winning twice and losing once.

On New Year’s Eve, Jolly would make his RIZIN debut against Ryusei Ashizawa, submitting him with an armbar 25 seconds into the fight. His next fight would come 5 months later, against former Kickboxer Kodama Kenshin. He submitted Kodama with an armbar a minute into the fight. With a record of 4-0 and a 2 fight armbar streak, Jolly will look to earn another submission victory against Joe Hiramoto.

Joe will be the superior striker in this match, he should look to keep it standing and make it uncomfortable for Jolly. I think that Joe should be active with his kicks in this fight, constant low kicks, stab kicks and high kicks. As his opponent won’t be able to match his pace, it’s very possible that Joe can break Jolly on the feet and force a stoppage. Joe needs to remain aware and conscious of the takedown threat, while he can definitely hold his own in the grappling aspect, I wouldn’t advise him to entertain anything like that, as Jolly’s single hope will be to take Joe to the ground or his guard and work to a submission. Joe needs to defend the takedowns, as well as disengage if Jolly pulls guard. Joe is tough, durable and has better endurance than his opponent, if the fight exits the first round, Jolly’s chances can decrease dramatically so long as the fight stays standing.

Jolly will immediately look for the takedowns and clinch entries, where he’ll promptly fall to his back and invite Joe into his guard. Jolly can’t afford to shoot telegraphed takedowns in this fight, as his opponent has a much better sprawl and more experience with MMA grappling in general. Jolly's best chance will be to engage in a striking battle with Joe, shooting underneath his strikes and timing the shots. I believe that Jolly has less of a chance of taking the fight to the ground in open space. If he’s to work takedowns, it should be against the ropes and corner pads, giving Joe as little space as possible to move and turn, as well as opening up trips and throws for Jolly. If he’s unsuccessful at finding a submission however, Joe will be able to work back to his feet much easier, with the corner pads and ropes acting as leverage. Later in the fight, Joe gets sloppy and makes mistakes more easily, if the fight goes longer than expected, there’s definitely a chance of Jolly submitting a worn down Joe.

-JOJI GOTO VS AZIZBEK TEMIROV -

Joji Goto vs Azizbek Temirov follows, which will be contested in the Bantamweight division.

(20-9-1 vs 6-2)

Joji Goto built a base in Judo and Karate from early childhood. An all rounder with a high level of striking and grappling. At 16 years of age, Goto began his MMA training, debuting professionally in 2016. Goto is a heavy handed striker with substantial power and precision, a boxing style of fighter who has scored 10 knockouts, 4 submissions and 6 decision victories. Goto debuted in RIZIN in 2023, winning via twister submission in the second round. Goto would replicate his debut victory in his very next fight, earning yet another victory via twister submission, becoming the first RIZIN fighter in history to earn back to back twister submission wins.

Goto had a short spell in ONE Championship and DEEP, before returning to RIZIN, where he’d go on a 3 fight winning streak, beating names like Jinnosuke Kashimura, Taichi Nakajima and Shorty Torres. This win streak would earn him a shot at RIZIN Bantamweight Champion Danny Sabatello, where Goto would lose via decision in a frustrating fight. Training under JMMA veteran Ryo Chonan at Tribe Tokyo, Goto has also spent time in camp at Kill Cliff FC in America for his upcoming fight.

Azizbek Temirov, brother of former RIZIN and current UFC Flyweight Ramazan Temirov. Azizbek is a dangerous striker, swinging big with everything he throws. Inspired by his brother's training and discipline, he naturally decided to pursue a career as an MMA fighter, debuting professionally in 2023. Azizbek has a 100% Finish/KO rate, finishing all 6 of his wins before the third round. In 2024, Azizbek moved to the United States and trained with Team Alpha Male, led by Urijah Faber. His LFA debut came the following year, when he’d face off against Daniel Araújo and lose a decision. Azizbek then faced recent RIZIN debutant, Yrysbek Tilenov, losing another decision in a close fight.

In April 2026, his 2 fight losing streak was snapped violently, as he’d knock out Bantamweight contender Ryuya Fukuda in his RIZIN debut with an uppercut, rendering the Japanese fighter unconscious in the second round. Azizbek will look to unleash his powerful right hand again, earning his 2nd RIZIN victory against Joji Goto.

Joji Goto is a clean striker with power behind everything he throws, in this fight against Temirov, he needs to match the presence of his opponent in the ring, Goto throws strikes typically in combination, working the body and finishing with a strike to the head. His calf kicks are strong, his jab is quick and his left hand has the potential to finish a fight every time he throws it. Against a striker with 1 shot knockout power like Temirov, Goto needs to be able to move well and manage his distance excellently while keeping a high guard with his hands up. While he moves and circles quite well, he stands planted when he strikes unless he's countering on the back foot. Goto needs to frustrate Azizbek and blind him with his jab, as seen in his fight with Fukuda, once Azizbek began eating multiple strikes that interrupted his blitz forward, he got desperate and began swinging wild overhands that made his strikes before pale in comparison. Like Fukuda, Goto is a southpaw and exits range with his hands down. Obviously, this is dangerous against an orthodox striker like Azizbek who has a nuclear right hand. While countering knees, elbows and clinches should be encouraged, Goto can’t match Azizbek’s energy and pressure on the backfoot without leaving openings, he needs to let him overextend and miss. Goto has the capability to pick his opponent apart with bodyshots and hooks to the head. If need be, the clinch and grappling opportunities may be there to slow the fight’s pace down.

Azizbek Temirov is an aggressive striker who throws almost every strike with 100%, blasting hooks, overhands, straights to the head and body constantly. While I don’t think this is what will happen, I’d advise Azizbek to be a little more patient in this fight, and wait for appropriate times to swing big, his current style is reckless and against a cleaner striker in Goto, it leaves him open to a lot of counter opportunities. In the Fukuda fight, Temirov would attempt to counter Fukuda’s jab with a check hook, often missing and leaving him in a position to be head-kicked or kneed. Goto stands quite upright, Temirov can look to break his balance with inside calf kicks considering the fight will be in open stance. When Goto disengages, Azizbek needs to be ready to unload with his right hand. It’s very possible that Goto gets caught with a big shot during a combination as well, as long as Temirov lands clean, there’s a whole lot of potential for it to be the last strike thrown of the fight. If Temirov spends multiple minutes swinging big and missing while following his opponent around the ring, he’ll run out of stamina unless he’s aided by mysterious supplements.

- KAZUMASA MAJIMA VS KOJI TAKEDA -

A grappling showdown between two of the most skilled grapplers in the Featherweight division, Kazumasa Majima vs Koji Takeda.

(19-6 vs 19-8)

Labelled as ‘The Strongest Salaryman In History’, Kazumasa Majima is one of Japan’s strongest grapplers and 16 of his 19 victories come via submission. A master of wearing his opponents down and choking them out, Majima put together a 14-1 record in promotions like Pancrase and Shooto before debuting in RIZIN. Majima had a less than ideal beginning in the promotion, losing three consecutive matches.

After returning from injury, Majima would secure his first victory in RIZIN, submitting Takahiro Ashida with a Von Flue Choke. Majima has since gone 4-2, submitting notable names like Suguru Nii, Shuya Kimura and most recently, James Gallagher in April of 2026. In addition to being a professional MMA fighter, Majima works as a maintenance worker and pipefitter full-time, balancing martial arts and his work life. Since his TKO loss to Vugar Karamov in November of 2024, Majima has made more time to study tape, deepening his understanding of techniques. Now facing Koji Takeda, he’ll look to extend his winning streak to 3.

Koji Takeda has a base built in wrestling from early in his life. He began wrestling at the age of six and won five high school wrestling championships. After dropping out of university, Takeda would pursue MMA. Takeda began his MMA career with 8 consecutive victories, becoming DEEP Lightweight Champion in his 8th fight. Takeda would then debut in RIZIN, suffering his first career loss to Damien Brown. Takeda proceeded to go 5-5 in RIZIN at Lightweight, before dropping down to Featherweight and beating Kyohei Hagiwara via decision.

Takeda is known for his gritty fighting style, wrestling his opponents to the canvas and throwing ground and pound. Takeda’s former opponents in RIZIN are amongst the toughest out of any active competitor. In his most recent victory, Takeda filled in for Kazuki Aimoto on just days notice and defeated Viktor Kolesnik via unanimous decision at RIZIN 52, in what was a massive upset. Outside of the cage, Takeda is also known for being a heavy smoker, often smoking cigarettes while cutting weight. Takeda will now look to outwrestle the grappling expert Majima and go on a streak of his own.

Majima is an excellent grappler with unshakable top control. On the feet he’s low output, bouncing and moving around until the takedown comes. While he usually shoots double legs, when in the back clinch position, he uses many trips and throws to take the fight to the mat. Once Majima is on top of you, he’ll drop elbows on you and look to pass your guard. If his opponent rolls over, Majima happily takes the back and begins working toward his signature back choke. He has sensational reversals and sweeps, punishing his opponents grappling mistakes. Against Takeda, I suggest that he pushes the grappling pace and retains top control. Majima has to be the one grappling and not getting grappled. On the ground, Majima is by far the more technical grappler, however, Takeda poses a threat when on top with his constant ground and pound. Takeda’s game can’t function when you take the fight to him, when under pressure on the ground, Takeda can scramble wildly and give up compromising positions.

Takeda is a grinding wrestler who never stops coming forward with activity, he’s much more comfortable than Majima on the feet, possibly something to watch if he looks to strike here. Takeda will push his opponents back to the ropes with a clinch, knee them, strike them and look to throw them down to the mat. When Takeda’s opponents build back up and work their way back to their feet, he slams them again and again and again. With both unrelenting pace and pressure, if Takeda is the one forcing the action, he’s the one winning. Against Majima, Takeda needs to attempt to reverse any takedowns and end up on top. He can’t afford to have Majima control him from the top, as it's almost impossible to get back to your feet without an elite scrambling ability. In this fight, I suggest that Takeda strikes mainly and forces the clinch against the ropes, landing strikes from those positions and avoiding the ground. Later in the fight, Takeda should have the stamina advantage and can pour it on late.

- TSUYOSHI SUDARIO VS RYO SAKAI -

RIZIN’s Heavyweight Japan Grand Prix officially kicks off as Tsuyoshi Sudario faces Ryo Sakai.

(9-4 vs 15-15)

In the past, Sudario competed in Sumo before retiring in 2019 and pursuing MMA. Heading into the infamous 2025 RIZIN Heavyweight Grand Prix, Sudario was 9-3 in RIZIN with 8 knockout victories, beating notable names such as Ikuhisa Minowa and Hideki Sekine. In May of 2025, Sudario was matched against Jose Augusto in the first round of the GP, suffering a decision loss to the Brazilian fighter after being knocked down in the first round. Sudario’s fight against Ryo Sakai will be his first fight since his disappointing loss last year.

Brother to Takakenhsin, Sudario’s spot in the 2026 Heavyweight Grand Prix was confirmed after his brother’s fight against Ryo Sakai in June. While Takakenshin knocked Sakai out in the first round, he failed to make weight, forfeiting his place in the Grand Prix to his brother Sudario.

At 39 years of age, Sakai has been fighting professionally in MMA since 2012, amassing a record of 15-15, fighting in Grachan, DEEP and RIZIN. In 2025, Sakai made his RIZIN MMA debut against King Edokpolo, even taking him to the second round, but was ultimately stopped with heavy blows from back mount. Most recently, Sakai suffered a knockout loss against Takakenshin at RIZIN Landmark 14 earlier this year. Sakai is 0-2 in RIZIN and 11-9 in DEEP.

I can’t offer much fight advice for either fighter here, considering it’s a Heavyweight fight between two Japanese fighters. I hope they both have a lot of fun because I certainly won’t be.

- MIKIO UEDA VS KING EDOKPOLO -

The second opening match of the 2026 RIZIN Heavyweight Grand Prix follows, with Mikio Ueda facing King Edokpolo.

(5-3 vs 3-0)

Mikio Ueda’s beginnings in martial arts came when he first began training in Kyokushin Karate at the age of 5. His professional MMA debut came in 2022, losing to JMMA veteran Tsuyoshi Kosaka by TKO. Ueda has since gone 4-2 in RIZIN, finishing Tsuyoshi Sudario and Shoma Shibisai, before most recently losing to Alexander Soldatkin via TKO in the second round of the 2025 Heavyweight Grand Prix. Since this loss, Ueda has spent time in the United States at Kill Cliff FC, training with multiple high level fighters and improving areas of his MMA game.

Born to a Nigerian father and a Korean mother, King Edokpolo stands at 6 feet 8 inches. One of RIZIN’s scariest fighters, King Edokpolo’s height, reach and power spell danger for all those that step in the ring with him. Before MMA, Edokpolo was a successful baseball player in high school. Wanting to test his physique and strength, he began training in MMA in 2022. Edokpolo fought twice for Breaking Down, winning both fights via decision.

In his professional MMA debut, he would win by knockout just 14 seconds into the fight, quickly attracting the attention of RIZIN, who gave him the opportunity to fight on New Year’s Eve in 2024, where Edokpolo would score another first round knockout, this time against Takakenshin. Edokpolo would then fight Ryo Sakai, finishing him in the second round. While securing the victory, he was unsatisfied with his performance, leading him to head overseas and train with Alex Pereira’s head coach Plinio Cruz. Now approaching his third fight in RIZIN, Edokpolo will look to show off his improved skills.

For Ueda, I think that heavy low kicks will work against a taller fighter, but apart from that I don’t have much else to say. Heavyweight is Heavyweight.

Edokpolo doesn’t need much to win this fight,blitzing forward and putting his giant fists on Ueda's chin should earn him an early knockout win.

- YUKI ITO VS ALIBEK GADZHAMMATOV -

Yuki Ito vs Alibek Gadzhammatov, a highly anticipated match between two of the top strikers in the Flyweight division.

(20-7 vs 6-1)

‘‘Please accept my passionate love call, Makoto-Kun ❤︎⁠’’

Since his very first appearance in RIZIN, Yuki Ito has greatly contributed to the excitement surrounding the Flyweight division. In 2025, his participation in the Flyweight Grand Prix was announced and he was scheduled to face Nkazimulo Zulu in the opening round at Super RIZIN 4. Ito went all 15 minutes with Zulu, hurting him badly multiple times, securing a unanimous decision victory. Unfortunately for Ito, he'd be heartbroken when he lost the election to proceed to the next round. In a reserve match, Ito was outwrestled by Erson Yamamoto and lost a unanimous decision. After his less than ideal ending to 2025, Ito returned in March of 2026, facing KNOCKOUT Unlimited Champion Carlos Mota. In an intense striking match, Ito struck first and landed a massive headkick followed by a straight, sending Mota to the canvas, where he would hammerfist his way to victory. During his post fight interview, called for a title match with the Flyweight Champion at the time, Hiromasa Ougikubo.

Ahead of his match with Gadzhammatov, Ito is undefeated against foreign fighters, with his win against Carlos Mota extending the streak to 5-0. Ito is 10-3 in RIZIN, with 5 knockouts and 5 decisions. Outside of the ring, Ito is known to enjoy gambling and playing Pachinko, spending his free time in local Pachinko Parlours. When talking about his unusual love for Pachinko, Ito says that it’s what ignites the fighting spirit inside of him, finishing by saying he aims to be the strongest Pachinko player in the world. It’s very likely that the winner of this fight challenges Makoto Shinryu for the RIZIN Flyweight Title next.

Alibek Gadzhammatov was signed to RIZIN in 2024, debuting at RIZIN Landmark 10 in November of 2024 against Daichi Kitakata. Alibek swarmed his opponent in the clinch, landing heavy knees and strikes against the cage, leading to a TKO finish on the ground. Despite being from Dagestan, Alibek is predominantly a striker, with his background being in Wushu Sanda, where he’d have 120+ fights and become the Russian Champion.

After Alibek’s RIZIN debut, he entered the 2025 Flyweight Grand Prix, facing off against Takaki Soya in the opening round. After a gruelling fight in which both men exchanged heavy blows, Alibek would find his rhythm in the third round, knocking Soya down and finishing the fight. In the election, Alibek was voted to proceed to the next round, scheduled against Hiromasa Ougikubo. During his training camp, Alibek injured his neck and ended up fighting while compromised against Ougikubo, losing a unanimous decision. After time spent recovering, Alibek now returns to RIZIN almost a year later against Yuki Ito in a striker’s showdown at Flyweight.

Against a fellow striker in Alibek, Ito will fight comfortably knowing that it’s unlikely the fight ends up on the ground. Ito has quick hands and excellent boxing combinations. He manages distance perfectly. Against Alibek, Ito should be able to pick him apart in boxing exchanges. Ito should dig his hooks to the body and use his knees to counter Alibek’s forward pressure. I’d advise against throwing a lot of kicks in this fight, as Ito is prone to being countered by a cross over the top. When in the pocket, Ito needs to take advantage of his speed and throw multiple shots, beating Alibek to the punch. Ito moves well, ducking away, turning out and circling. His footwork combined with his boxing has earned him almost every win on his record. When Alibek fought Soya, Soya exposed how reactionary Alibek was. Because of this, Ito should be feinting constantly, drawing out those big reactions from Alibek and keeping him worried about the next strike. Up close, Alibek has a particular weakness against uppercuts. Ito can’t let himself be drawn into the clinch and tied up, Alibek has dangerous knees and elbows from various positions. In this fight, I’ll give Ito the boxing advantage, with Alibek having the kicking advantage.

For Alibek, Ito is a great matchup to showcase his full MMA game. Alibek needs to be the one powering forward, throwing multiple shots at a time and putting Ito on his heels, he can’t afford for it to be a neutral fight where both of them stand in the middle. In the past, Alibek has had trouble moving well and has been pushed back easily by pressure fighters. Alibek has a deep striking toolbag, front kicks, snap kicks, push kicks are strikes that he throws constantly. Alibek should utilise his reach advantage and look to stick a jab in Ito’s face. Up close, Alibek’s guard is quite compact, but later in the fight when he tires, his hands tend to drop more often, leaving him vulnerable. Alibek can fight with the comfort of knowing that he can take Ito down, pretty much at any given time, whereas Ito may worry about the shot. I think that Alibek should kick often here and not let himself be drawn into a scrappy fight, if he’s hurt or can’t handle the oncoming pressure, he should simply tie Ito up in the clinch or look to grapple.

- SHOKO SATO VS PATCHY MIX -

Seasoned veteran Shoko Sato, faces off against Jiu Jitsu specialised grappler Patchy Mix in an exciting Bantamweight matchup.

(38-17-2 vs 20-4)

Shoko Sato is a seasoned veteran, excelling in all areas of MMA. Since debuting in 2007, Sato has fought 57 times across different promotions like Pancrase, Sengoku, ROAD FC and Shooto. With his more memorable stints coming in ONE Championship and, of course, RIZIN. Sato has fought six fights in RIZIN, beating names like Shinobu Ota, Juntaro Ushiku and Soo Chul Kim. More recently, Sato fought Danny Sabatello in September of 2025, losing a decision in a close fight where he was controlled for parts.

In March of 2026, Sato fought former LFA Champion John Sweeney in a fight that Sweeney was heavily favoured to win. Sato took the fight to Sweeney, tripping him against the corner pad and kneeing his face, causing a massive cut to open above Sweeney’s eye. Sato would follow Sweeney into mount, bludgeoning him with sharp elbows from top position. Sato then transitioned into a mounted triangle, turning over and finishing the submission from his guard, marking the first time Sweeney had ever been submitted. Sato now looks to record his biggest win yet against former Bellator Champion, Patchy Mix.

On his path to becoming the Bellator Bantamweight Champion, Patchy Mix defeated James Gallagher, Kyoji Horiguchi and Magomed Magomedov, before knocking Raufeon Stots unconscious with a brutal knee to win the title. A Brazillian Jiu Jitsu Black Belt, Patchy is a master on the ground, submitting 13 of his 20 wins, 11 with chokes, Mix’s specialty. After defending his Bantamweight Title twice, against Sergio Pettis and Magomed Magomedov, Mix signed with the UFC and debuted against the #10 ranked Mario Bautista. After a very underwhelming performance that saw Mix struggle with his footwork and head movement, Bautista won by unanimous decision. 4 months later, Mix returned to face Polish fighter Jakub Wikłacz. Mix had a much closer fight against Wikłacz, but failed to establish his grappling dominance and would lose via split decision.

On the 29th of January 2026, in a shock announcement, Patchy Mix was revealed to have been released from the UFC, signing with RIZIN to face rising star Kyoma Akimoto at Featherweight. Patchy was unable to deal with the speed and timing of Akimoto and was dropped by a combination to the body and head at the end of round 1. In the second round, the same would happen again and Patchy was dropped with a straight shot followed by brutal soccer kicks to the head. Prior to this fight, Mix had never been finished. After an unsuccessful outing at Featherweight, Patchy now drops down to his natural weight class of Bantamweight to face Shoko Sato, aiming to snap his 3 fight losing streak.

On the feet, Sato is quicker and more technical than Mix. Sato should look to mix the targets and exploit Mix’s lack of head movement. Jabs to the body and head should land consistently and can be followed up with straight shots. Sato can’t afford to back straight up, as this can play into Mix’s takedown game. In the striking exchanges, Sato can catch Mix out of position and land with big strikes. Mix bombs forward to close the distance, and if he fails to grab a clinch or the hips for a takedown, he’s wide open for counter shots. If backed up to the ropes, Sato needs to intelligently defend Mix’s takedown attempts, if the fight hits the mat and Mix is in top control, Sato can absolutely not afford to give up any compromising positions that Mix can use to attempt chokes. While a great scrambler, when working up to his feet, Sato often gives his back up, against Mix, this will obviously pose incredible danger. I don’t want to see Sato attempting guillotines to defend against takedowns.

In this fight, Patchy needs to go all out for the takedown, he’s shown a clear weakness and an almost complete inability to defend strikes on the feet and shouldn’t even entertain a striking match against Sato. Patchy will look to stay on the offensive and push Sato back, shooting takedowns and aiming to bring the fight to the mat and work from where he’s most comfortable. Mix has a wide array of submissions on the ground, if he can pass Sato’s guard it opens up opportunities for arm triangles and potential armlocks. If Sato presents Mix with the opportunity to take his back, Mix will gladly sink in both hooks and wrap up a body triangle, squeezing Sato and working toward a rear naked choke. If Sato can successfully work back to his feet, Mix shouldn’t be discouraged, sticking to his game plan and shooting more and more takedowns.

- KLEBER KOIKE VS KYOMA AKIMOTO -

Former Champion Kleber Koike faces rising Japanese star Kyoma Akimoto on his quest to reclaim his Featherweight Title. The matchup will be a classic grappling vs striking contest.

(36-9-1 vs 12-1)

Other than his Bonsai Jiu Jitsu senior Roberto Satoshi Souza, Kleber Koike is arguably the most prolific and accomplished Jiu Jitsu practitioner RIZIN has ever seen. After becoming KSW’s Featherweight Champion in 2017, Kleber debuted in RIZIN on New Year’s Eve in 2020, submitting Kyle Aguon with a d’arce choke in the first round. On his road to becoming RIZIN Featherweight Champion for the first time, Kleber submitted five consecutive opponents, extending his streak to 6 when he submitted Juntaro Ushiku with a triangle choke to become champion.

In Kleber’s first defence of the belt against Chihiro Suzuki, he’d miss weight by 0.88 lbs, thus leaving the Featherweight Title vacant and making him ineligible to win the belt. Amid all the chaos, Koike submitted Suzuki with an armbar in the first round. To get another title opportunity, Kleber was forced to build himself back up, submitting former Featherweight Champion, Yutaka Saito via d’arce choke and submitting former Bantamweight Champion Juan Archuleta via heel hook. After these two performances, Kleber got another opportunity at the title, facing Chihiro Suzuki on New Year’s Eve of 2024. Kleber won by decision, reclaiming his belt.

More recently, Koike fought three times in 2025, being defeated by Razhabali Shaydullaev and Mikuru Asakura in the summer months, before defeating former Featherweight Champion Vugar Karamov by decision on New Year’s Eve. The fight against Akimoto will be just Kleber’s second fight in seven matches against an opponent who does not hold the title of Champion or Former Champion.

Japan’s rising star, Kyoma Akimoto. At just 20 years of age, Akimoto has quickly risen to the top of RIZIN’s Featherweight Division Debuting in 2024 with unprecedented activity, Akimoto scored a vicious knockout against Kintaro, landing an accurate straight left hand, dropping Kintaro and following up with grounded knees to earn a TKO victory. 2 months later, Akimoto fought seasoned veteran, Hiroaki Suzuki, winning a unanimous decision. A month later, Akimoto was scheduled to fight Bantamweight Title contender, Yuki Motoya on New Year’s Eve. In a tough fight, Motoya dominated the ground exchanges, controlling Akimoto for large portions of the fight.

In 2025, Akimoto fought and stopped all three opponents he faced. He submitted Koki Akada and knocked out Kyohei Hagiwara before knocking out Suguru Nii on New Year’s Eve. When Akimoto was just 14, he discovered the Asakura brothers on television, who were active in RIZIN at the time. Akimoto credits both Mikuru and Kai Asakura for directly inspiring him to pursue martial arts. In March 2024, Akimoto transferred to Japan Top Team and continues to train there alongside the Asakura brothers to this day. Akimoto is a quick and precise striker with incredible timing and accuracy, he has a 57% KO rate and a 17% submission rate, combining for a 74% finish rate. In March 2026, on Akimoto’s last day as a teenager, he recorded his biggest win to date, defeating and knocking out former Bellator Bantamweight Champion Patchy Mix in a major upset. During his post fight interview, he announced that he will be the one to carry RIZIN into the future.

With a 7-1 record in RIZIN at just 20 years of age, alongside connections to the ultra popular Mikuru and Kai Asakura, Akimoto has quickly become one of RIZIN’s biggest stars. Now headlining his 3rd event against a former champion, Akimoto aims for a knockout that puts him into the title conversation.

On the feet, Kleber is almost exclusively on the back foot, waiting for his opponent to close the distance so he can grab a hold of them and look for trips or drag them down into his guard. Kleber waits by the ropes and invites pressure, shielding his face with a high guard and keeping his legs active, kicking and teeping. In open space, Kleber stands upright and typically ducks under strikes, grabbing the hips and moving his opponent closer to the corner and then looking to trip them down. In Kleber’s guard, he’ll threaten triangles, armbars and sweeps. Kleber truly believes in his style, he won’t abandon it at all, regardless of how effective it is in the given fight. When desperate, Kleber can move forward quite recklessly, throwing kicks from both sides, leaving his chin exposed and arms flapping around, this was most noticeable in the Mikuru Asakura fight, where Mikuru would disengage and stand up from Kleber’s guard. Against Akimoto, Kleber can’t afford to just invite Akimoto’s offence on, as seen in the Shaydullaev fight, a fighter with significant power will simply knock him out if he presents his chin. Kleber needs to hold his high guard and enter clinch positions when Akimoto closes the distance, he can’t afford for the fight to be contested in open space for very long, as Akimoto will almost certainly find his range and open up with powerful strikes. Kleber needs to latch onto Akimoto and drag or trip him to the mat, attempting submissions from everywhere, forcing him to make a mistake or work back to his feet desperately, which can lead to more opportunities for Kleber to find a submission.

Akimoto is a phenomenal striker with quick, precise and powerful strikes, he finds the chin of his opponents consistently. Akimoto has great timing and understanding of range, he knows when to counter and knows when to move. Akimoto utilises a constant jab, following it up with his signature cross, throwing at different targets and mixing shots to the head and body. Akimoto works the body in various ways, he has great body hooks and step in knees. Against Kleber, Akimoto will need to manage his range as usual, entering and exiting range in a measured way. Against the ropes, Akimoto needs to find the right time to fire strikes at Kleber and avoid being dragged and tied up in a clinch. With the opportunities Kleber presents him, I believe that Akimoto will have more than enough chances to find the chin and hurt Kleber, something similar to the Shaydullaev finish. I don’t expect Akimoto to have any interest in playing in Kleber’s guard. He should immediately disengage and allow Kleber back to his feet. The left straight will be all Akimoto needs.

That’s the preview! If you made it to the end, thank you for your attention and time.

With all the research, translation and writing in length, these articles take me quite a while to put together, but I hope that they are informative and enjoyable to read before each RIZIN event. If you enjoy them, liking, commenting and resharing the posts means a lot to me.

The closing part of this article will now feature information on how to watch RIZIN 54 LIVE + My final picks.

Akimoto - KO/TKO R2
Sato - Decision
Alibek - Decision
King Edokpolo - KO/TKO R1
Sudario - KO/TKO R1
Majima - Decision
Goto - Decision
Joe Hiramoto - Decision
Naoki - KO/TKO R1
Mizuno - Decision

You have the option of either purchasing the PPV for 19.99 (prices will vary), or purchasing a month of RIZIN’s premium pass for 16.99 (prices will vary) which will give you the following: Access to RIZIN’s entire catalogue of events, fights and access to all RIZIN PPV events that air live while your membership is active.

For international viewers, RIZIN 54 will begin on 1:00 AM ET on August 11th, 10:00 PM PT on August 10th, 6:00AM on August 11th BST.

THE EVENT IS AVAILABLE TO WATCH WORLDWIDE ON RIZIN.TV!

END OF ARTICLE.

7 matches in total were announced, with the bout order as follows :

- Razhabali Shaydullaev vs AJ McKee - RIZIN Featherweight/PFL Featherweight Title Match.

- Mikuru Asakura vs Shinya Aoki - RIZIN Lightweight Match.

- Roberto Satoshi Souza vs Shunta Nomura - RIZIN Lightweight Match.

- Ren Hiramoto vs Karshyga Dautbek - RIZIN Featherweight Match.

- YA-MAN vs Yutaka Saito - RIZIN Featherweight Match.

- Vugar Karamov vs Ryo Takagi - RIZIN Featherweight Match.

- Daichi Tomizawa vs Ryo ‘Don’t Mind’ Kawabata - RIZIN Catchweight Match.

Additionally, RENA vs Natasha Kuziutina will take place at Women's Super Atomweight, a matchup that had already been announced prior to the press conference. Questions were also raised due to the absence of fan favourite Chihiro Suzuki, who had previously been advertised for Super RIZIN 5. When questioned, RIZIN CEO Nobuyuki Sakakibara stated that Chihiro would be unable to compete due to a fractured rib sustained in training, further stating that his return match might be scheduled sometime beyond September.

Since its introduction in 2022, ‘Super RIZIN’ has arguably become the biggest event on RIZIN’s calendar. As the promotion’s marquee summer card, Super RIZIN has consistently delivered the highest profile matches the promotion has to offer.

Much of this success can be attributed to Japanese superstar Mikuru Asakura, who has headlined this event for 4 consecutive years. During this period, Asakura would share the ring with legendary boxer Floyd Mayweather, challenge Vugar Karamov for the vacant Featherweight title, face Ren Hiramoto in RIZIN's biggest ever fight and finally meeting Kleber Koike in a historic rematch.

The theme for Super RIZIN 5 has been set as ‘復活’’, translating as ‘Revival’ or ‘Comeback’ in English. The event is promoted in a way that highlights the comeback of fighters facing a loss or battling adversity in other ways. While Super RIZIN 5 marks the date of revival for many fighters, it also marks an exciting new time for Japanese MMA, with many more beautiful stories waiting to be created.

On Thursday, September 10th, Osaka’s Kyocera Dome hosts what could be the biggest RIZIN event yet.

Now, let’s take a closer look at the eight officially announced matchups. For those unfamiliar with RIZIN, I’ll explain the backstory behind each match while introducing every fighter currently scheduled to compete.

The first match on the card will be contested at a Catchweight of 59kg, with former kickboxer, Daichi Tomizawa facing former judoka Donmai Kawabata.

Daichi Tomizawa’s career in martial arts would begin with kickboxing. He’d have 8 amateur fights, earning a record of 6-2 before turning professional. Tomizawa would join the kickboxing promotion Krush where he fought twice and won both bouts by decision. Tomizawa would eventually set his goals on competing in MMA after appearing on Breaking Down, a show organised by Mikuru Asakura where fighters compete in 1 minute rounds. While he didn’t get his hand raised, Tomizawa’s loss proved as worthy motivation, leading him to join RIZIN, where he’d make his professional MMA debut on New Year’s Eve of 2024, scoring a brutal knee knockout against Kota Miura. Tomizawa has since gone 2-2 in RIZIN and has struggled to find consistency. He recently became a member of the Fighter’s Flow Gym, a gym now notorious for training former kickboxers who want to become complete mixed martial artists.

Donmai Kawabata's arrival in RIZIN came as a surprise to many. A lifelong judoka, Kawabata boasts an impressive competitive background, winning the All Japan Intercollegiate Judo Weight Category Championships in 2009, the Kodokan Cup in 2011 and the All Japan Selected Judo Weight Category Championships in 2013. He also finished runner-up at the Grand Slam. When Kawabata retired from active competition in 2019, he’d make a YouTube channel focused on the continued coverage of judo, consisting of interviews with former and current judoka who’ve won world championships and various comedic videos. When his videos began to gain traction, Kawabata earned the attention of Kai Asakura, who persuaded him to compete on Breaking Down. Kawabata obliged, facing Hiroya, losing by decision following an extension round. Despite the loss, Asakura insisted that Kawabata begin training MMA, which he agreed to, beginning his training at the age of 36.. He now looks toward his professional MMA debut on the grandest stage of them all in RIZIN.

The action follows, with a Featherweight matchup next as Vugar Karamov takes on Ryo Takagi.

From Azerbaijan, Vugar Karamov etched himself into RIZIN’s history when he became the 4th Featherweight champion, following a 1st round submission victory against Mikuru Asakura. Heading into his 1st title defense, Karamov had a RIZIN record of 5-1 alongside all the confidence in the world having brought RIZIN to his home country of Azerbaijan. While everything favoured Karamov heading into this fight, he’d be stunned by Chihiro Suzuki, who scored a win from bottom after connecting with a brutal upkick on the chin of Karamov while he postured up. Karamov would later describe this feeling of letting his own fans down as ‘totally embarrassing’, looking to carry that anger into his next fight and redirect it toward his opponent. Karamov would then face Kazumasa Majima and do exactly that, finishing the fight in just 27 seconds, after connecting with a brutal right overhand followed by elbows on the ground. He’d then make a surprising move to Lightweight, facing Roberto Satoshi Souza for the Lightweight Title. Karamov would fall victim to Satoshi’s signature triangle choke, tapping out with 15 seconds left of the very first round. After this fight, Karamov announced plans to return to Featherweight permanently, stating that Lightweight was never truly his division. He’s since gone 1-1, now looking to get back into title conversations with a win against a prospect in Ryo Takagi.

Ryo Takagi approaches his 8th RIZIN fight at 26 years of age, an all round MMA fighter, Takagi is comfortable wherever the fight ends up. Takagi began his career in Pancrase, where he’d earn 4 straight victories, 3 coming via knockout with his right straight punch. He was then dubbed 'God's Right Hand' by a teammate. Takagi’s RIZIN debut would come against the dangerous Russian striker, Viktor Kolesnik. Kolesnik was the more experienced striker in the contest, outstriking Takagi to a decision victory. Following this loss, Takagi knew that he needed to improve and reach new levels, which caused him to train at Tiger Muay Thai with his previous opponent Kolesnik. Interestingly enough, during Takagi’s time in Thailand he’d also train with his future opponent Vugar Karamov. On his return to RIZIN, he’d win emphatically with his signature brutal right straight against Taisei Nishitani. The good form would continue for Takagi, earning a rear naked choke victory against fan favourite Kyohei Hagiwara in his next outing. After 2 consecutive victories, Takagi was matched up with highly touted prospect Kyoma Akimoto, where he'd put up a tough fight, but ultimately lose the decision. Since this loss, he has frequented Vegas, training with many high level opponents in America. Takagi is now on a 3 fight winning streak in RIZIN, with his last fight ending in just over a minute after a brutal knockout of Li Kaiwen. Takagi now looks to test his skills against a former champion, aiming to reach the title himself.

We continue at Featherweight for a match between Yutaka Saito and YA-MAN.

After a lengthy career in amateur Shooto, Yutaka Saito would make his professional debut in 2011. Five years later, he'd win the 10th Shooto Featherweight title. Saito made his RIZIN debut in 2020, and finished Kazumasa Majima with a brutal combination of soccer kicks to the head of a grounded opponent, taking full advantage of the RIZIN ruleset in his first fight. Saito would fight for the inaugural RIZIN Featherweight Title just 2 months later against Mikuru Asakura, clinching the win via decision and becoming RIZIN’s first ever Featherweight Champion. In a match with no title stipulations, Saito snapped Vugar Karamov’s 11 fight win streak, earning a decision victory against the Azeri. In the following match, Saito lost his belt on the stool in total agonising fashion, after sustaining a deep cut to his eyebrow. After losing the title, Saito would go 1-4 in his next 5 fights, seemingly never regaining the form that led him to the championship. In January of 2025, Saito would officially open his ramen shop ‘Men ZIN Saito’ five months after his most recent loss. The match vs YA-MAN was originally scheduled for New Year’s Eve 2025, however due to an orbital fracture, YA-MAN was forced to pull out.

YA-MAN has been a fighter for as long as he can remember. From his days of street fighting as a teenager to his professional kickboxing debut in 2018, YA-MAN lives for fighting, and it’s evident in his aggressive and unpredictable style. Before making his full transition to MMA, YA-MAN would go 14-4 in kickboxing, boasting wins against fighters such as Kan Nakamura, Kouzi, Ryusei Ashizawa and even Mikuru Asakura. After a hard fought decision loss to Ren Hiramoto on New Year’s Eve in his MMA debut, YA-MAN went back to the drawing board, knowing he needed to improve his skills. He’d return 7 months later against Hiroaki Suzuki, knocking him out brutally in the 2nd round with a left hook. YA-MAN ran to the ropes and pointed to his hostess crush in the crowd, whom he had bought tickets for. YA-MAN would go all out for New Year’s Eve again, this time facing Kazakh fighter Karshyga Dautbek. YA-MAN had a tough and competitive fight, but ultimately the difference in the grappling was evident, and YA-MAN had lost another close decision. He’d return in the following summer, this time facing off against JMMA legend and grappling expert Masanori Kanehara. YA-MAN pushed the pace from the beginning of the fight and swarmed Kanehara with lunging and leaping hooks from all different angles. When forced to grapple, YA-MAN showed a different side to his defensive game that hadn't been seen before. After an exhausting pace, YA-MAN would find the shot in the 3rd round, knocking Kanehara out with an uppercut.Following his injuries last year, YA-MAN now looks to return to full strength against Yutaka Saito.

Next up is a Featherweight match between Karshyga Dautbek and Ren Hiramoto.

Just two days after his knockout victory over Kyohei Hagiwara, Dautbek is booked for his next fight against one of RIZIN’s biggest names in Ren Hiramoto. A terrifying striker with 15 knockout victories and 5 RIZIN wins to his name, Dautbek will definitely be looking for yet another stoppage win against Hiramoto, finally earning him the title shot he's been chasing since his first RIZIN win in 2024. Following his health scares in March 2026, it seems that Dautbek’s planned move to the Bantamweight division has been indefinitely postponed now as he gears up to fight Hiramoto. He'll be by far Hiramoto's toughest test in RIZIN, while also being the first foreigner Ren has ever fought in MMA.

When questioned if the fight was difficult to make, RIZIN CEO Nobuyuki Sakakibara stated, ‘Hiramoto asked to fight someone that everyone would be happy with. That opponent ended up being Dautbek.’

Since making the switch from kickboxing to MMA, Ren Hiramoto’s starpower has been undeniable. From beginning his career at 0-2, to rebuilding himself and knocking out RIZIN's biggest superstar, Mikuru Asakura, in a fight that would end up breaking almost every viewing record RIZIN previously held. Since Super RIZIN 3, Hiramoto has constantly made headlines for doing anything but fighting.Fans were hopeful that he’d make his full return to MMA soon once he had competed in an exhibition boxing match with Kouzi at RIZIN 53. Hiramoto has come out multiple times and demanded a fight with either Hagiwara or Dautbek, so once his 2 ideal opponents were booked together, it was logical to expect Ren to face the winner.

The first Lightweight match of the card follows, with Satoshi Souza facing Shunta Nomura.

Roberto Satoshi Souza is the record holder for the most title defences in RIZIN history. Satoshi first captured the Lightweight Title in 2021, defending it 5 times over 4 years. During that time, Satoshi submitted Tofiq Musayev, Yusuke Yachi, Johnny Case and Yoshinori Horie. He finished Luis Gustavo with strikes in his only title fight not to end via submission. By far RIZIN’s most dominant ever champion now returns to the ring without the belt by his side, an unfamiliar feeling. Following his 5th successive defence of the title, Satoshi accepted a short notice fight against Uzbek fighter Ilkhom Nozimov on New Year’s Eve. Nozimov would knock him out cold in 13 seconds with a brutal knee, wiping out 4 years of history with a single strike. While Satoshi held losses to both Patricky Pitbull and AJ McKee, these happened under co-promotional banners, when looking at Satoshi’s run in RIZIN alone, an 11 fight undefeated streak was snapped. Satoshi would take time to rest, expecting a fight with Nozimov to happen again in 2026, but things were shaken up when Nozimov was scheduled to face Luis Gustavo at RIZIN 53. Gustavo knocked Nozimov out cold and claimed the RIZIN Lightweight belt he’s been chasing for close to 10 years now. Satoshi will now look to earn a rematch with Gustavo by defeating fellow contender Shunta Nomura.

Nomura was expected to face Satoshi on two separate occasions while Satoshi still held the Lightweight Title. Nomura would be forced out with injuries on both occasions. After successfully rehabilitating his knee, Shunta now looks to get back to his best form. After a 6-1 run in DEEP, Shunta debuted in RIZIN against Luis Gustavo and pitched a shutout, earning a late TKO victory due to a cut above the eye. Nomura would face another Brazillian fighter in Patricky Pitbull in the summer and win a decision victory. The original plan was for Nomura to face Satoshi at RIZIN 51, but when he had to mend injuries sustained in the Pitbull fight, Horie replaced him. When RIZIN rebooked the match for New Year’s Eve, Nomura suffered an ACL injury and was ruled out indefinitely.

A legendary Lightweight fight follows as Mikuru Asakura takes on Shinya Aoki.

A true clash of eras. Mikuru Asakura, Japanese MMA’s superstar of the 2020s faces the superstar of the 2010s, Shinya Aoki. Throughout the dark ages of Japanese MMA after the death of PRIDE FC, Aoki carried the torch and lit up the world of martial arts, in the absence of a star who the Japanese people could get behind and support, Aoki rose up and acted as an anchor. Fans enjoyed his rise through the 2008 DREAM Lightweight Grand Prix, which culminated in a final against Joachim Hansen. Fans could get behind a Japanese fighter capable of taking on the world’s level of talent, beating guys like Gesias Cavalcante, Eddie Alvarez, Joachim Hansen and Marcus Aurelio. Aoki would also fight overseas, taking on Gilbert Melendez in Strikeforce and Eddie Alvarez in Bellator. At a time where Japanese fans had no hero to idolise, Aoki rose up and became that hero. Now 11 years since his last appearance in RIZIN, he faces Mikuru Asakura, possibly the biggest star JMMA has ever seen.

Mikuru Asakura, a story that began underground. Asakura would discover his love for fighting on the street, getting into street brawls from the age of 13. As he got older, he realised that he could earn money from being good at fighting, which led him to a small promotion in Japan called the OUTSIDER, where he’d complete 8 amateur fights, going 7-1. When Mikuru went professional in 2012, he wouldn’t experience his first loss for a whole 5 years, where he lost a decision in ROAD FC to Kil Woo Lee. After Mikuru’s first professional defeat, he’d enter RIZIN and work his way up to an inaugural Featherweight Title Match with an 8 fight win streak. Saito would edge the decision, handing Mikuru just his second career loss. With every fight he’d have in RIZIN, Mikuru would have more and more fan support, largely due to his YouTube channel gaining massive popularity around this time. Mikuru was not just fighting for himself or his team anymore, he held the weight of all his supporters on his shoulders each time he stepped into the ring.

Mikuru would be inconsistent in the years that followed, beating Dominator Yamasu, Kyohei Hagiwara and Saito in the rematch, but losing to Floyd Mayweather and Kleber Koike during this time too. In 2023, Mikuru would face the toughest time of his career. He began the year by beating Juntaro Ushiku, however he’d be choked out in the first round of his title match with Vugar Karamov and get knocked out by YA-MAN in an Open-Finger-Gloved kickboxing match. Mikuru debated retirement, questioning whether he could still live up to his own beliefs. He set a promise to himself, another loss and he’d retire. In 2024 his fight with Ren Hiramoto took place, an intense grudge match that didn’t end well for Mikuru, as he got knocked out in the first round badly. Following this loss, Mikuru exited the ring and walked backstage with his hands above his head in prayer, apologising to the masses in Saitama Super Arena who came to support him regardless of result. It looked like a retirement, and a depressing one at that.

In May of 2025, Mikuru’s return was announced, he’d co-headline the Tokyo Dome against former Featherweight champion Chihiro Suzuki. Asakura would win via TKO in the 3rd after a doctor deemed the cut on Chihiro’s eyelid to be too deep. 2 months later, he’d face Kleber Koike, an opponent who had submitted him in the past. Mikuru challenged Koike and defeated him via decision. In his 3rd fight of 2025, he challenged Featherweight Champion Razhabali Shaydullaev, losing via TKO due to ground and pound in the first round. Mikuru took more time away from martial arts, announcing his comeback for a later date in 2026. Now his return date is set for September 10th.

A Featherweight Title Match between RIZIN and PFL headlines the event. RIZIN Featherweight champion, Razhabali Shaydullaev will take on PFL Featherweight AJ McKee. Right now, it’s unclear whether McKee is fighting for a vacant belt, or has been promoted to champion. This is the first time in MMA history that two belts from separate organisations are simultaneously at stake. It will be a meeting between two elite featherweight fighters and two major international MMA organisations. The match will be contested under RIZIN MMA Rules over three five minute rounds at 66kg. The main difference between the rulesets is that RIZIN rules allow stomps, soccer kicks and knees to grounded opponents, whereas PFL operate under the unified ruleset. As for judging, the way fights are scored and judged only differ slightly, with RIZIN using the Dual-Must System.

RIZIN CEO NOBUYUKI SAKAKIBARA & PFL CEO JOHN MARTIN ON THE HISTORIC DOUBLE TITLE FIGHT :

“We are truly delighted to join forces with PFL on an epoch-making initiative that will leave its mark on the history of combat sports worldwide.’’

Razhabali Shaydullaev is a complete fighter, possessing high technical skills not only in grappling and wrestling but also as a striker. He started wrestling as a child, at the request of his family. In 2019, he made his professional MMA debut in his home country of Kyrgyzstan. Shaydullaev would win 10 fights in a row to begin his career, competing in promotions like ROAD FC, UAE Warriors and ACA Young Eagles during this time. He would make his debut in RIZIN against Koji Takeda in June of 2024, submitting Takeda in the first round after a captivating and destructive performance. He next faced Juan Archuleta, a former RIZIN and Bellator champion. While Juan would come into the bout overweight, it didn’t bother Shaydullaev at all, forcing Archuleta to tap in the first round. Shaydullaev’s first 2 performances in RIZIN were impressive enough to earn him a spot on the New Year’s Eve event, where he beat Yuta Kubo via TKO in the second round. In May 2025, in his fourth RIZIN fight, he challenged for the belt and knocked Kleber Koike out with a brutal right overhand in just 62 seconds to claim the RIZIN Featherweight Title. Since becoming champion, Shaydullaev has defended his belt 3 times, finishing Viktor Kolesnik, Mikuru Asakura and Yuta Kubo with vicious strikes from back mount. Shaydullaev had essentially cleared the entire Featherweight division out, there weren’t any worthy challengers left and RIZIN’s president Nobuyuki Sakakibara even considered scheduling a match against the Lightweight Champion Luis Gustavo before the crossover fight with AJ McKee materialised.

Debuting in Bellator at 20 years of age, AJ McKee would win 17 consecutive fights in the promotion, finishing 12 of those fights, earning his title shot in 2021 against Patricio Pitbull, who he’d submit via guillotine choke. He’d rematch Pitbull in his next fight, losing via decision, earning his first loss since his debut in 2015. McKee moved up to Lightweight following the loss, defeating Spike Carlyle by decision. McKee next fought in Japan against Roberto Satoshi Souza at a collaboration event between RIZIN and Bellator, McKee would defeat Satoshi by decision in an excellent fight that proved McKee’s strength to the Japanese fans. McKee would win 2 more fights at Lightweight before suffering another loss, this time at the hands of Irishman Paul Hughes, losing by decision. McKee would change weight classes again, this time returning to Featherweight. McKee is currently on a 3 fight winning streak, defeating Akhmed Magomedov, Adam Borics and most recently undefeated Kazakh fighter Salamat Isbulaev. McKee now prepares for what could prove to be his biggest career test.

‘‘I intend to shatter Shaydullaev’s illusions in front of Japanese fans, conquer both organizations, and sweep everything away in one go.’’

Now that the matchups are explained, Here’s some important media extracts from yesterday’s press coference.


(Regarding the process of deciding on Sheidulaev vs. AJ McKee.)

- CEO Sakakibara: After AJ's victory in the previous PFL event, he mentioned Shaydullaev’s name and that he was willing to fight him. Communication with PFL has improved significantly since the new system was put in place, and we had been discussing the possibility of exchanging some of our top fighters. The formal offer came in July, and we had several plans for Sheidulaev's opponent, including a fight against the lightweight champion (Gustavo). If we just made Mikuru Asakura the main event and Ren Hiramoto the semi-main event, we wouldn't be able to convey the worldview we want to deliver, and filling the Dome on a weekday isn't easy.

(When did you start negotiations?)

- CEO Sakakibara: We made an offer to PFL around July 4th. There were many challenges, such as adjusting Shaydullaev’s future contract with PFL, but Charlie, who is in charge of matchmaking, worked really hard every day until the early morning to adjust the rules and so on.In order to make this match happen, we extended Shaydullaev’s contact with us. In the west, we can't break down the UFC's stronghold, and I really don't want to be absorbed by America. RIZIN has a different personality, and there are many foreign fighters who want to wear the RIZIN belt. We'll be releasing PFL worldwide, and I think this is a great opportunity to further increase RIZIN's presence, especially in North America.

(I imagine AJ McKee's fight money is also considerable.)

- CEO Sakakibara: It is expensive, and with the yen so weak, it is difficult to bring in top athletes from overseas. But I believe that a lot of fans will come to the venue, so I think we can afford it.

(Will the champions defend their respective belts?)

CEO Sakakibara: The belts will not be merged into one; they will exist as separate titles for RIZIN and PFL. This time it is the featherweight division, but if successful, the same path should open up for other weight classes such as bantamweight. As for the rules, since it will be held in the RIZIN ring in Japan, it will be a title match under RIZIN rules, not unified rules.

(How did Shinya Aoki end up being Asakura Mikuru's opponent?)

- Sakakibara CEO: It was a last-minute adjustment. We waited for Aoki's contract with ONE to expire before making a formal offer. Initially, we had Vugar Keramov on standby as well, but he waited, saying he’ll fight whoever RIZIN decides, when we finished negotiations with Aoki, Karamov’s opponent changed to Ryo Takagi.

(Were negotiations with Aoki smooth?)

- CEO Sakakibara: Yes. I think he also wanted to have his last match in Japan. After all, he wasn't able to retire in peace. I'm not trying to badmouth ONE, but they lack respect for the people who made an era, and they need to give them punctuation. They need to show respect for Aoki facing the world alone during the dark ages. Without that, the Asakura brothers wouldn't have been born, and the RIZIN movement wouldn't have happened. Because of the Sakuraba vs. Aoki fight in 2015, I hope this will be an opportunity for people to revisit the history of RIZIN.

While Super RIZIN has always felt special, there’s a different feeling surrouding this event. It marks a new era for MMA with the collaboration of two major international organisations with both world titles simultaneously at stake, something that has never been done before. We’re now just over 50 days away. The event is set for September 10th. If you’re interested in watching, the event will be streaming live on RIZIN.TV, RIZIN’s own international streaming service.

Please look out for my article closer to the event, where I’ll go more in depth breaking each matchup down. For now, thank you for reading!

Sabatello narrowly captured RIZIN gold on New Year’s Eve of 2025 against previous champion, Naoki Inoue. In his post fight speech, Sabatello took no time revealing his plans for the year ahead of him, announcing that he planned to defend the title a record 87 times before finishing his speech by labelling Bantamweight Contender Ryuya Fukuda a "bitch". While this didn’t come as a surprise to those familiar with the brash personality of Sabatello, it was clear to see that he was already angling for the first defence of his newly earned Bantamweight Title. Following a decision victory against Joji Goto at RIZIN LANDMARK 13, Sabatello now looks to defend the title for a second time on the road to his previously planned 87 defences.

Also amongst the action, the Women’s Super Atomweight division’s ‘‘Invisible Tournament’’ kicks off after long-time champion Seika Izawa’s sudden vacation of the title earlier in the year following an announcement of her pregnancy.
Four matches are scheduled to determine two deserving participants to challenge for the Women’s Super Atomweight Title on New Year’s Eve.

- Saori Oshima vs Ye Ji Lee (RIZIN LANDMARK 15) : 18/7/26
- Moeri Suda vs Si Woo Park (RIZIN LANDMARK 15) : 18/7/26
- Kate Lotus vs NOEL (RIZIN 54) : 11/8/26
- RENA vs Natasha Kuziutina (SUPER RIZIN 5) 10/9/26

From these 4 matches, 2 winners will be selected by RIZIN to fight for the vacant Women’s Super Atomweight Title on 31/12/26, While there are 4 matches set, there is no official bracket or official tournament format followed. Hence the name

‘‘Invisible Tournament’’.

Landmark 15 will have 16 matches in total, 4 being opening fights, 12 being main card fights (11 being contested under RIZIN’s MMA Rules) - In this guide I will only cover the 11 MMA matches on the main card. As well as giving an account of each fight, I’ll dedicate a section to my picks at the end of the article.


Please follow along below!

- HINOTORI VS JAE HUN LEE -

The 1st match of the night will be contested at Flyweight, with Japanese flyweight Hinotori welcoming Road FC prospect Jae Hun Lee to RIZIN. This match would come together on just 5 days notice, following the injury of Tatsuki Shinotsuka, who was originally slated to face the Korean fighter. Hinotori comes from a wrestling background, placing 5th in the Japanese Nationals. As an MMA fighter Hinotori is wild and explosive. From the brightly coloured dyed hair and cosplay entrances, to his front foot heavy fighting style, Hinotori will look to take the fight to you no matter what. In his 5 fights, Hinotori has earned 4 finish wins including 3 knockouts and 1 twister submission victory. After his RIZIN debut on April 11th, he would fight again on DEEP 2 months later, earning a 31 second TKO victory after his opponent could not return to his feet following a collision with Hinotori’s knee. Just 13 days after his last fight, he returns to fight in RIZIN again, looking to earn another stoppage win and extend his winning streak to 4.

He faces 23 year old Korean prospect Jae Hun Lee. Lee would begin his amateur career in 2019 at just 16 years of age. Since turning professional, he’s had 4 fights in ROAD FC, winning 3 and losing 1 via decision. Lee is another action fighter who doesn’t take a back step. In all of Lee’s fights he pressures forward and tries to overwhelm his opponents with his pressure and power, finding success with his left hook most often.

In this matchup with Hinotori, Lee will have his most success matching the pace and pressure of Hinotori early. I’d advise him not to engage in any sort of grappling exchanges whatsoever. I’d also advise against giving his opponent respect and retreating, as this will only play into the game of Hinotori. As seen in Lee’s loss, weathering the storm and carrying him into deeper waters has been done before. Lee will want to use his strengths early and forget about conserving energy.

As for Hinotori, he should fight with defensive awareness in the very early stages of the fight and eventually build into his loose style once the necessary reads are made. Hinotori has a tendency to be caught with straight shots and leg kicks when he blitzes forward. Against a dangerous and fast striker like Lee, this spells danger. I’d like to see Hinotori keep appropriate distance and strike at angles, use kicks and only come into the close range when the cage is cut off. Another option for Hinotori would be to use his wrestling and grappling. Lee has shown below average takedown defence and poor getup ability in the past.

- SHINJI SASAKI VS YOTA RICE HAYASHI -

A rare Welterweight match follows, Shinji Sasaki takes on Yota Rice Hayashi. At 46 years of age, Sasaki returns to RIZIN against the current GRACHAN Welterweight Champion Yota Hayashi. In 2016, Shinji Sasaki participated in RIZIN’s first ever numbered event and now 10 years later he’s participating again in his hometown of Hiroshima. A veteran fighter in his 21st year as a professional, Sasaki is a grappler with 11 submission victories, 7 of which were via triangle choke.

Yota Hayashi is a GRACHAN Champion at both Lightweight and now Welterweight. He’s a well rounded fighter who looks for takedowns. In a fight against a triangle specialist, however, that style might backfire. With a victory, Hayashi aims to relaunch RIZIN's welterweight division. While a nice goal, I find it hard to believe this match will inspire anything of the sort.

- HIROAKI SUZUKI VS HYUGA MIYAGAWA -

Back down to Featherweight for an all-strikers matchup, with kickboxing veteran Hiroaki Suzuki taking on Hyuga Miyagawa. Suzuki has been active in combat sports since 2008, when he made his shootboxing debut. Since this debut, he’s had 53 kickboxing fights, 3 Muay Thai fights and 12 MMA fights. Suzuki has fought some of the best in the world in all sports, with Nong-O, Ren Hiramoto, YA-MAN and Kyohei Hagiwara being amongst some of the names on his resume. Suzuki acts as one of the main striking coaches at the Bonsai Jiu Jitsu gym headed by Roberto Satoshi Souza. This match was put together following Suzuki’s loss to Ryotaro Ihara at BREAKING DOWN, where he’d come up short against the former Bantamweight champion. RIZIN president Nobuyuki Sakakibara says that this match will give Suzuki the chance at redemption.

Hyuga Miyagawa is a 24 year old fighter out of Smoker Gym, the former training home of RIZIN Featherweight Kyohei Hagiwara. Miyagawa credits Hagiwara as an inspiration, drawing from his style and persona. Miyagawa lives by the motto ‘‘Knock out your opponent.’’ Miyagawa is undefeated in RIZIN, scoring a sensational knockout on his debut and winning a decision against Seiya Inoue in his sophomore appearance. When recalling the fight against Inoue, Miyagawa said that he regretted not being able to finish the fight with his signature striking after spending so long grappling. He now looks forward to his next fight, up a division in weight, but still hoping to win the slugfest and secure his fourth consecutive victory with a spectacular knockout of Hiroaki Suzuki.

As the older fighter with more combat experience, Suzuki should fight smart and measured, not rushing in to brawl with the younger fighter with heavier hands. Suzuki should utilise leg kicks in order to break the rhythm of Miyagawa, interrupting him with strikes before he can piece together anything of meaning. Suzuki has shown great ability to stuff takedowns and push his opponent back into their guard, stacking it and raining down heavy blows In this fight I expect no different. Suzuki should be ready to punish lazy takedown attempts from his opponent. He should stay away from Miyagawa's right straight and even possibly employ a grapple or clinch heavy gameplan, using his superior strength to full advantage. Suzuki needs to circle well and avoid being pressed into a corner by Miyagawa.

As the faster, younger and more powerful fighter, Miyagawa needs to fight to his advantages and not make the same mistakes as Suzuki’s previous opponents. Miyagawa almost exclusively leads with his lead hand, using his jab to paw at his opponent's face before following up with the straight right. Put hands on Suzuki early and set his shots up. Reckless brawling leaves him open to takedowns and counters. Shooting double legs is a waste of time, all takedowns should come from the clinch position. Back Suzuki up to the fence and find his timing for his shots.

- SHOJI VS GENJI UMENO -

Next up is a catchweight bout between JMMA veteran Shoji and Japanese Muay Thai legend Genji Umeno. Quite an unusual match to book, but RIZIN likes to throw curveballs at us occasionally. Shoji approaches his 39th MMA match while Umeno approaches just his 4th. Shoji's last fight was 1 year and 9 months ago, where he suffered a body-knee TKO loss to Ryusei Ashizawa. Fans thought Shoji had retired from active competition, however, the opportunity to compete on a RIZIN card at 43 was challenging enough to motivate his return. Shoji’s last victory in MMA was against former RIZIN Featherweight Champion Chihiro Suzuki, where a left hook would flatten Suzuki in just 20 seconds, earning Shoji the TKO victory, all the way back in 2021.

"The Treasure of the Japanese Muay Thai world." Genji Umeno has embarked on a legendary Muay Thai journey from the age of 18. He is only the sixth Japanese person in history to become a Rajadamnern Stadium-certified champion, competing against the top fighters in Thailand. Umeno would have various custom rules bouts in RIZIN before officially making the transition to MMA on New Year’s Eve of 2024 against Taiga, whom he had lost to previously under Kickboxing rules in RISE. Umeno would dominate the grappling exchanges on the mat, securing a back body triangle, holding this dominant position to a decision victory. Umeno would have 2 more MMA fights afterward, defeating Ryusei Ashizawa via decision and losing via submission to Daiki Lightyear. While Umeno still has defensive gaps and areas to polish, he’s an entertaining striker who looks to damage his opponents and deal violence in 4oz gloves.

At 43 years of age, Shoji will have to be incredibly game to pull off an upset here. While grappling was never an area of expertise for him, he may have to rely on it against Umeno, who will be significantly better on the feet. Shoji will have to shoot shots in open space and avoid the clinch at all costs. Playing the clinch game only opens up opportunities for Umeno to land his nasty knees and elbows, possibly reopening many cuts on Shoji’s face.

Umeno has all the advantages in this match. He shouldn't have to follow an intricate gameplan to find success here. He needs to use his superior striking skills and land big shots on Shoji. If Shoji rushes in to close the distance, the clinch opens up for Umeno. Whether it’s a double underhook or a collar tie, expect big hurling elbows and knees from Umeno all over. With such a disparity in physicality and strength, I expect Umeno to finish this quite brutally.

- SI WOO PARK VS MOERI SUDA -

The first women’s match of the night is Si Woo Park vs Moeri Suda. As I talked about earlier in the article, this match is 1 of 4 scheduled bouts in the ‘‘Invisible Tournament’’ planned for the Super Atomweight Division. Si Woo Park returns to RIZIN for the first time since her split decision loss to Seika Izawa in 2022. Since that loss, Park has fought five times in DEEP Jewels between 2023 and 2025, which included a victory over Machi Fukuda to win the title, although she’d lose it in an immediate rematch. Park is a fighter with incredible strength and heavy striking ability. Her overwhelming striking power on the feet often helps mitigate grappling pressure.

Moeri Suda, 21 years of age with 22 fights on her record already. Moeri is a new age grappling fighter, boasting 10 submission victories. Training under the tutelage of her father Tomoyuki Suda. Moeri has been training Jiu Jitsu from a very young age. She won the All Japan Kids Jiu-Jitsu Championship in 2018 and the All Japan Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Championship in 2021. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, opportunities for Moeri to compete in Jiu Jitsu came less and less frequently. It was at this time her father recommended that she begin training MMA under his guidance. Moeri would make her debut in DEEP Jewels in 2020, unfortunately losing her first two fights. From 0-2, she’d go on a 5 fight win streak, securing 3 submission victories via armbar. Her RIZIN debut would come in 2022, where she’d armbar Hikaru Aono in the first round. Her second fight in RIZIN would not come until 2025, but the result would remain the same, as she submitted NOEL via armbar in the 2nd round. Now approaching her third match in RIZIN, Moeri is set on beating Si Woo Park and making her presence felt as she aims to win the Super Atomweight Title.

Si Woo Park should look to keep this fight standing and invite the exchanges, while Moeri will look to work her way into the clinch and possibly pull guard. While the ground is a dangerous place for Park to be in with Suda, I don’t exactly imagine it to be a death sentence. I think that Park can rain down ground strikes and make Suda very uncomfortable on bottom. If Suda looks to grapple offensively and shoot takedowns, it’ll be interesting to see how Park defends them. If Park can defend the takedown attempts on the feet, Park should have an easy time outstriking Suda.

For Moeri, I don’t believe she should look to pull guard at all here. Even if her ability to transition from bottom to a dominant position like the back is remarkable, it’s a risky game to play against someone as physically strong as Park. I think that Moeri should look to offensively grapple, shoot takedowns and push Park back to the cage. The thing is, even if Moeri fails to secure these takedowns, one of Park’s biggest weaknesses is her inability to get off the cage wall, or perhaps her acceptances of those positions. In Park’s rematch with Machi, Machi would dive low looking for a takedown, work her way back to the cage wall, and essentially hold her there for 5 rounds. This tactic proved successful for Machi, as she became the new DEEP Jewels Champion. The best case scenario for Moeri however, would be for her to get those takedowns and work from dominant top positions into submissions almost immediately. Moeri’s ability to take the back and transition into armbars and rear naked chokes is seriously special.

- SAORI OSHIMA VS YE JI LEE -

Next on the schedule is a rematch, as Saori Oshima faces Ye Ji Lee for the second time. In their first meeting, Oshima failed to establish a clear lead with takedowns and control time, allowing Lee to narrowly outstrike her and earn a decision victory. Since their first fight in May 2025, Saori has fought 3 times, winning twice and only dropping a decision loss to then champion Seika Izawa. Saori is a staple of the Super Atomweight division, having fought almost every name there is to fight. She's a former DEEP Jewels Microweight Champion and RIZIN Atomweight Title contender. Saori is a Judoka with slick submission skills.

Ye Ji Lee, the Korean fighter, makes her RIZIN debut against an opponent she already holds a win over. She’s an aggressive fighter who has her most success with forward pressure and clinch fighting. Lee originally expressed her desire to fight in RIZIN following her decision win against Saori, however a loss to Ayaka Hamasaki just 6 months later seemingly put a stop to those plans. Lee feels as though her physical condition has improved, as well as her grappling technique getting better. She tells an interviewer that ‘‘I don't think there's anything I'm lacking right now.’’

I don't think this is going to be an especially compelling matchup. I think Saori comes into this fight with the upper hand, but it's difficult to envision how the fight plays out beyond that.

- JOHNNY CASE VS TENYA -

We're now onto the five main card matches. Kicking us off is Lightweight veteran Johnny Case vs Lightweight prospect Tenya Yoshimura. I'd definitely mark this one as a potential “Most Violent” fight of the night. Case is now the longest serving foreign fighter in RIZIN still active in RIZIN, having debuted in 2018 against Yusuke Yachi. Also a Semi-Finalist of the iconic RIZIN Lightweight Grand Prix, knocking out Satoshi Souza in the first round before being stopped by eventual winner Tofiq Musyaev. Case is an all action fighter with all five of his RIZIN wins coming via TKO or KO. In Johnny’s most recent fight, he knocked out Juri Ohara cold in the 1st round, however, the bout was ruled a no contest in accordance with RIZIN rules, as Johnny had came in 0.7 lbs overweight. Having recently joined Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas, Johnny attributes his renewed love for competition to their coaching staff, saying that there's so much organisation and planning tailored to his needs compared to earlier in his career. He now looks to get back on track in RIZIN and make a final run to the title.

Tenya, a 22 year old Japanese prospect. In his first RIZIN outing, Tenya came up short against Nurkhan Zhumagazy after an egregious 7.7 lb weight miss. Earlier in his life, Tenya practiced Kyokushin Karate from the age of 4 to 15. He achieved victories in the Yamaguchi Prefecture tournament and five consecutive wins at the All Chugoku-Shikoku tournament. During his amateur career, Tenya won the Amateur Shooto All Japan Championship Welterweight title and the Amateur MMA All Japan Championship Welterweight title. In his first 5 professional bouts, Tenya would go 4-1, with the only loss being via disqualification after an illegal knee landed. This streak would still earn him a shot at the Pancrase Title, where he’d lose via ground and pound to Tatsuya Yanbo Saika in the 3rd round. His wild fighting style and willingness to engage with anybody in the centre of the cage attracted the interest of RIZIN and they’d offer him a multiple fight deal. After the weight miss and loss to Zhumagazy, Tenya looks to get back on track and back in the winning column and back in the winning column against grizzled vet Johnny Case.

Johnny Case is quite the well rounded MMA fighter. He's a pressure heavy fighter with a wrestling base, strong low kicks, a solid jab and looping punches. He has so much to offer in a fight like this. I'd like to see Case establish a strong jab, eventually working off that jab and following up with straight shots. As for bodywork, I think that Case should stay away from body jabs and body straights as he overextends and often leaves his chin open for counters on the retreat, the same can be said for his regular jab. Against an opponent like Tenya who blitzes forward swinging, when exiting out of range, he should keep a high guard and circle to the left. When countering, I’d like to see Case angle off and fire straight down the pipe, as Tenya seems to have his head consistently stuck on the centre line. Although he bobs and weaves and moves around a lot, his chin is there to be found both in open space and during clinch exchanges, as seen in his Pancrase Title bout opposite Yanbo Saika, who landed a flush knee in the clinch that sent Tenya down for the finish. When pressuring, Case should be kicking low, to the body and up high. If needs be, a wrestling style gameplan can be introduced to, with the takedowns being timed on Tenya’s blitz forward.

In Tenya's case, he's going to have to come forward and find a way to knock Johnny out.. Tenya likes to invest in bodywork early, as seen a lot in his Pancrase career with his digging left body shot. He often followed this up with a right chopping overhand. These are the combinations that will catch Case, not something by the book like a standard 1-2. To beat an opponent with superior IQ and technique, you need dynamism and the ability to throw things they can't easily read. As I said before, Case often overextends badly on body jabs, it’s possible that Tenya can find that shot he wants in one of those moments. I think Tenya is gonna have to put the pace on him early and try get him out of there, as I think his finishing ability decreases significantly once the fight exits the first round.

- HIROYA VS ERSON YAMAMOTO -

The first of the last four matches is Hiroya vs Erson Yamamoto at Flyweight.

‘‘The RIZIN flyweight division has seen a dramatic turn of events, with both last year’s Grand Prix winner and runner-up suffering defeats. With the balance of power shifting significantly, this fight will be crucial in determining how Hiroya and Erson establish their own positions within the division.’’

Hiroya’s MMA career is a perfect tale of inconsistency. He’s had high highs like knocking out Jo Arai with a head kick on New Year’s Eve and finishing his brutal rival Tatsuki Shinotsuka with elbows from the crucifix at the Tokyo Dome. He’s also had low lows, losing his first two RIZIN fights and being knocked out by a 46 year old Hideo Tokoro at RIZIN’s biggest ever show. Hiroya has been searching for that consistency since his debut in MMA. After two tough losses to Yuki Motoya and Shinryu, the match with Erson is Hiroya’s chance to start a new chapter in his career.

Similar to his opponent, Hiroya, Erson’s career has not been smooth sailing either. Erson has been plagued by injuries, bad luck and more setbacks than any fighter should have to go through. Born into the legendary Yamamoto family, Erson would begin wrestling at age 4, winning junior tournaments and heading abroad to learn. Later in his life, Erson would be forced to give up on his dreams of competing in the Olympics due to injury. It was at this time that his participation in the RIZIN World Grand Prix 2015 would be announced. Erson would face Kron Gracie, the son of Rickson Gracie. He would end up being submitted, but his courage captured the hearts of the audience. Since this fight, Erson has never been able to win two fights in a row. His career in RIZIN is put to a stop before it’s even allowed to begin. Against Hiroya, it’s now Erson’s best opportunity to create a streak.

Hiroya is a well conditioned and physically strong flyweight. While his striking isn’t anything to write home about, his ability to work himself into body locks and broader clinch positions is impressive. Hiroya often dips low, baiting reactions and throwing body shots to make his opponents both fear and expect the takedown. This allows him to string together pretty good moments on the feet. He mostly shoots singles. When stuffed, he works his way into the clinch and doesn’t let go of his opponent. In his last fight against Shinryu, Hiroya had a hard time defending the low driven shots into his hips, allowing himself to be lifted up and slammed down onto the canvas more than once. From there, he was held in side control and offered no ability to get back to his feet.

Erson is predominantly a wrestler who uses strikes to set up his double leg takedowns. He’s constantly feinting and drawing out reactions with his lead hand, waiting for the precise moments to shoot. While Erson’s striking toolkit is quite limited, I did notice he has strong and hard low kicks, as well as good knees in the clinch. Erson is dominant on the ground and in wrestling exchanges, however, often pinning his opponent down in full mount and smothering them with body shots. In positions like back-side control, Erson laces the legs and moves the action near the ropes, making it easier for him to set up ground and pound opportunities, as well as work towards potential submission attempts. Erson’s mat returns are also quite impressive. While I think Hiroya is probably the better fighter on the feet and a physically stronger guy, I believe Erson’s wrestling will be more than enough to control Hiroya for 15 minutes.

- SHINOBU OTA VS YRYSBEK TILENOV -

The second of the last four matches is Shinobu Ota vs Yrysbek Tilenov at Bantamweight. ‘‘The awakened Olympian vs. next-generation MMA fighter’’

Shinobu Ota. A silver medalist at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, now a fulltime MMA fighter and RIZIN Bantamweight contender. Since he made the transition from wrestling to mixed martial arts, he has a record of 8-5, with 7 wins being in RIZIN and 1 being in Bellator. Ota showed a different side to his game in his previous fight. He completely overwhelmed Kintaro and finished him with an arm triangle.

Ota says that ‘‘If you fall into my pattern, it’ll be extremely difficult to beat me.’’

Yrysbek Tilenov. 7-1 and a teammate of RIZIN Featherweight Champion Razhabali Shaydullaev. He’s nicknamed the ‘‘Snow Leopard’’, possibly in reference to his speed or aggressiveness. He boasts a 70% finishing rate, with 4 knockouts and 1 submission victory. In his second last fight, he beat current RIZIN Bantamweight contender Azizbek Temirov by decision.

‘‘I want to show an overwhelming difference in strength. Since this is my first time fighting in RIZIN, I want to make a big impact. I intend to do my best so that everyone in Japan will think that I am the strongest fighter.’’

Ota is a wrestler who aims to take you down and immediately work to the finish, whether it be heavy ground and pound or submissions. On the feet he’s jittery and often gets caught and hurt by longer rangier guys, while he has some pop in his hands, I don’t think it’s anything for Tilenov to be concerned about. When in the clinch, Ota has a superb transition from double underhooks to back control, where he can lift and slam or trip and follow.

Tilenov is an all round fighter, he can fight on the feet, take it to the ground, hang in the clinch. To be completely honest, when I watched Tilenov fight, nothing immediately stood out to me. He looked idle for large parts of the fight, often bursting into a takedown or throwing a high kick with a little extra something. For the rest of the fight he looked average and confusing. The one positive I took away from watching his fights were that he had great ground and pound. His ability to stack the guard and reign down heavy blows was reminiscent of his teammate Razhabali. While I do think Tilenov will win here, I don’t think he’s anything special. At least not yet.

(I said something very similar when watching Azizbek fight and he proved me wrong, so very possible I’m proved wrong again here. Watching Central Asian promotions is weird.)

-KARSYHGA DAUTBEK VS KYOHEI HAGIWARA-

The 3rd of the last 4 matches. Karshyga Dautbek vs Kyohei Hagiwara at Featherweight.

A must win match for both competitors. Dautbek comes into this fight off a cancelled bout with Kyoma Akimoto, a no contest and another cancelled bout with Ryuya Fukuda at Bantamweight. A severe neck injury forced him out of the Kyoma match, an eyepoke from Yuta Kubo would render Dautbek unable to continue and for his scheduled Bantamweight debut, Dautbek would be forced to pull out again due to acute circulatory dysfunction. This fight isn’t just a must win, it’s an opportunity to make a statement again, a finish would make his presence known again and put him back into the position he was before injury complications.

Before the Yuta Kubo fight, Dautbek was on a 10 fight winning streak, with 7 of them coming via knockout. Dautbek faced off against top Japanese Featherweight contenders like YA-MAN and Chihiro Suzuki, edging a decision out against both fighters. He now faces another fan favourite in Kyohei Hagiwara, with more to prove than ever before.

Kyohei Hagiwara knows that this fight could be his last chance if he wants to stay in contention for the featherweight division. Most recently, Hagiwara suffered back to back TKO losses to Kyoma Akimoto and Abijah Meheula. While the Akimoto fight was a competitive and hard fought contest, the Abijah match was the exact opposite, with Hagiwara’s flaws being totally exploited. Abijah would look to use the clinch, where he’d land massive elbows and knees, eventually landing the finishing knee that split Hagiwara’s face open and sent him crashing down against the cage. While the official result that night was a No Contest due to Abijah’s weight miss, the embarrassment for Hagiwara was not diminished.

Hagiwara will look to climb back up the Featherweight rankings to where he once was at the time of his knockout victories against Toby Misech and Taisei Nishitani, easily dispatching both in just a round. While he does have his weaknesses, Hagiwara is still an excellent striker with legit knockout power. He’s not an easy fight for fellow strikers in the Featherweight division at all. Now he chases the rematch with Ren Hiramoto in his hometown of Osaka, for Super RIZIN 5 in September. With a win here, it’s likely that he’ll get his wish granted.

Dautbek has heavy hands, a boxing style fighter with digging hooks to the liver and hooks to the head. In an open stance matchup with Hagiwara, I expect a lot of body kicks and snap kicks. As the shorter and lesser reach fighter, I expect Dautbek to try to get inside and land his stuff up close and in the pocket. As soon as Dautbek feels threatened or hurt on the feet, he will shoot pretty telegraphed takedowns, even if they are successful you can see them coming from a mile away. Against Hagiwara they are pretty much guaranteed, Dautbek has an instant bailout in his back pocket if the striking doesn’t go well for him.

Hagiwara is an elite level striker. Amazing calf kicks, a wonderful right straight and a picture perfect knee for catching smaller opponents dipping down. If I’m Hagiwara in this matchup, I’d employ a kick heavy gameplan, kicking at the legs of Dautbek. He’s proven to have poor balance in the past. YA-MAN, Chihiro and Kubo in recent history have had success with their kicks. Hagiwara should keep the reach and avoid this fight hitting the mat at all costs. Investing in the body might pay dividends if the fight goes into those later stages.

- RIZIN BANTAMWEIGHT TITLE MATCH -

Danny Sabatello vs Jinnosuke Kashimura

A fight built on trash talk, disrespect and bad blood, Both Sabatello and Kashimura have not held back with their words in the build up to this title match.


Joining RIZIN in the summer of 2025, Sabatello would set his eyes on the Bantamweight throne almost immediately. After dispatching Shinobu Ota in the Tokyo Dome, Sabatello would call for what he felt he deserved. A shot at the RIZIN Bantamweight Title and a shot at RIZIN Bantamweight Champion Naoki Inoue. While this callout went over well with Japanese fans, RIZIN thought it would be best to give him another fight before challenging for the title. Sabatello was then booked to face Shoko Sato, who he beat via decision. When given the microphone for his post fight speech, Sabatello made it short and sweet, letting Naoki Inoue know that he was coming for him. Sabatello challenged for the title on New Year’s Eve of 2025, winning the title via split decision. Sabatello would go on to defend the belt in the following year against Joji Goto at RIZIN Landmark 13. Three months later, Sabatello turns around to defend his title in Hiroshima against Jinnosuke Kashimura. Much has been made of Sabatello’s fighting style, some fans think it’s boring and others think it’s effective. Following Sabatello’s first title defence against Joji Goto, RIZIN CEO Nobuyuki Sakakibara made it clear to him that he has to finish his next fight, or RIZIN may not resign him.

Jinnosuke Kashimura, a 24 year old submission specialist who currently holds the DEEP Interim Bantamweight Title. Kashimura began his career in 2020, with a rear naked choke victory on his debut. With a finishing rate of 91%, it’s easy to tell Kashimura fights dangerously and hunts submissions at all times when on the ground. Kashimura’s upcoming title fight against Sabatello will mark just his 4th fight in the promotion, currently holding a 2-1 record. Following his first round anaconda choke of JMMA legend Hideo Tokoro, Kashimura was then scheduled to compete for the DEEP Interim Bantamweight Championship against Sho Hiramatsu. Just 16 seconds into the match, Hiramatsu would throw a kick that was checked badly by Kashimura, injuring the leg of Hiramatsu and rendering him unable to continue. Kashimura would seemingly ignore the severity of this horrible injury and celebrate wildly around the cage, much to the discontent of Japanese fans. Outside of the cage, Kashimura lives a bad boy lifestyle, he stands for ‘‘TRUST, RESPECT, LOYALTY, LOVE.’’ often repeating this phrase in his post fight speeches.


Sabatello is a fighter that wastes no time taking the fight to where he’s most comfortable. He often begins fights by circling and waiting for his opponent to come forward, timing a takedown upon their entry into range. Sabatello shoots very low shots, clasping his hands, rotating and lifting his opponents before slamming them back down to the mat. When on top, Sabatello doesn’t really do anything. He likes to sit in top half guard against the cage and lay there. If his opponents threaten getups or attempt to wallwalk, Sabatello looks for mat returns, tossing and tripping his opponents back down to the mat. On the feet, Sabatello abuses his length with long kicks to the legs and midsection. Sabatello needs to be wary of shooting in recklessly, however, as this led to his last submission loss against Magomed Magomedov.

Kashimura on the feet is a very different fighter to Kashimura on the ground. When standing, Kashimura stands extremely upright. He’s flat footed and moves pretty poorly. His hands stay up by his face, but they are quite floaty and the elbows aren’t tucked in, leaving him susceptible to body shots and body kicks. Since he doesn’t plant his feet, strong calf kicks can blow him off balance as well. On the ground however, Kashimura is fast, intelligent, strong and dangerous. He hunts submissions from any position. When on his back and in guard, Kashimura has excellent sweeps to reverse positions and get on top. He also threatens triangles to make his opponent posture up, thus giving himself a better chance to get up or reverse the position.

Thank you so much for making it all the way to the end! You should now know everything there is to know about RIZIN Landmark 15.

These guides take me a LOT of time to make with all the researching, translating and actual writing. If you enjoy them, please make it known to me by sending me a message on social media, liking or commenting on the posts or sharing them to friends.

The closing part of this article will now feature information on how to watch RIZIN LANDMARK 15 LIVE + My final picks.


Sabatello - Decision
Dautbek - KO/TKO R2
Tilenov - KO/TKO R2
Yamamoto - Decision
Case - KO/TKO R1
Oshima - Decision
Suda - Submission R2
Umeno - KO/TKO R1
Suzuki - Decision
Hayashi - KO/TKO R1
Hinotori - KO/TKO R1

- - - OPENING BOUTS
Hime - Decision
Nagano - Submission R1
Shivaev - KO/TKO R2
Tanaka - Submission R1

You have the option of either purchasing the PPV for 19.99 (prices will vary), or purchasing a month of RIZIN’s premium pass for 16.99 (prices will vary) which will give you the following: Access to RIZIN’s entire catalogue of events, fights and access to all RIZIN PPV events that air live while your membership is active.

For international viewers, RIZIN Landmark 15 will begin on 10:30PM ET on July 17th, 3:30AM on July 18th BST.


THE EVENT IS AVAILABLE TO WATCH WORLDWIDE ON RIZIN.TV!

END OF ARTICLE.

The Landmark series has always offered a change of scenery and feel for RIZIN. The fights are held in a hexagonal cage as opposed to the ring used for numbered and tentpole events. Smaller venues are used and less frequently visited cities are brought into rotation. This time, RIZIN take 16 total bouts to Fukuoka, headlined by two title fights. Featherweight Champion Razhabali Shaydullaev takes on Yuta Kubo in a rematch, while Bantamweight Champion Danny Sabatello takes on soaring contender Joji Goto in the Champions first appearance since capturing RIZIN gold.

Following RIZIN’s theme of ‘Japan vs The World’ this year, deeper on the card will see a total of 9 matchups that involve a foreign fighter opposite a Japanese fighter. With this new focus in mind, RIZIN have made a dedicated effort to sign both entertaining and accomplished talent from rest of the world, with James Gallagher, Natasha Kuziutina and Azizbek Temirov being amongst the foreign talent making their debut on this card.

This guide will not be covering any of the four opening bouts that will occur prior to the opening ceremony. Coverage will begin with the fifth bout of the night in Seiya Inoue vs Hyuga Miyagawa. Please follow along!

- SEIYA INOUE VS HYUGA MIYAGAWA -

The action begins with a Bantamweight fight between Seiya Inoue and Hyuga Miyagawa. Seiya, a former 2-1 kickboxer making his MMA debut. This will be his sophomore RIZIN appearance, with the 22 year old having won his debut on RIZIN World Series Korea via unanimous decision. Seiya is now looking to win his MMA debut spectacularly.

Miyagawa is a 6-7 MMA fighter with spells in both DEEP and Gladiator. This fight will also be Miyagawa’s sophomore RIZIN appearance, having won via knockout in the first round during his debut on RIZIN LANDMARK 12. Miyagawa trains out of Smoker Gym, the former training place of RIZIN Featherweight Kyohei Hagiwara. Miyagawa’s style draws heavy inspiration from that of Hagiwara, crediting him for the reason he secured a first round knockout in his RIZIN debut. I expect this fight to be closely contested on the feet for the time it lasts, but I suspect that the first heavy shot landed might spell the end for either competitor.

- RYOSUKE HONDA VS HINOTORI -

Ryosuke Honda vs Hinotori, Honda, a 22 fight veteran at 35 years of age. Honda’s most recent stints come in DEEP and ONE with a 2-3 record in his last 5. Honda won by submission in his most recent fight in DEEP, which was seemingly enough to catch RIZIN’s attention and land himself a debuting appearance in Fukuoka.

Hinotori, a name that translates directly as ‘Fire-Bird’ in English and otherwise known as the Phoenix. Hinotori is 32 with 4 fights under his belt, a 3-1 record to his name thus far. While the less experienced fighter going into this matchup, Hinotori’s skills cannot be overlooked, with his most recent fight ending via twister in the second round. I believe that this fight will be contested on the ground with Hinotori looking to end it via submission early.

- NURKHAN ZHUMAGAZY VS TENYA -

Placed as just the third fight of the night, Nurkhan Zhumagazy vs TENYA promises nothing but fireworks. Fighting out of Kazakhstan, Zhumagazy (9-0) returns to RIZIN after an impressive submission victory via d’arce choke in his promotional debut opposite Tatsuya Saika. So far in Zhumagazy’s career, he boasts a 90% finishing rate, with 6 wins coming via knockout and 2 coming via submission. An all rounder, measured and precise on the feet while posing a dangerous submission threat on the ground. At just 25 years old and 10–1, the level of competition Zhumagazy has been facing is still relatively unknown. I don’t think it’s fair to call him proven just yet, but based on his last performance, he looks to be a serious problem for the Lightweight division. A potential firefight now awaits against TENYA.

TENYA (5-2), 21 years of old and Arriving to RIZIN from Pancrase. Looking to spoil his opponent Zhumagazy’s plans, by finishing him early. TENYA is easy to describe. He’s a kill or be killed fighter, he has knockout wins, knockout losses and absolutely no boring fights. More of a wild striker than Zhumagazy, TENYA will look to get inside the pocket and land on the chin of his opponent from the get go. Those who train with TENYA describe his power as lethal, stating that he often accidentally hurts fighters in the gym when he connects. To have success in this fight, TENYA will have to avoid all grappling attempts from his opponent and look to keep the fight purely standing, that’s where he has the best chance of victory.

- KAZUMASA MAJIMA VS JAMES GALLAGHER -

A grappler’s delight in the fourth bout of the night. Japan vs Ireland. RIZIN vs Bellator. Kazumasa Majima vs James Gallagher. Coming off of a submission victory against Shuya Kimura, Majima (18-6) now welcomes James Gallagher to RIZIN in the first Featherweight bout of the evening. Majima is a factory worker by day and MMA fighter by night. Someone who works full time, yet still finds the hours in the day to train and support his MMA career. Majima is a strong grappler with the ability to hold position and control opponents. His biggest strength shows when opponents play into his style, allowing him to hold a position or snatch a submission if presented to him. Definitely not an active fighter by any means, but dominant nonetheless. He is not nearly as comfortable on the feet as he is on the ground. Majima isn’t concerned with mind games and trash talk, simply stating he cannot understand Gallagher so it doesn’t matter.

James Gallagher (13-3), a former Bellator title contender now embarks on his journey for championship gold in RIZIN. Gallagher states that he’s been sparring under RIZIN rules for 6 weeks now, preparing to take advantage of the ruleset in Japan and use soccer kicks and grounded knees when in position to. Gallagher credits the Sub-Zone Academy for allowing him to progress as a fighter and reach that next step, which he says will be shown in this fight. An amateur since just 13 years of age, Gallagher is now 29 and believes that he’s about to reach the pinnacle of his career. Since his last Bellator fight, he has competed just once and had multiple cancelled fights. He states that he’s ready to return to frequent competition and wants to aim for the RIZIN Featherweight title by the end of 2027. Gallagher is a grappler first, with sufficient skills on the feet as well. Gallagher describes his grappling style as ‘active’ compared to the ‘monotonous’ style of his opponent Majima. Gallagher believes that he’ll be able to take the fight to Majima, taking him down and hurting him, then looking for a submission. I believe there’s a significant strength disadvantage here, and Gallagher may be making a mistake by offensively grappling Majima.

- AYAKA HAMASAKI VS NATASHA KUZIUTINA -

At Super Atomweight, Ayaka Hamasaki (26-7) takes on Natasha Kuziutina in a fight that could decide the next contender for the Super Atomweight Title. Ayaka is a two time champion, but has gradually fallen out of the title picture as she’s aged. A Judoka with serious submission threat on the ground, Ayaka who turns 44 this year, is still committed as ever to her MMA career. Showing no interest in anything else, Ayaka is an absolute symbol of WMMA in Japan. She stated that when she fights weaker opponents she feels absolutely no excitement and would rather fight the toughest opponents she possibly can.

Her opponent, Natasha Kuziutina (9-1). A bronze medallist in Judo and a former interim LFA Strawweight Champion. It’s likely that Kuziutina was signed to RIZIN with eventual sights set on a title match against current Super Atomweight champion Seika Izawa. Training out of American Top Team, Natasha brings a high level of skill and experience into this matchup. At 10 years younger, it’s likely that Kuziutina is the more athletic and powerful fighter headed into this bout, but that doesn’t mean Ayaka should be counted out. Natasha will have to be vigilant on the ground and be wary of submissions thrown up by her opponent. As Kuziutina normally competes in the Strawweight division, she’ll be forced to cut an additional 3kg to make the Super Atomweight limit. Her RIZIN contract was finalised when she sent a video of her cutting the weight successfully.

- MAKOTO SHINRYU VS NKAZIMULO ZULU -

A flyweight bout follows when Makoto Shinryu takes on Nkazimulo Zulu. Makoto Shinryu, a former CFFC Flyweight Champion and current title contender in the RIZIN Flyweight division. Shinryu was also a competitor featured in RIZIN’s 2025 Flyweight Grand Prix, defeating Erson Yamamoto in quarter finals before losing to Yuki Motoya in the semi finals. He’s a grappler with quick entries and slick takedowns. Shinryu uses the clinch to find trips and throws, taking the fight to the place he’s most comfortable. Shinryu has a zany style of striking that mostly serves to set up his grappling. He looks to control fights and win in dominant fashion, he boasts a record of 21-5-1 with 6 submission victories and 15 wins coming via decision. In this fight, Shinryu will have to be wary of spending extended time on the feet with Zulu. Staying out of the way of his kicks and bringing the fight to the mat as soon as possible. Shinryu’s takedown entries will have to be on point to avoid punishment and counters from Zulu.

Nkazimulo Zulu (16-8-1), a crazy and exciting striker from South Africa. Zulu was brought to RIZIN in 2024 after an impressive run in EFC, becoming both their Flyweight and Bantamweight Champion in his time with the promotion. Other than EFC, Zulu competed on the 24th season of The Ultimate Fighter, where he lost to the current RIZIN Flyweight Champion, Hiromasa Ougikubo. Since this loss to Ougikubo, Zulu then went on a run of 7-4-1 inside of EFC. Zulu made his RIZIN debut against Jo Arai, knocking him out brutally with a spinning heel kick, followed by a series of punches. This victory would earn him a shot at the Flyweight Title against Kyoji Horiguchi, where Zulu had a competitive fight with the Champion, earning 2 knockdowns in the process. But still fell short, losing the decision. Zulu was also featured in the same RIZIN Flyweight Grand Prix as Shinyru, crashing out in the quarter finals with a decision loss to Yuki Ito. Off the back of 2 losses in RIZIN, Zulu now looks toward his fight with Shinryu as a ‘must win’ to get back on track. As Shinryu’s best work comes in open space, Zulu should look to stay on the outside and use his kicks to maintain the distance. He’ll hold a 12cm reach advantage in this fight, as the longer and lengthier fighter I’d like to see Zulu keep Shinryu on the end of his jab, steering clear of clinch exchanges. If Zulu is taken down, his scrambling game will have to be on point, as Shinryu is a dominant grappler who prioritises control over all, If Zulu is willing to accept the bottom position, the fight is as good as over.

- TAIO ASAHISA VS SINGPHAYAK HAMAGYM -

Perhaps one of the more unusual bouts on this card, K-1 Lightweight Champion Taio Asahisa takes on Singphayak Hamagym in the Japanese Kickboxer’s hometown of Fukuoka. Since his callup from Krush, Taio has a record of 8-2 with both those losses coming via the now great Yuki Yoza. This fight will mark Taio’s third fight in RIZIN, appearing twice before against YURA and Yoshiya Uzatsuyo. For a kickboxer in 2026, appearing in RIZIN so often on such important events is rare, but in Taio’s case, RIZIN offers him a platform to perform and stay active while K-1 refuse to give him fights. It’s speculated that RIZIN plans to sign Taio permanently if he manages to escape his death row K-1 contract.

Thai Jobber.

- RYUYA FUKUDA VS AZIZBEK TEMIROV -

Now comes a fight I’m looking forward to the most. Ryuya Fukuda vs Azizbek Temirov at Bantamweight.

In a promotion full of excitement and characters, Fukuda remains one of RIZIN’s most fascinating personalities. A former rickshaw driver who swapped his life of labour for that of a hunter. Both literally and figuratively.

In a fight I look for one thing. It’s something that all living beings have. It’s called a hunting spot.

Fukuda lives deep in the rural mountains of Kyoto. A seeker of divine thrills. Since his hunting career began, Fukuda won 12 straight in Japan, capturing the DEEP Bantamweight championship in the process. This run would earn Fukuda a shot at RIZIN Champion Naoki Inoue, where he’d unfortunately come up short and lose a decision to the division’s then king. Covered in tattoos from head to toe, Fukuda adds brand new ink to his canvas with each victory earned. With just over half of his wins coming via knockout, Fukuda is no stranger to separating his opponent from consciousness and finishing the fight. Now up against Uzbekistan’s Azizbek Temirov, Fukuda will have to command the cage and make Temirov feel his power from the very beginning. Looping shots, hooks and uppercuts will work well for Fukuda here.

A brand new stage to perform and opportunity to capitalise on for Azizbek Temirov, but this is absolutely nothing out of the ordinary for the 27 year old Uzbek. Brother of former RIZIN fighter and current UFC Flyweight Ramazan Temirov, Azizbek looks to recreate that same success his brother had in Japan.

If I can say one thing, it’s that one of us is not leaving the cage on their own two feet.

Having just 7 fights on his record, Azizbek has already appeared in 4 different MMA promotions, with his upcoming RIZIN appearance being his 5th. A sort of nomadic approach taken to his career thus far, having not settled anywhere yet. A heavy handed striker just like his brother, Azibek will look to stand and trade with Fukuda. With his added takedown threat he expects to be able to land shots on Fukuda easily.

- KYOHEI HAGIWARA VS ABIJAH MEHEULA -

Featherweights up next. Kyohei Hagiwara vs Abijah Meheula.

Explaining Kyohei Hagiwara’s ability to sell tickets and draw attention to his fights to an average fan who isn’t clued into RIZIN might be impossible. With a record of 9-11, you’d expect him to be fighting on the prelims, but a record does not always reflect a fighters story. Born in Osaka, Hagiwara was introduced to fighting from a very young age. A frequent brawler, he developed his love for martial arts in the streets. Hagiwara would receive very little legitimate coaching during his earlier career until he joined Tribe Tokyo Gym and was taken under the wing of Ryo Chonan. Since this move, the difference in Hagiwara has been night and day, he’s now dedicated to becoming as much of a traditional martial artist as he can possibly be. Last time out, Hagiwara faced 20 year old phenom, Kyoma Akimoto, in a fight that would see Akimoto pushed to his limit. While Hagiwara lost the fight, he didn’t lose any stock. He carries that same heart into his next fight against Abijah Meheula. A true high level striker, Hagiwara has thudding calf kicks and a brutal arsenal of straight shots on the feet. I cannot see this fight getting out of the first round.

Abijah Meheula. RIZIN’s latest signing from Hawaii. RIZIN International Talent Scout Shingo Kashiwagi describes Abijah as a pressure fighter, someone who’s energetic and high volume. Abijah trains out of Xtreme Couture, meaning there isn’t any shortage of high level training partners for him to work with. Abijah’s current knockout rate is 66% while Hagiwara’s is 78%. If I’m Abijah, I am shooting a double leg before the bell even rings. Being in any sort of striking distance with Hagiwara will spell danger for Abijah. If he can work his grappling, the outcome of the fight may be more favourable for him.

(Post Edit Notes) - Due to Abijah failing to make the weight limit, Hagiwara is now the only fighter eligible to record a win.

- YOSHINORI HORIE VS PATRICKY PITBULL -

Lightweight action follows, when Yoshinori Horie takes on Patricky Pitbull.

Horie, coming off the back of a submission loss to Satoshi Souza, fell short in his first RIZIN title fight. Since this loss, Horie has refocused himself and is now working toward a more polished skillset. As someone who’s been known to be a frequent drinker, Horie has cut out all alcohol and has been sober for 2 months in the leadup to this fight. He’s also travelled to America and spent time at Kill Cliff FC. When previewing his fight against Patricky, Horie says that it’s very important for him to show strength and reign victorious as a Japanese fighter competing against a foreigner. Horie urges all Japanese competitors on the card to bring their best. Horie has heavy hands and can find a knockout shot over 15 minutes, he’s also shown some solid grappling defence so far in his RIZIN career. In my opinion, It would be in his best interest to keep the fight standing and work his boxing. I don’t think that Patricky will be able to take the shots of Horie at this stage of his career.

Patricky Pitbull, a 40 fight veteran with experience in Bellator, PFL and of course RIZIN. Patricky competed in RIZIN’s Lightweight Grand Prix of 2019, dispatching of Luis Gustavo in the first round with a soccer kick. Patricky would then lose via decision in the final to Tofiq Musayev. Pitbull’s fight with Horie will mark his first fight since turning 40. He’ll be without his brother in the corner too, with Patricio Pitbull fighting against Aaron Pico on UFC 327, which takes place on the same weekend. Patricky thanks RIZIN for continued opportunities in 2026, crediting the promotion for bringing his competitive spark back. Winless in his last 5, Patricky’s last victory in MMA would actually come against Satoshi Souza, in a short notice bout that saw Pitbull chop the legs, earning a TKO victory. 3 years on from that fight, Patricky aims to snap his losing streak against Yoshinori Horie. A strong first round is needed from Patricky, I’d advise him to give everything he has early, rather than spacing bursts of energy out that ultimately prove uneffective.

- DANNY SABATELLO VS JOJI GOTO -

RIZIN BANTAMWEIGHT TITLE MATCH.

The first Title Match of the card, Defending Champion Danny Sabatello takes on a hungry contender in Joji Goto.

Since signing with RIZIN in early 2025, Sabatello has not had anything else on his mind other than that RIZIN Bantamweight Belt. From his very first interviews, Sabatello proclaimed himself as the division’s saviour and king. After an impressive TKO victory against Shinobu Ota in his debut, Sabatello would immediately call for a fight with the Bantamweight Champion Naoki Inoue. From that point, Sabatello would have just one more fight, a split decision victory against a tough Shoko Sato before realising his ‘childhood dreams’ of fighting for RIZIN gold. Sabatello would finally earn his chance to fight Inoue and their title match would be booked for the New Year’s Eve event of 2025. In a closely fought contest, Sabatello would edge it out and win the decision, earning the Bantamweight Title in just his third RIZIN fight. Sabatello took the microphone, announcing to the fans that this was just the beginning of his RIZIN career, aiming to defend his title a total of 87 times. Loud and brash, Sabatello’s style of promotion doesn’t always go over well with MMA fans, but his ability to talk himself into opportunities has to be respected. A world-class wrestler with excellent technical grappling skills, Sabatello’s takedown entries are amongst the best in the sport at the moment. Against Joji Goto, I don’t expect him to deviate from his grappling heavy style at all.

5-0 in RIZIN, with the desire of a champion to improve and reach new highs, it was inevitable that Joji Goto would eventually find himself in this position from the very first time he stepped foot in the promotion, earning back to back twister submission wins in his first two fights. A 3 fight run would follow, with wins over Jinnosuke Kashimura, Taichi Nakajima and Shorty Torres. Training with Ryo Chonan at Tribe Tokyo MMA, Goto credits Chonan for redirecting his career aspirations and giving him the teachings to progress as a fighter. When discussing the latest generation of Japanese fighters, Chonan says that the majority are more focused on becoming rich and famous rather than becoming great martial artists, but assures the interviewer that Goto is the opposite, noting that the 30 year old spends all his time in the gym, working on his craft. During Goto’s camp for this fight, he’s worked with Japanese legends like Kazuyuki Miyata and Tsuyoshi Kosaka. What comes now is the single biggest opportunity of Goto’s career thus far. A chance to fight for the RIZIN title, a chance that he says he’s been waiting for since his early career beginnings. For Goto to have success against Sabatello, he’ll need to work on his distance and range management. Goto has fight finishing power with a cracking left hook in particular, but he cannot use that to his advantage if his punches aren’t landing. In striking exchanges, Goto needs to be careful not to overswing as he has in the past, leaving him susceptible to takedowns. While Goto has decent scrambling and get up ability, his initial sprawl might not be at the level required to stop Sabatello’s takedowns. He’ll have to use his footwork and keep his back off the cage. Sabatello has bad defensive tendencies on the feet, which could allow Goto to land something big.

- RAZHABALI SHAIDULLOEV VS YUTA KUBO -

RIZIN FEATHERWEIGHT TITLE MATCH.

The main event. Razhabali Shaidullloev vs Yuta Kubo, a rematch from RIZIN DECADE.

Kyrgyzstan’s eagle and Featherweight champion Razhabali Shaidulloev stands as the most dominant fighter seen in RIZIN’s entire 11 year history. Since his signing in 2024, Razhabali has had 6 fights in RIZIN, finishing all but one in the very first round. In his fourth fight, he’d face Kleber Koike for the RIZIN Featherweight Title, knocking Koike out in the very first round. Since that fight, he’s defended his belt twice against both Viktor Kolesnik and Mikuru Asakura, finishing the fights via ground strikes in the first round. So far in his RIZIN career, Razhabali hasn’t been as much as touched. He bulldozes opponents and beats them however he pleases. Now facing Yuta Kubo in a rematch, he looks for a third title defence. Shaidulloev’s MMA game is well rounded. Fast hands with thudding impact, Razhabali uses his boxing skills as a pressure tool, backing his opponents up and opening more opportunities to grapple. When the fight is on the mat, Shaidulloev’s ground striking ability is truly shown, punches and elbows rain down from above, striking fear into each of his opponents. Shaidulloev’s submission game is also severely underrated, 11 of his 17 wins come via submission, snatching slick submissions against former Bellator and RIZIN champion Juan Archuleta and Koji Takeda. With his continued dominance, RIZIN has admitted difficulty in finding worthy opponents for the champion. With Yuta Kubo being the only available fighter willing to take the fight, RIZIN chose to book the rematch.

The Smiling Sniper, Yuta Kubo. A former GLORY and K-1 Champion, Yuta Kubo’s transition to MMA has been something of a semi-success. At 5-2, Kubo boasts wins against the likes of former RIZIN Featherweight Champion, Yutaka Saito. Of course, Kubo has history with his next opponent Shaidulloev too. The two met for the first time on New Year’s Eve of 2024, where Kubo would lose via TKO in the 2nd round. This loss would lead Kubo into retirement, where he’d announce his pursuit into a career of politics. When Kubo failed horribly in the election, he’d make a swift return to MMA and was booked against Karshyga Dautbek on RIZIN’s New Year’s Eve show of 2025. Kubo would find a lot of success against Dautbek, landing kicks and catching him with jab and straight counters, but the fight was met with an abrupt end when Dautbek experienced an accidental eyepoke. Unable to continue, the bout was then ruled a no contest. All of this would lead Kubo back to the place he was before his short lived career in politics. Preparing to take on Razhabali Shaidulloev. To have success in this matchup, Kubo will have to utilise a gameplan that’s extremely kick heavy, hoping to catch Shaidulloev with a hail mary. I don’t see a viable path to victory for him otherwise.

That is all! A full guide to RIZIN Landmark 13 with my thoughts attached to each bout. You should be caught up to speed now. To watch the event live please follow the details below.

You have the option of either purchasing the PPV for 19.99 (prices will vary), or purchasing a month of RIZIN’s premium pass for 16.99 (prices will vary) which will give you the following: Access to RIZIN’s entire catalogue of events, fights and access to all RIZIN PPV events that air live while your membership is active.

For international viewers, RIZIN Landmark 13 will begin on 1:00 AM ET on April 12th.

THE EVENT IS AVAILABLE TO WATCH WORLDWIDE ON RIZIN.TV!

Thank you for your time. If this guide helped you in any way please let me know! Your time is much appreciated.

BOUT ORDER BELOW. END OF ARTICLE

Martial arts have long been part of Machi’s life. Born to a mother obsessed with MMA and kickboxing, the Fukuda household has been filled with combat sports memorabilia from the very beginning of her life. Her mother, Yoshiko Fukuda recalls first feeling the strength of her daughter’s kicks while watching a Bob Sapp fight, an early sign of what was to come. Machi’s own athletic journey would begin at eight years old with judo. Competition followed shortly after, as she dominated regional tournaments and secured consecutive prefectural championships by her second year of junior high school. Not all of it came easily however. During her time in judo, Machi experienced cruel bullying from the parents of her teammates. She recalls being labelled as a ‘violent girl’ and by middle school, excluded from training altogether. She admits that at points the bullying brought her to her lowest. Further setbacks followed in high school, where she suffered two anterior cruciate ligament tears. These injuries would force an abrupt retirement from judo, leaving her disheartened. Reflecting on that period in her life, Machi would say

‘‘While Judo and I weren’t meant to be, this adversity proved to be fuel for my eventual career in MMA’’

Interest in MMA would first build after attending the 1st round of RIZIN’s World Grand Prix 2017 alongside her mother. Machi credits this event as a catalyst for her MMA career, describing the pull toward MMA as “instinctual. Being able to witness legends like Kyoji Horiguchi, Tenshin Nasukawa and Miyuu Yamamoto in person for the first time was moving for her.

‘‘RIZIN helped me endure the adversities I faced during my life at that time.’’

She would carry this newfound inspiration, using it as motivation to push through hardship and refocus her ambitions. While still committed to judo, her sights began to shift toward a future in MMA. After Machi had sustained the injuries that prompted her retirement from judo, she received messages of support from former RIZIN Atomweight Champion Akaya Hamazaki. Ayaka would urge her on, offering support and words of motivation. A gesture that left a lasting impact.

‘‘Machi-Chan! Do your best!!!’’

Having faced similar setbacks herself, Hamazaki’s words would resonate with Machi. Inspiring her and allowing her to persevere through those tough times. It became a source of strength and reinforcing the path she was on, that same path she walks to this day.

Machi’s professional MMA debut came in 2022, opening her career with a unanimous decision win over Mika Arai. Two more fights in Deep Jewels would follow, scoring a TKO finish alongside another unanimous decision victory. Now standing at a record of 3-0, Machi had already caught the eyes of RIZIN management. This interest would be followed up on shortly after, seeing her booked for RIZIN LANDMARK 6 opposite Ayaka Watanabe. At just 1 year deep into her MMA career, being given the opportunity to fight for RIZIN had already marked a significant step forward. Machi would take full advantage of this opportunity, displaying her skillset and taking the fight to a much more experienced fighter in Watanabe.

Over the course of 15 minutes, Machi would push the pace and march forward, instantly putting her opponent on the back foot. This would allow her to work against the cage, where Machi would utilise the clinch, landing various elbows and knees which would be then chained into takedown attempts. When the fight hit the mat, Machi would look for dominant positions. Holding the fight there and racking up control time. However, she’d struggle to keep Watanabe down for extended periods, often losing control and allowing her to return to the feet. While the fight was contested on the feet, Machi would look less in control of things, immediately looking to take the fight down and use her grappling advantages. This would prove to be quite a viable strategy, as Machi would pick up a split decision victory. A moment of visible jubilance followed after the judges scorecards had been read, as she would climb the cage and celebrate with her cornering team.

‘‘When I fought Watanabe, I still didn’t really know what MMA was.’’

Following her decision victory in her RIZIN debut, Machi returned to DEEP JEWELS for four more fights. Four key learning experiences she later described as transformative for her career. When previewing her fight against Seo Young Park at RIZIN 50, she promised to show an evolved version of herself. What was delivered was nothing short of that.

Machi would command the ring, cutting Park off and striking at awkward angles. Her 1–2 and teep consistently found their mark, while feints kept Park hesitant, anticipating a level change. The threat of the takedown only created further openings on the feet. The grappling shift would come in the second round. Park had success initially sprawling and moving back to the ropes to retain leverage and balance, however Machi quickly adjusted, finding an inside trip from the double underhook position, bringing the fight to the canvas and passing Park’s guard with absolute ease. From there, a move through half guard into side control would follow. A position which allowed her to fire off huge grounded knees to the side of her opponent’s head. Park looked to move out from this position, yet Machi spotted the sweep attempt, reversing it into mount. From mount Machi would rain down hellacious elbows, keeping Park uncomfortable below. The fight would look similar from this point onward, seeing Machi dictate every exchange, moving freely between positions and overwhelming Park with grounded strikes. With just over a minute remaining in the second round, she secured back mount, unleashing a final barrage of strikes that forced the referee to step in. A true show of evolution.

The evolution of Machi’s MMA skillset wasn’t something that happened overnight. But with her dedication and passion for the sport, it isn’t surprising that she’s come so far along in such little time.

She commutes two hours each way to Tokyo six times a week for practice, using the time on the train to fill her notebook with thoughts on strategy, analysis, and technique. By the time she arrives in the capital, it’s already completely dark outside, but the day is only truly beginning for Machi. Whether it’s at Toikatsu Grappling Higashinakano, FIGHT BASE or Japanese Top Team, she’s always in a gym working on her skills and looking to learn new things.

During her teenage years, she’d meet RIZIN Featherweight Satoshi Yamasu. Yamasu would take her under his wing and guide her in the correct direction. Yamasu helped guide her both as a fighter and as a person. He recalls her as an exceptionally skilled grappler from their first session together. Machi credits him not only for her growth in the gym, but also for helping her mature and become an adult by improving her social skills and offering guidance that extended beyond fighting.

Away from the ring and gym, Machi also finds enjoyment in calligraphy, music, and travel. She remains closely connected as a fan of the sport itself, listing fighters such as Rinya Nakamura, Kyoji Horiguchi, John Dodson, and Mizuki Inoue among her favourites to watch.

Competing overseas had long been part of Machi’s ambitions and dreams. Prior to her RIZIN debut, she laid out a clear roadmap. Win gold in Japan first, then compete overseas against the best talent the world has to offer.

On the 7th of September 2025, Machi took that first step. Reigning victorious over Si Woo Park, earning a split decision victory and clenching the DEEP Jewels Strawweight championship while redeeming one of her earlier career losses. She followed it up quickly, submitting Dan Bi Kim in under a minute with a guillotine choke. The win pushed her record to 10–2 at just 22 years old, firmly placing her on the radar of major promotions. That interest soon materialised, with Machi announced as a participant on the 5th season of Road To UFC.

Machi will face Xiaocan Feng, a former RTU finalist and ‘Happy Elephant MMA Champions League’ champion? I’m not really too sure what that even is. Feng is two years the elder and the more experienced fighter, with three additional fights on her record. A long rangy striker who tends to circle the outside and throw quick low kicks, Feng’s hand speed and blitz are some of her best offensive tools on the feet. She tends to counter her opponents pressure with angled hooks and overhands in the pocket, punishing reckless positioning. In her fight with Shi Ming, Feng would have success on the feet when picking apart her shorter opponent, keeping her at range and punishing her when the distance was closed. Shi Ming’s best work in that fight came from her grappling offence in round 1, where she’d catch Feng’s kick, and walk her back to the cage. Not giving her the space needed to use her frame and size advantage, Ming would shoot low on the hips, picking Feng up and carrying her to the canvas. This is something I would like to see Machi look to do as well.

While Machi is a skilled and accomplished grappler, I don’t believe her striking is refined enough yet to win in a pure kickboxing match against a longer rangier fighter. Machi is at a severe disadvantage as long as this fight stays on the feet, as Feng will look to use that reach advantage, landing low kicks, teeps and countering Machi’s blitz. Machi will find it hard to close the distance if she’s looking to land her typical 1-2 or hook combinations. In a fight like this, I believe grappling is a necessity for her. Lazy kicks thrown by Feng should be caught and punished with those clinch positions against the cage, or simple trips. Machi should not spend this fight on the outside, a grappling heavy approach will serve her well, allowing her to score points with ground strikes which can also possibly open up submission opportunities.

Machi’s story should serve as inspiration for all those chasing a dream. Never let adversity define who you are. In her case, it shaped who she was and each setback became part of the journey. From Judoka to an MMA champion, Machi’s direction now points overseas. A story that’s still being written, but a story that is already worth your time.

The first event of the year has always been an important time for RIZIN and their fighters. It’s an event that sets the tone for the remainder of the year and establishes storylines and rivalries that then continue and lead into other events. It also provides fighters with an opportunity to get back into the ring quickly and write the wrongs of their previous year. The year of 2026 is no different, with a stacked lineup of RIZIN’s top fighters all preparing to make the walk this weekend.

The theme for 2026 is ‘NEW WORLD WAR’ as it definitely seems RIZIN are leaning into a ‘Japan vs World’ storyline lately. I believe we’ll be seeing many homegrown Japanese stars pitted against tough foreign fighters from a wide range of different nationalities. RIZIN 52 will see fighters from a total of 8 different nationalities in action, with 7 of those nationalities facing a Japanese fighter.

For the sake of being a complete and comprehensive guide, each of the 12 bouts will be covered and explained to the best of my abilities. Certain fights may receive more attention than others depending on how much interest I have in the bout myself.

Without further ado please allow me to begin with the opening bout.

- NOEL VS BOMI LEE -

The card is kicked off by teenage prospect NOEL, when she takes on Korean striker Bomi Lee. At just 17 years of age, NOEL may still be a high school student but is by no means a stranger to the fight game. She began her amateur career at only 12 years old, with her professional debut following just three years later. NOEL is a bubbly character, who enjoys interacting with her fans on social media, dancing and training martial arts. When NOEL isn’t recording a TikTok video, she’s in the gym working on her craft. NOEL is a fighter who specialises in Jiu-Jitsu, boasting 3 wins via submission on her professional record and 2 on her amateur record. She’ll look to be on the front foot and work this fight into the clinch immediately, working for a takedown in order to hunt a submission as soon as possible. NOEL is still quite raw on the feet however, so she’ll have to be cautious that her takedowns and clinch entries are masked and not telegraphed to avoid counters from her opponent.

Bomi Lee is a fighter originating from the Korean MMA promotion ROAD FC. Lee is a striker first, focusing on her punches. A forward heavy fighter who puts the pressure on, when Lee is advancing she’s normally winning. However she tends to become quite tentative on the back foot, allowing her opponents to take control of the fight and land shots/score takedowns with ease. Bomi Lee’s most recent and only RIZIN fight came against Kate Lotus, where she fought a hard fight but ultimately came up short and lost a unanimous decision. For Lee to have success against NOEL, she will be forced to put the pressure on from round 1 and use her superior striking skills to outpoint or possibly hurt NOEL.

- JO ARAI VS JUNG HYUN LEE -

A flyweight bout follows when 17-12 Jo Arai takes on 7-3 Jung Hyun Lee. A fight that will see both competitors fighting for their first RIZIN victory after going 0-2 in the promotion prior. Jo Arai is a quick and aggressive striker who sustains a good level of activity on the feet, often finding quick knockout shots in the first few minutes of his fights. Arai is a brawler first, he has low defensive awareness that he often gets away with against a lower calibre of opponent. While Arai had a 12 fight win streak spanning 4 years in Shooto, where he’d capture the flyweight championship in that time, his streak ended somewhat abruptly when he faced Hiroya on the New Year’s Eve of 2023 at RIZIN 45. A fight that saw Hiroya score a headkick knockout victory in the 2nd round, finishing Arai and ending his win streak. Arai would eventually return to Shooto following another loss in RIZIN and has since picked up a decision victory against Koyuru Tanoue.

Jung Hyun Lee is another Korean fighter and ROAD FC export. While Lee had racked up 7 consecutive wins inside the Korean promotion, he hasn’t been able to find his feet inside RIZIN as of yet, losing against both Makoto Shinryu and Yuki Ito. Unlike his opponent Jo Arai, Lee is a much more measured and careful fighter. Choosing to take an outside fighting approach and wait for his opportunities to capitalise on mistakes. While this is indeed a safe style of fighting, it typically leads to quite a dull showing with low output levels. Fast pace meets slow pace.

- TAKAKI SOYA VS TONY LARAMIE -

The flyweight trend continues with the third bout. Tenured RIZIN fighter Takaki Soya takes on Canadian striker Tony Laramie. When looking at this matchup, it’s hard to expect anything other than a complete slugfest in the middle of the ring with both men having no concern for their own health and safety. Soya, the more experienced of the two with 21 fights compared to Laramie’s 14. At an early age, Soya was diagnosed with Crohn's disease, when met with his diagnosis, he fell into a dark place and experienced various challenges that he’d be forced to overcome. After some time Soya would make a full return to his athletic career, raising awareness and inspiring others facing a similar situation. A true fighter by every definition of the word, Soya has the heart of a lion. His fights are chaotic and energetic, oftentimes escalating into a complete brawl. Priding himself on facing anyone anywhere, there isn’t a fighter on planet Earth capable of striking fear into the Japanese flyweight. Soya’s boxing heavy style is supported by his deep arsenal of attack, digging hooks to the body, chopping overhands and wild uppercuts are all strikes you’ll see thrown in a Takaki Soya fight. This time as he takes on Tony Laramie, it’ll be important to see how he deals with the potential grappling threat if Laramie takes that route.

Tony Laramie is 27 years of age and approaching his 4th fight in RIZIN. Laramie predicts a knockout victory, expecting to crack the chin of Soya. When questioned on how the Soya fight came together, Laramie explained that Soya’s name had previously come up in discussion for potential opponents twice before.


❝ Third time’s the charm right? ❞

Laramie says. Describing the matchup as a good scrap and opportunity for him to progress. Since his 2024 RIZIN debut Laramie’s had his eyes fixated on the RIZIN Flyweight Title, hoping to announce himself and enter into title contention by making a statement on Saturday. Laramie looks to chase down a fight with current Flyweight Champion Hiromasa Ougikubo, who was crowned as the winner of the 2025 Flyweight Grand Prix 4 months ago during RIZIN’s New Year’s Eve event. Laramie possesses a truly infectious personality with an equally entertaining fighting style. A brawler firstly, Laramie will throw leather with anyone who’s willing to exchange with him, however he’s not afraid to show off his grappling skills either, with his latest victory against Wataru Yamauchi being the perfect example of that. I believe these fighters are very evenly matched on the feet, so as long as the fight stays there I can’t see it going in either direction with certainty.

- SHOKO SATO VS JOHN SWEENEY -

Moving up in weight, the next bout is a Bantamweight affair between Shoko Sato and John Sweeney. Sato, a professional since 2008, has amassed a total of 56 fights since then with a record of 37-17-2. During this time Sato has appeared in many different promotions, fighting in all of Pancrase, Sengoku, ROAD FC and Shooto. With his more memorable stints coming in ONE Championship and RIZIN. Sato is a wrestler who focuses on control and dominance, a risk averse style which almost carried him to a victory against current RIZIN Bantamweight Champion Danny Sabatello.

John ‘Hollywood’ Sweeney is RIZIN’s latest signing from America. Sweeney is a former LFA Bantamweight Champion, who went on a 6 fight winning streak to earn his opportunity to fight for the belt, which he captured via decision. When it came time for Sweeney’s first title defence, he’d miss the Bantamweight weight limit by a whopping 3kg. Following this weight miss, the LFA Bantamweight Title would be vacated and John was now no longer eligible to defend it regardless of the fight’s outcome. The fight would still go ahead, seeing Sweeney win another decision. His position was now uncertain. However, Sweeney would sit out during the entirety of 2025, only returning to answer RIZIN’s call to fight Sato, which he’d accept and sign with the promotion. Sweeney is a fighter who comes from a karate base and often focuses on using his wrestling and jiu-jitsu to drive the fight to the mat, where he’ll use heavy ground strikes from above to damage his opponents. Sweeney can hang on the feet as well, with a great blitz. Sweeney is very physically strong, which is shown with his wide variety of slams and throws. I feel like there’s a clear athletic difference in this fight.

- KYUNG PYO KIM VS YUSUKE YACHI -

Another Korean vs Japanese matchup takes place when Kyung Pyo Kim takes on Yusuke Yachi in the 5th bout of the night. Two very well rounded fighters competent in all different facets of MMA. Kyung Pyo Kim takes the term ‘Mixed Martial Artist’ very literally. He’s someone who enjoys mixing it up and finding success in different areas while doing so. A strong striker with thudding kicks to the body, Kim doesn’t shy away from clinch exchanges either. Tying things up and landing his knees and elbows. When the fight hits the mat Kim has strong ground and pound and constantly hunts the rear naked choke if he’s on his opponents back. Kim has past experience in promotions like ROAD FC and was a contestant on the very first season of Road To The UFC for the lightweight division.

It truly feels like Yusuke Yachi has been around forever. A veteran who’s been a RIZIN mainstay since their very first years as a promotion, Yachi is always a fun watch win or lose. He’s fought the who’s who of RIZIN and Just like his opponent Kim, Yachi has no problem with where the fight ends up. A fighter capable of finding the finish in any area, whether it comes via submission or knockout is irrelevant to Yachi. While I believe these fighters share a similar skillset, I think that the age and athletic disparity between them at this stage of each of their careers could just be too much for it to be evenly matched.

- HIDEO TOKORO VS JINNOSUKE KASHIMURA -

Japanese MMA can be extremely weird. I still don’t believe this matchup is real and I’m looking directly at the graphic. Everyone was taken by extreme surprise when it was announced that legend Hideo Tokoro will return to competition at 48 years of age against the 24 year old Jinnosuke Kashimura. If you aren’t already familiar with Hideo Tokoro, he defines JMMA. From his career debut in 2000 to 2026, Tokoro has done everything and more within the sport of MMA. 71 total fights, a legendary fighter with lengthy runs in K-1, DREAM and RIZIN. Tokoro has always been a grappling wizard and will take any opportunity to armbar you. It was thought that Tokoro had retired after his last fight, where he upset many and knocked Hiroya out on New Year’s Eve of 2023. Although that now doesn’t seem to be the case as he’s back 3 years later for more. Who knows why but I’m honestly tired of questioning it.

Tokoro returns to an extremely tough opponent in submission ace Jinnosuke Kashimura however. While young in his career, Kashimura has shown why he’s a problem for many with his grappling ability and submission threat. Kashimura boasts 9 submission wins on his record, 6 of them coming via rear naked choke. A dangerous grappler who ties his opponents up and strangles them out. Kashimura is thankful for the opportunity to fight such a legend in Tokoro but vows to win and light up Ariake Arena no matter what.

- YUKI ITO VS CARLOS MOTA -

We’re back to flyweight with the 7th bout of the night. Yuki Ito takes on recent KNOCKOUT signing, current KNOCKOUT Unlimited champion and former LFA Flyweight king Carlos Mota in a fight that promises to deliver nothing but fireworks. Yuki Ito, a chronic gambler on weekdays and boxing specialist on the weekend. Ito is known to blow his fight purses on long gambling sessions, hoping to get lucky. When he isn’t in a pachinko parlour, he’s in the ring displaying his elite striking like we’ve seen so far in his RIZIN career. Ito invests in the body from early in a fight, wearing on his opponent and setting his shots up to the head later on. A frequent stance switcher who throws step in knees out of both orthodox and southpaw. Ito’s best work comes directly down the middle with his signature left and right straight punches, oftentimes ending the fight. Ito is measured and moves well, his footwork and positional awareness is superb. The only area that Ito doesn’t excel would be his ground game, where he’s still quite green.

Carlos Mota, a long limbed and lengthy striker from Brazil. Mota caught the eyes of RIZIN with 2 successive wins in KNOCKOUT, capturing their championship in that time. A stance switcher just like his opponent Ito, Mota is a massive fan of the rear body kick in southpaw, finding success and hurting his opponents. Mota has a loose striking style with looping hooks around the guard and knees up the middle. When analysing both of these fighters, something I’ve noticed personally is how Ito dips his head low down when measuring the range and closing the distance, a shot up the middle from Mota could be the final strike of the night if connected perfectly. Something equally as dangerous for Mota is his lazy footwork, exiting the pocket in straight lines with his chin untucked, a big opportunity for Ito to land his straight if Mota doesn’t correct this habit.

Regardless of this fight’s outcome, I believe blood will be shed and violence will be on full display. My personal FOTN prediction.

- SAORI OSHIMA VS KATE LOTUS -

A massive fight in the women’s Super Atomweight division. Title challenger Saori Oshima takes on the ultra popular Kate Lotus. A fight that will likely propel either woman into a title fight against reigning champion Seika Izawa next. During the announcement for this fight, much was made of the ‘visual presentation’ of Kate Lotus, with reporters praising her for her looks and style. This wouldn’t exactly sit well with Oshima, however, she’d promise to turn the attention to her own image and visual with a victory against Lotus. Oshima is the more experienced fighter of the two here, a former DEEP champion and 22 fight veteran. Saori is a high level grappler with more than 50% of her wins coming via submission. When it’s purely grappling there’s not many who can compete with Oshima, however in fights like this against a much taller opponent, she struggles to close the gap and find her entries. With Oshima’s frame being so small, she also has issues finding takedowns within the clinch as she’s unable to use her size or weight to bully her opponent to the mat.

Kate Lotus, an evolving fighter. Ahead of the biggest fight of her career, Lotus seems cool and calm. Expecting a controlled and dominant performance against Oshima. While Lotus had quite the turbulent start to her MMA career, she’s since transformed as a fighter and strung together a 4 fight winning streak, which she rides into this fight. To find success in this fight Lotus will have to fight on the outside, utilising her jab, 1-2 and low kicks to score consistently on Oshima. She’ll also have to be attentive and ready to sprawl any takedown attempt from Saori. Strong hips will win her this fight.

- VIKTOR KOLESNIK VS KOJI TAKEDA -

‘Sign here.’

A RIZIN Contract was sent out, a fight offer. When Viktor Kolesnik signed his name on the dotted line of this contract, he never would have expected to be facing off against Koji Takeda just a day out from his fight. No, the Russian was originally slated to face DEEP newcomer Kazuki Aimoto, who was abruptly pulled from the matchup after suffering injuries sustained from a bicycle accident while cutting weight. RIZIN scrambled for a new fight to put on, searching tirelessly for a fighter brave enough to accept a fight with Kolesnik with roughly 36 hours of notice. RIZIN searched and failed, until they came to Koji Takeda with an offer. Make weight and save the card. Thankfully for RIZIN, Koji Takeda was that hero they were searching for. Takeda would sign his name and begin his weight cut almost instantaneously. Bravery like that has to be appreciated. A fight that had actually been booked before for RIZIN LANDMARK 10 but fell through due to injury, Kolesnik vs Takeda might have been booked on just 36 hours notice, but it was a fight in the making for over a year.

With Kolesnik dedicating a full fight camp toward preparing for Aimoto, he’ll have been working on almost exclusively striking for months, the Takeda matchup is an interesting one because of how different Takeda’s style is in contrast to Aimoto’s. Can Takeda implement his wrestling style? Will he have enough in the tank to support his efforts past 1 or 2 rounds? As for Kolesnik? I think he’ll want to treat this fight like any other one. Utilise your striking advantage and punish his opponent with moves that have become synonymous with him, like the spinning back kick to the body. I think Kolesnik is as hungry as he’s ever been. Off the back of his loss to Razhabali Shaydullaev, Kolesnik will want to do everything in his power to end up back in the win column, and back in the KO column.

- RYO TAKAGI VS SHUYA KIMURA -

‘Expectation.’

Expectations and hype will always be placed around fights and fighters in martial arts. That’s just human nature. But do we as fans underestimate the significance of the pressure it can put on those same performers? How truly easy is it for a fighter to succumb to the outside noise? For an experienced fighter with years of dealing with that pressure, it might feel like nothing at all. For a young fighter the case is oftentimes different. Fan and media expectation begins to feel like demands. Doubt sets in and your own self opinions are replaced by the opinions of others.

RIZIN Featherweight Shuya Kimura has been vocal regarding media narrative and fan opinion in the past, giving his own experience and take on the matter. Kimura debuted in RIZIN with a 54 second knockout, a time where he burst on the scene and gained the attention of the wider RIZIN fanbase. Since that knockout victory, Kimura has since had 2 fights in RIZIN. A decision loss to Vugar Karamov and a submission loss to Kazumasa Majima. With fans almost ready to give up on Kimura, he now has a chance to win them back with an exciting performance against the all rounder Ryo Takagi.

Takagi has a 3-2 record within RIZIN, with those 2 losses coming against top opposition in teenage phenom Kyoma Akimoto and Viktor Kolesnik. Just like his opponent Kimura, Takagi also faces media criticism and fan backlash, following his most recent performance which was labelled lacklustre and boring. With both fighters aiming to prove the doubters wrong, this fight shouldn’t disappoint in any way.

- LUIS GUSTAVO VS TAISEI SAKURABA -

‘Storyline.’

Behind every great MMA fight, lies a storyline. Whether big or small, serious or silly, a storyline is what allows you to become emotionally invested in the sport. A storyline gives the audience something to follow and gives a fight meaning. While speaking on this topic, Luis Gustavo vs Taisei Sakuraba is exactly what a storyline should be.

A rivalry developed from the days of PRIDE FC, Wanderlei Silva would take on Kazushi Sakuraba in 2001 at PRIDE 13. Marking the first of 3 fights in a wild and bloody affair. 25 years later and Wanderlei’s protégé meets Sakuraba’s son in the co-main of RIZIN 52. A fight that fell on such perfect timing you could suggest it truly was 25 years in the making.

Much like his mentor Wanderlei, Luis Gustavo fights like a rabid animal. Swinging hooks with a mean amount of power behind them. Gustavo also posesses a very strong clinch game. Unsurprisingly, the same can be said about Taisei Sakuraba. JMMA Legend Kazushi Sakuraba’s direct heir. Taisei fights exactly like his father once did. A sharp ground game with many submission opportunities once it gets there. This fight will serve as Wanderlei vs Sakuraba 4.

Unfortunately for nostalgists, Taisei and his father don’t have an incredible relationship and often find themselves in disagreement over the direction of Taisei’s career. Since the time of Taisei’s debut there’s very little chance Kazushi is around to support his son’s MMA career any further, meaning we likely won’t see him this Saturday either.

- KYOMA AKIMOTO VS PATCHY MIX -

‘Superstardom.’

Superstardom. A word I like to associate with Kyoma Akimoto.

19 years of age and approaching his 13th professional fight at the highest level. On the eve of his second headlining fight appearance, which comes against a former Bellator world champion. Does a single bit of this sound normal to you? Akimoto continues to defy the odds and climb higher and higher within the world of martial arts. Akimoto is never satisfied with what he’s given. He wants more, he wants to aim higher until it is not humanly possible to go any higher. A boy with the world in his hands, Akimoto is destined for superstardom. But whether that transition comes this weekend or not is yet to be seen.

A story so perfect for Akimoto is a story Patchy Mix will also look to follow. With the former Bellator champion setting his sights on current Featherweight Champion Razhabali Shaydullaev, aiming for a showdown by NYE 2026. Patchy believes with a win on Saturday, he can then go on to challenge Akimoto’s mentor in Mikuru Asakura. With 2 losses on the bounce leading to his release from the UFC, Patchy has everything in the world to fight for here. A real chance to make a statement and truly get back on track toward his aspirations of becoming a world champion again.

Kyoma Akimoto. A lightning quick striker with good footwork and reflexes alongside thudding power, particularly in his hands and knees. Seemingly good MMA brain as well. His grappling game hasn’t been displayed entirely so far, especially the defensive side. Because Akimoto is such a young fighter, learning new technique and polishing his skills comes much easier to him. He’s been training with Shinya Aoki privately for 2 months, Aoki claims by week 3 he couldn’t submit Akimoto at all anymore.

Patchy Mix. A strong grappler with amazing submissions and technical ground control. Patchy trains at Xtreme Couture, a gym home to many current and former UFC champions. Patchy has years of experience at the top level, beating world level talent on a consistent basis during his Bellator run. A BJJ black belt for many years with genuinely elite jiu-jitsu and grappling skills.

A very deserving main event. I cannot wait to watch it unfold live.

There you have it! A complete and comprehensive guide for RIZIN 52. I hope I haven’t left anything crucial out. All that’s left to talk about now is the viewing details, which I’ll explain now.

RIZIN 52 is available for PPV purchase around the world on RIZIN.TV.

You have the option of either purchasing the PPV for 19.99 (prices will vary), or purchasing a month of RIZIN’s premium pass for 16.99 (prices will vary) which will give you the following: Access to RIZIN’s entire catalogue of events,fights and access to all RIZIN PPV events that air live while your membership is active.

For international viewers, RIZIN 52 will begin on the 6th of March at 11PM ET.

Thank you for your time. If you plan to watch RIZIN please make sure to let me know if this guide helped you!

BOUT ORDER BELOW. END OF ARTICLE

From an early age, Akimoto was already deeply invested in both athletic competition and various team sports. As a child, he played football for many years, continuing until the end of middle school. While athletic skill and competitive spirit were engrained into the youngster from a young age, interestingly enough, Akimoto’s interest in mixed martial arts competition wouldn’t fully develop until it came time for the transition into his high school years. In which case he’d opt against enrolling to instead pursue aspirations of becoming an MMA fighter at just 15 years of age. A decision opposed by both of his parents at the time, however he would rebel against them, insisting the decision lay with him as it was his life that would be impacted, not theirs. His parents would later warm to the idea of their son becoming a fighter around the time of Akimoto’s RIZIN debut which would come against the battle tested Kintaro. This fight would come when Akimoto was just 4–0 as a professional. A meagre 2 years of professional experience against the overwhelming 13 for his opponent. Still, Akimoto persevered, trusting in his own skill and coaching team. He scored a first-round knockout against the veteran, landing a heavy left straight before following up with knee strikes on the ground until the referee waved the fight off.

Having joined Japan Top Team two months prior, Akimoto began studying under the tutelage of the Asakura brothers, Kai Asakura and Mikuru Asakura. This move proved transformative for Akimoto’s young career, with him already possessing an abundance of raw talent, his time at JTT quickly polished his abilities, seeing the youngster evolve rapidly. Akimoto would improve on an already great striking base and learned various new grappling techniques.

There is certainly one thing that’s been made clear so far. Akimoto is headed in just one direction and that direction is upward. But what specifically allows him to be regarded as one of the brightest prospects in MMA today? You can point to a multitude of reasons, but I’d suggest that it’s mainly due to the fact he’s so far along as a professional at just 19 years of age. Since his debut in RIZIN, Akimoto has taken on six opponents in just over a year. That is unheard of for a fighter of any age or calibre, let alone a teenager competing at the top of Japan’s leading MMA promotion in his first year as a professional. With an average age of 32 for Akimoto’s opponents, it’s safe to say he hasn’t exactly had an experience edge in any one of these bouts, though this hasn’t proven much of an issue to him. Reigning victorious and winning six of his seven fights inside the promotion. Akimoto isn’t just picking up lacklustre wins against lesser competition, he’s constantly forcing the fight and looking to finish his opponents. 57% of Akimoto’s wins in RIZIN have come via finish. Some of Akimoto’s opponents have described his reflexes as “cat-like,” allowing him to use that advantage to land his accurate punches, often coming in combinations. Whether it’s a pinpoint accurate left hand or a crushing body knee, Akimoto capitalises on a single mistake and finishes the fight.

His style has already drawn comparisons to that of both Kai and Mikuru Asakura, adopting moves from either brother such as the countering body knee of Kai or Mikuru’s patented left high kick. The comparisons aren’t limited strictly to fighting style though. He’s often been referred to as a potential successor to Mikuru, by far the biggest star in the modern era of Japanese MMA. It’s a comparison that makes a great deal of sense. The pair both train out of the same gym, conduct themselves in a similar manner and can garner massive fan support with little effort. Akimoto has stated that he looks to Mikuru as an idol figure, modelling himself after the star in the gym every day.

Akimoto’s first headlining appearance came at the RIZIN LANDMARK 12 event in Kobe. The youngster was pitted against the promotion’s bad boy and hometown hero of sorts, Kyohei Hagiwara. A feud that had been slowly building for months, waiting to boil over. The two first interacted after winning their respective fights at RIZIN Otoko Matsuri on May 4, 2025, at the Tokyo Dome. Hagiwara took to the microphone following his destructive knockout of Taisei Nishitani. He immediately called for a rematch against the man who had defeated him four years prior, Mikuru Asakura. Demanding the star to “stop running” and face him like a man. By the time Akimoto caught wind of this callout, he criticised Hagiwara, mocking him for going after his senior. He instead offered to fight Hagiwara at any RIZIN event. This response would infuriate Hagiwara however, who proceeded to label Akimoto as a ‘cocky brat’, vowing to humble him for speaking out of turn.

Fast forward two months, tensions between the two featherweights finally reached a climax. Following Akimoto’s first round submission victory against “Playboy” Koki Akada. Hagiwara stormed the ring upon hearing his name mentioned, which prompted a faceoff between both fighters, unsavoury words and remarks were fired back and forth until security intervened, preventing the confrontation from becoming physical and violent. The crowd would instantly become excited. Hype started to build and speculation regarding potential dates for the showdown began. This was a matchup worth making in the 66kg division, both fighters harboured hatred for one other, each with something to prove ahead of a potential bout.

RIZIN President Nobuyuki Sakakibara would oblige, announcing Kyoma Akimoto vs Kyohei Hagiwara as the headlining fight and main event of RIZIN LANDMARK 12. This announcement was met with an overwhelming amount of positivity and excitement, fans and media alike could not wait to see a rivalry of this magnitude unfold inside the cage. Akimoto and Hagiwara would come face to face again at the end of the press conference, this time without any security obstructing the view. Both men promised a victory via knockout in the first round, knowing that only one man could fulfil their promise. Media in attendance were assured that the fight would not go the distance, a finish was guaranteed and a war was sworn. When it came time for both men to face off for the final time inside the cage, no one could have predicted what would ensue.

When both hands of Akimoto reached out for a glove touch, Hagiwara’s were nowhere to be found. A sign of disrespect? Or perhaps a statement sent to everyone who was paying attention. Hagiwara was dialled in and focused on his opponent standing across from him. Akimoto however seemed more relaxed, cool calm and collected. Waiting to hear that opening bell and deliver another A+ performance, something he’s become accustomed to in recent months. When the bell rang to signal the beginning of round 1, both fighters would meet in the centre of the cage. Weighing up potential shots, feinting and moving. The scene was reminiscent of a gun duel, a strange calmness in the air before an inevitable shot was fired. The first shot came from Hagiwara, targeting the legs of Akimoto with strong driven low kicks aimed at the calf, looking to limit his movement and punish attempts to circle on the outside. Akimoto fired back instantly, pressuring Hagiwara backward to the cage and utilising his combination striking. A jab would dip under the guard of Hagiwara, landing on his body before being followed by straight shots directly to the chin.

Both fighters had established themselves early on, although still cautious and measured. This would not be the case for long however, as both would begin trading shots against the cage shortly after. It felt like each shot’s impact got heavier and heavier with each landing blow. A true testament to both fighters power and durability. It would be Hagiwara that drew first blood. An accumulation of jabs had seemingly hurt Akimoto, with blood visibly seeping from the youngster’s nose. This wouldn’t discourage him in the slightest, continuing to follow the gameplan and mount heavy offensive pressure. He would constantly find himself firing shots at Hagiwara with his back to the cage, locating the chin with pinpoint accurate left straights. Still, he could not get reckless. Every responding shot from Hagiwara was like a baseball pitch. It would only take a single clean connection to have Akimoto on the backfoot. The pace of the first round was rapid. Not a chance to catch your breath. Visible damage was worn by both combatants after an intense beginning to the bout.

The announcer called out to the arena signifying that there was just a minute left of round 1 and absolute chaos would follow. The fight returned to the centre of the cage, shots were exchanged and did not let up until the very dying moments of the round. Leather imprints were left on the faces of both fighters as they headed back to their corners after a potential round of the year display. The bell would ring again for round 2 and everyone watching was hoping for an exact repeat of the first round. Luckily for them, both Akimoto and Hagiwara are mad men, thus the wish was granted. The fight fell back into a slugfest, with shots landing everywhere. It was Akimoto who first thought it would be in his best interests to take this fight to the mat and utilise his major grappling advantage, which he did with a sneaky single-leg entry, sweeping Hagiwara’s rear leg from underneath him, driving his body to the mat. From side-control Akimoto worked his way to Hagiwara’s back, gaining a rear body triangle shortly after.

Submissions were attempted as Hagiwara fought and struggled, trapped inside the body triangle unable to escape. Akimoto grew tired of hunting submissions, instead opting to transition into half-guard. Which is a great position to mount grounded shots and damage your opponents. This was no different for Akimoto, reigning down heavy offence to the side of Hagiwara’s head, clearly squirming in discomfort beneath. The shots from above would keep coming down until the referee pulled Akimoto off, deciding the defence of Hagiwara was not intelligent enough for this fight to continue. The roof was blown off of the Glion Arena. An audience of over 10,000 all brought to their feet in celebration of war. A fight that solidified the claims that Akimoto was legitimate, he was absolutely more than legitimate without further questions. The newly born star climbed the cage, gesturing to the crowd with both arms out.

“ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?”

As his own blood dripped profusely from his nose, covering his lips, chin and chest. He may have had his nose broken, but his spirit was fully intact.

On the 2nd of November, 2025 a brand new star was born in Kobe. His name was Kyoma Akimoto.

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In the same suit he wore to his 成人式 (Coming of the age Ceremony) it was announced to the surprise of everyone that Akimoto would be taking on Patchy Mix in the main event of RIZIN’s first show of the 2026 calendar year - RIZIN 52. A former Bellator Bantamweight champion who holds wins over notable names such as Kyoji Horiguchi and Sergio Pettis. Mix, who had been contracted to the UFC prior to the announcement, was quietly released and removed from the roster following two lacklustre losses to Mario Bautista and Jakub Wikłacz. Mix stated that once he was handed his release from the UFC, he immediately called his manager to discuss the possibility of fighting in RIZIN, voicing his desire to fight the current RIZIN Featherweight Champion Razhabali Shaydullaev. Mix would also touch on his perceived skill disparity between himself and Akimoto, stating that Akimoto has never faced anyone that can even closely grapple like him. Akimoto would greet the media, announce his name and begin to talk about how excited he is for this match.

“This will be the first time I will face a non-Japanese fighter. if I win, I think my horizons will be broadened. I think this will be a very important fight.”

Ahead of this anticipated main event, it’s important to look into both fighters deeply and formulate a breakdown that’s well informed. Something that stands out immediately is the shared opponent between both fighters, Yuki Motoya. Akimoto’s lone loss was handed to him by Motoya. A decision which saw the prospect taken down and controlled easily with little resistance. When Mix took Motoya on however, the story was flipped on its head. It only took a single takedown attempt for Mix to take the fight to the floor, overpowering Motoya. It wouldn’t be all easy though, with Motoya using his jiu-jitsu skills to work back to the sprawl position. Mix would see a clear opening, essentially handed to him. He would immediately jump on the guillotine choke, squeezing with his entire bodily strength, forcing the tap with just a minute and 37 seconds passed.

No logical fight breakdown looks to MMA math as some decisive factor, but it is something to note down nonetheless. Another thing to mention would be the immense experience differential between both fighters, Mix has a 10+ year professional career that began when Akimoto was just nine years old. He’s also had years of experience at a championship level in Bellator, facing world level international talent consistently. Mix isn’t a stranger to the bright lights of western MMA. He’s coming off a big dip in his career, crashing out of the UFC after just 2 fights but that is experience at the top nonetheless. By contrast, Akimoto has never fought outside Japan, nor has he fought a single international opponent. He’s used to the bright lights of RIZIN, even having main evented in his last fight but will Mix’s championship level experience prove too much for him? It’s definitely a possibility.

As far as fighting style and how they match up, I’m inclined to lean in favour of Akimoto. A lightning quick striker with good footwork, power, particularly in his hands and knees. Seemingly a good MMA brain as well, displaying impressive fight IQ. Akimoto seems tentative on the back foot, hesitating before firing back and lowering his offensive output levels entirely. His grappling game hasn’t been displayed entirely so far, especially the defensive side. It’s hard to make assumptions or claims based on so little material. Because Akimoto is such a young fighter, learning new technique and polishing his skills comes much easier to him. Since his decision loss to Motoya, he claims his grappling has come leaps and bounds in development but there’s no way to validate those claims. His offensive and overall grappling game has looked slick when he’s utilised it, offering great performances against both Ryo Takagi and Koki Akada, but the skill level isn’t even remotely close enough to compare either of those fighters to someone of Patchy Mix’s calibre. If either of Mix’s last two performances are anything to judge off, Akimoto will have a clear advantage on the feet, with much more potential to punish and hurt Patchy, possibly leading to a fight ending sequence.

While Patchy Mix might not be good enough to capture kickboxing gold within RISE or K-1, his grappling and more importantly wrestling pedigree is undeniable. Developing a wrestling base from childhood, Patchy also boasts a BJJ black belt. Many of his career wins come via overpowering his opponents within the clinch, taking the fight to the mat and using his BJJ skills to hunt submissions. Mix has a nasty squeeze, making his chokes especially dangerous. He boasts rear naked choke victories against Sergio Pettis and Magomed Magomedov in Bellator. Mix claims that former Japan Top Team wrestling coach Billy Bigelow sought him out for grappling advice, which has raised some concerns for the defensive wrestling ability of Akimoto. Patchy’s core issues can all be attributed to his stance and movement. His stance is incredibly awkward. He stands tall and stiff, inviting long straight punches which he has difficulty moving away from. A base isn’t developed for him to strike off of. Standing so tall makes it extremely hard to fire his crosses which he doesn’t move with or into at all, so it rarely has an effect. I think the biggest issue Mix has is the fact he has quite poor head movement, this gap in his game was primarily exploited during his short UFC tenure, Mario Bautista would land his jab and cross seemingly at will. There was little urgency from Patchy to adapt, resulting in a dominant U/D win for Bautista.

The importance of this fight for both men cannot be overstated. Two fighters fighting for completely different things, a win doing the world for them both. Akimoto is looking to truly establish himself as JMMA’s next star, already having headlined an event in November last year, RIZIN 52 will be his second in just 4 months. A win against Patchy Mix at this stage of his career would do tremendous things. Solidifying Akimoto as a genuine world level prospect with potential to become RIZIN’s youngest champion. A win for Mix however would set his career back on track, shaking his recent 2 losses off and allowing him to chase championship gold again.

At just 19 years of age, Kyoma Akimoto’s career is headed in an unparalleled direction, his eventual rise to RIZIN’s main event scene was expected after his triumphant debut, but nobody expected it to come this early. With Akimoto now having twelve professional fights and a record of 11-1, Akimoto is in a position most fighters could only dream of. He now gears up to face Patchy Mix in the main event of RIZIN 52, by far the biggest test of his youthful career. Regardless of the result, Akimoto’s rapid progression is truly commendable and his trajectory points firmly toward stardom either way.

When it comes time for Mikuru Asakura to depart the sport, there will be a feeling of emptiness surrounding the world of Japanese MMA. A torch that is just waiting to find the hands of the next superstar. I firmly believe that Akimoto is that superstar waiting to be made. A superstar whose stardom will transcend the sport. A superstar who fights not just for themselves, but for the millions of people who place their faith in them. A superstar who will put the promotion on their back and drive RIZIN into the next era.

A new generation of RIZIN is now waiting to begin.

As the new year beckons, so does Japan’s annual fighting tradition. Some of the most spectacular nights in Japanese martial arts history have long called New Year’s Eve home. From the early days of Japanese Kickboxing and Antonio Inoki’s notorious ‘Bom-Ba-Ye’ events to the legendary PRIDE FC shows during the early 2000s, the tradition has been carried on through each chapter of Japanese martial arts. What followed was a smooth transition into a wild era of co-promotion that was K-1’s ‘DYNAMITE!!’ A series which would involve multiple organisations being put against each other for a night of combat. PRIDE, DREAM and Sengoku have all contributed to these shows in the past with all three mentioned having contracted fighters compete alongside K-1’s roster under a united header. Could it get any better than this? It was all of our favourite promotions working with one other to deliver a glorious New Year’s event. Unfortunately for us martial arts geeks, not all was perfect and issues were raised with the massive void left in the world of Japanese martial arts after PRIDE, DREAM and Sengoku all went on to cease productions and fold as organisations. To add to the depression, K-1 would proceed to become less prominent worldwide resulting in a lack of mainstream events and overall coverage for events taking place in Japan post 2012.

While the future looked dull for all involved, a major resurgence came in the martial arts scene with the sudden launch of RIZIN Fighting Federation in September 2015. RIZIN was founded by notable figure and former PRIDE FC president Nobuyuki Sakakibara who has previously stated that the reason for its creation was to was to ❝Bring Japanese martial arts back to a major stage while providing a nurturing home for Japanese fighters to develop and go on to compete internationally.❞ RIZIN as a promotion has long been referred to as a ‘spiritual successor’ to the now dissolved PRIDE FC. PRIDE 2.0 if you will. While I have personally grown a little tired of this comparison, I can still understand why it’s the common association for an average fan. Both promotions are based in Japan, both oppose use of the unified ruleset which has become a staple of western promotions such as the UFC. PRIDE and RIZIN instead both opt for a separate ruleset which notably legalises both soccer kicks and stomps to a grounded opponent. Pretty similar right? While everything I’ve mentioned are of course similarities and reasons for comparison, I truly think where both promotions are the most alike is their intense focus on putting on a show and presenting everyone involved as larger than life. Everyone has a story and that story is told in full from the very moment the event begins to the last dying moments. There’s a level of emotional investment attached to the RIZIN events in particular that I myself have never come close to matching anywhere else.

Since RIZIN’s inception, the promotion has seen 11 events hosted on New Year’s Eve, with each one being hosted at the iconic Saitama Super Arena located in the Saitama Prefecture of Japan. They’ve gathered a typical attendance consisting of 20k+ strong always making their support heard and urging their favourites on from the stands. New Year’s has always been a very special time in Japan and it’s been absolutely no different for RIZIN who’ve embraced the tradition with a now iconic debut card. Two full days of violence consisting of a classic Fedor Emelianenko performance, Gracie and Yamamoto family feuds along with appearances from Japanese legends Kazushi Sakuraba, Hideo Tokoro, and Shinya Aoki. Kickboxing stars Takeru Segawa and Peter Aerts were also amongst the action. The event was ultimately capped off by what Japan does best: A GRAND PRIX which notably contained current PFL Heavyweight Champion Vadim Nemkov, former UFC Light Heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka along with former King of Strikeforce King Mo.

From the very first show presented during New Year’s 2015, it couldn’t have been made more clear that RIZIN was the future of martial arts on a national scale with a very possible chance of breaking through to an international market in the future. They offered a warm home to fighters from all around the world looking to compete on a massive stage. For the fans it was safe to say the feeling was restored and the Japanese MMA world had fallen back to normality. RIZIN was truly one of a kind and unlike anything else around at the time of creation, with that statement still holding strong today. If your eyes weren’t on RIZIN at this time then they most certainly would be with the years that followed.

What is it about New Year’s Eve? Why is it such an important date for martial arts? If I could describe it with a single word, the word I’d use is TRADITION. The date carries so much rich history and has long been associated with some of the most defining moments that martial arts has ever seen. Carried on from the dawn of combat sports all the way through to the modern era of today, let us now take a very quick look back on some of my personal favourite highlights from 10 years of RIZIN New Year’s Eve.

RIZIN Fighting World Grand Prix 2016 - Mirko Cro Cop’s Japanese Homecoming.

Mirko Cro Cop was an absolute icon in Japan during the martial arts boom of the 2000s. Whether you tuned in for the checkered shorts or his signature left high kick, one thing was for certain, You watched. And more than a decade later, Japan watched again during Cro Cop’s shocking return to claim RIZIN Gold, completing an improbable tournament run at an age most heavyweights were retired.

RIZIN Fighting World Grand Prix 2017 - MADE IN JAPAN

Kyoji Horiguchi. Hated by none. Loved by all. But why? Is it his gorgeous karate straights? His audacious speed and footwork? Or my personal favourite theory, his relatable height. Honestly… it’s probably a combination of the three. It’s obviously no secret that Kyoji is a legend of the sport, winning multiple titles across RIZIN and Bellator but what was the moment in particular that defined who Horiguchi was as a fighter? My personal choice would be his triumphant Grand Prix victory in 2017. Kyoji would defeat and submit surging prospect Manel Kape with a head and arm choke in the second round to close out what was an utterly dominant display. Later on that same night, Horiguchi would take on another tough test in Shintato Ishiwatari but finish him in similar brutal fashion. A perfectly timed right hand for Kyoji would spell the end for Ishiwatari, dropping him against the ropes and ending his night prematurely. Horiguchi of course has had many impressive nights in his career but I felt this one was extra special.

RIZIN 20 - A STAR IS BORN

Kai Asakura and Manel Kape. As of December 2025, both are fighters contracted to the UFC, both having multiple fights under the promotional banner and both known by UFC fans for their time spent in the UFC and in the UFC exclusively. But what if I told you that once upon a time they fought in front of 30k+ at the Saitama Super Arena in what was billed as a heavily anticipated grudge match. If unfamiliar with MMA outside of the UFC (or perhaps a little dull) you’d probably be shocked right? But this was the reality for both men just 6 years ago when they faced off in the main event of RIZIN 20. Asakura was riding a 6 fight win streak going into this fight including notable wins against names such as Kyoji Horiguchi and Manel Kape himself. Whereas Kape was off the back of 2 brutal KO wins against Seiichiro Ito and Takeya Mizugaki. Both fighters were red hot and both fighters had something to prove. The division was left without its former king Horiguchi after he was forced to vacate the title due to a nasty ACL injury, therefore RIZIN put together Asakura VS Kape as the logical solution to crown the next bantamweight king. When the bell rang both fighters were tense and explosive, bursting punches and kicks coming from every angle possible. The action didn’t let up for a single moment. Absolute chaos. But said chaos began to tilt in Kape’s favour when he started landing his combinations on Asakura and keeping him on the backfoot with his constant pressure. Kape had taken control of this fight and set up the perfect finishing shot with his right straight, which landed directly on the chin of Asakura, stunning him in the process and leading to the finish which came shortly afterward. Manel Kape had upset a sea of Asakura supporters and become RIZIN champion all in one night. Truly the STARBOY.

Now that I’ve filled you in on a decent amount of pre-2025 New Year’s Eve information, it’s time we talk about the present. RIZIN Year End Super Powerhouse Matsuri. or 師走の超強者祭り (December Super Strong Festival). Mouthful I know, but it’s worth memorising. This is RIZIN’s 8th card this year and promises to be their grandest and most spectacular yet. 14 fights, 5 titles on the line and a literal year’s supply of violence waiting to be delivered. Let me give a short breakdown of each fight and what you should be paying attention to if you plan on tuning into the event live on RIZIN.TV.

Let’s start from the bottom and work our way up to the main event.

YURI SUDA VS ENZO IAMAZOTO
- RIZIN Koshien Finals, both fighters are highschoolers who are fighting to earn a RIZIN contract. Both are BJJ practitioners who have faced each other 9 separate times (with Enzo winning 7 of them, Yuri winning 2.)

Ryusei Ashizawa vs JOLLY
- Ashizawa, a former kickboxer turned MMA fighter who loves to sing and loves to scrap. Expect actual chaos. JOLLY is a former Breaking Down fighter who’s coming off a significant layoff to fight Ashizawa, fun scrap incoming.

Tatsuya Saika vs BeyNoah
- Saika is a kill or be killed fighter, all wins come by finish, all losses come by finish. Live by the sword and die by the sword, expect him to go for it, Beynoah is a former RISE kickboxer who has since refined his MMA game, working at AKA and developing his all roundedness.

Tatsuki Shinotsuka vs Daichi Tomizawa
- Who doesn’t love a rematch? My fellow fans of Japanese kickboxing will be excited for this one, Tatsuki’s 2nd fight in MMA. A precise striker that throws everything with intent of knocking his opponent out, watch out for slick counter shots and heavy straight punches. Daichi is another former Breaking Down fighter who enjoys scrapping, looping hooks from the opening bell, no concern for defence.

Joji Goto vs Shorty Torres
- A well rounded homegrown Japanese talent vs a world level fighter, Goto moves around quickly and picks his shots well, some nice lowkicks and body straights, watch his right hand. Shorty is a wrestler who has relentless pressure and will shoot for days, heavy output but not the strongest physically speaking.

Makoto Shinryu vs Hiroya
- Essentially the losers bracket from the Flyweight GP. Shinryu a high level grappler with heavy submission offence and reversal threat. Also has some superb control. Hiroya physically imposing wrestler with a lot of strength and developing striking, but lacks the skill needed to grapple with Shinryu. Wrestling him will be a mistake, needs to keep fight on the feet.

Karshyga Dautbek vs Yuta Kubo
- Kazakh Rock Hands vs A Smiling Sniper. Dautbek game with his boxing and is more than willing to engage in a fire fight if needs be. Picked up 2 well aged wins vs Chihiro Suzuki and YA-MAN, skilled fighter with a decent grappling base to resort to if needs be. Watch for the hooks of Dautbek. Kubo is a former Glory and K1 kickboxer who has lethal kicks to both the body and the head, will look to keep distance vs Dautbek and try land his kicks on the outside.

Kyoma Akimoto vs Suguru Nii
- A short notice fight for Kyoma, 19 years of age and 7 fights deep into his RIZIN career, slick refined striking with a superb grappling game. One of MMA’s brighest prospects. Suguru Nii isn’t a pushover but has losses to fighters he should probably be beating. He’s up against a lot vs Akimoto.

Ryuya Fukuda vs Tatsuya Ando
- This fight is violence personified I love everything about this fight. Ryuya Fukuda current DEEP champion, nuclear strikes in the pocket, let your hands down for a second and Fukuda will find your chin and put you out cold. Tatsuya Ando former SHOOTO champion, heavy hands, low stance and a love for violence. His judo and Jiu Jitsu game are solid and he loves a back choke more than anything. If this fight ends up on the ground, Ando will take Fukuda’s back and finish him. If Fukuda can land consistently on Ando he can put him out. I can’t express how excited I am for this one.

Kleber Koike vs Vugar Karamov
- 2 former champions, Koike training out of the same gym as Satoshi Souza, brotherly bond between them and similar styles. Koike has a dangerous guard and will happily triangle anyone silly enough to jump in it. Slappy striking style on the feet, not as physically strong as Satoshi. Karamov is a ball of strength who will try run through everyone he’s matched up against, Karamov loves to take people down more than anything but his submission defence can certainly be lacking. If he can avoid Koike’s subs off his back then he should be able to execute his gameplan perfectly.

Seika Izawa vs RENA
- Now we’re getting to the title fights. Izawa, the best atomweight in the world by far and has had 0 competition in RIZIN so far, RENA former ShootBoxing Queen who is predominantly a striker but has a strong grappling base aswell. This fight has been literally years in the making and is finally happening tomorrow. Izawa’s inevitable grappling vs RENA’s fast hands.

Naoki Inoue vs Danny Sabatello
- The Bantamweight Title fight, so much trash has been talked on the Sabatello side but Naoki seems unphased. Inoue does everything by the book. Jab is on point, straight is on point, hook is on point. His striking has developed fast and he can be considered a danger on the feet. While his defensive grappling showings have been questionable so far, his offensive grappling has looked great with dominant displays as of late. Sabatello is going to have a tough night at the office if he stands with Inoue and tries to box with him. He’s going to need to shoot that double and single constantly in attempts to take Inoue down and score some control time or if he’s feeling bold maybe some damage. A fight that can really go either way, especially with how judges view grappling in RIZIN.

Hiromasa Ougikubo vs Yuki Motoya
- The Flyweight Grand Prix Finals. Hiromasa Ougikubo who boasts wins against Alexandre Pantoja, Kai Asakura, Naoki Inoue and Motoya himself, is going to prove yet again why he’s unable to be out-decisioned here. Ougikubo is a strong grappler who has unbelievable control, Yuki Motoya has a similar game so it’s yet to be seen who can ‘nullify’ who.

Satoshi Souza vs Ilkhom Nozimov
- Another short notice fight for Nozimov, with the former challenger Shunta Nomura pulling out due to multiple leg injuries. Satoshi is one of the best Lightweights in the world, boasting an impressive resume and being RIZIN’s most dominant champion ever. A technically superb grappler who has some of the best submission threats in all of MMA, pop in his hands and a drive in his mind to push forward and throw. Satoshi on the front foot is a scary sight, and even if his shots don’t land, he’s dangerously close to the fighters hips to initiate double unders and then transition to a body lock. Nozimov is a lengthy striker who’s confident in his ability to inflict violence and do damage. Nozimov likes using his kicks up the middle, and kicking his opponents legs, his defensive capabilities on the backfoot leave a little to be desired but when he’s going forward he’s a dangerous man, we’ve seen glimpses of his technical grappling ability, but there will be no bigger test in the sport than Roberto Satoshi Souza tomorrow night.

Rajabali Shaydullaev vs Mikuru Asakura
- The main event. RIZIN’s best fighter vs RIZIN’s biggest name. This event as a whole would not be happening without Asakura, his stardom transcends the sport and the audience he brings cannot be matched by any other fighter. Shaydullaev is a beastly fighter from Kyrgyzstan who boasts an impressive record of 16-0 with every single victory coming by relatively easy finish. He’s a grappling machine with strength that can be matched by almost nobody, Shaydullaev loves running forward into a running clinch and using brute force in order to slam his opponent down. Rajabali is another heavy output fighter, and he never gives himself nor his opponent a breather. From the moment he brings the fight to the mat, he’s going to look for heavy ground strikes until his opponent is in a position for him to look for armbars and chokes. A word that most accurately describes Rajabali is ‘relentless’. He’s a raw fighter who often makes mistakes, but his physical presence and natural skills often make up for it. Mikuru is up against the biggest test of his entire career and perhaps his entire life. He’s going to want to stay extremely calm and focused, and not let the pressure of the moment get to him. He’s the older and more experienced fighter, he’s done this longer than Shaydullaev and should know how to take every advantage he can. He’s going to want to utilise a strong heavy jab in the face of Shaydullaev, but his typical leg kicks and body kicks may spell distaster for him, as Rajabali will eagerly jump on the leg and shoot a takedown off of them almost 100% of the time. If Mikuru is opting for a kick heavy gameplan here, then I’d recommend limiting the output to high kicks, especially off punches. Kubo had some decent success vs Shaydullaev using high kicks and while it didn’t last long, it exposed a hole we were not aware of prior. This fight won’t let you down no matter the result.

RIZIN NEW YEAR’S EVE IS AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE ON RIZIN.TV.

I love Japanese MMA. I strongly recommend everyone to give this card a try.

Every MMA fan should be tuning in, whether it’s live or whether it’s a few hours/days after. You don’t want to miss what this card will bring. And who knows. If you’re a strict UFC fan.. maybe you’ll end up enjoying something new. But that is all from me.

Happy New Year’s!!!!!!