RIZIN comes back from their hiatus to sort a few things out and put on some amazing international talent.
Top billing goes to former UFC title challengers Kyoji Horiguchi and Ian McCall. McCall’s terrible luck continued, as his last fight in the bantamweight tournament against Manel Kape was stopped due to a doctor’s stoppage after his forehead was cut from the bottom of a ring rope. We still saw he’s as spry an athlete as always, but now he faces a greater challenge – Kyoji Horiguchi.
Horiguchi has truly evolved since leaving the UFC, and has improved exponentially in his time at American Top Team in Coconut Creek. His boxing and wrestling defense allowed him to blaze past the opposition in last year’s bantamweight tournament. This fight should have a ton of fun scrambles and is guaranteed to be an action bout.
Another tournament winner takes on a foreign fighter as Kanna Asakura (11-2) will have her hands full with Melissa Karagianis, and Kid Yamamoto protegé Yusuke Yachi (19-6) brings his wild level of violence against former UFC and Bellator fighter Diego Nunes (22-7). Fellow former UFCer Daron Cruickshank (Crankshaft!!) will engage with tricky striker Koshi Matsumoto, who had a string of great fights in Shooto Japan.
Young up and comer Kai Asakura (9-1) will be looking to utilize his pinpoint accuracy and menacing striking when he faces Manel Kape (9-2). Kape is going to be a problem, as his hard striking and off-the-charts athleticism have helped him improve with his growing fight IQ. Ayaka Hamasaki returns for the first time since her brutal loss in her last performance last year to square up against Alyssa Garcia. Garcia’s under Josh Barnett’s tutelage, while Hamasaki trains under all-time WMMA great Megumi Fujii.
Finally, there’s a trio of kickboxing matches on this one. The one to absolutely not miss features violence wünderkind Tenshin Nasukawa. Take a minute out of your day and bask in his brilliance.
RIZIN will be streaming live on line starting at 1:30am EST Saturday night into Sunday morning. It will be available exclusively via Fite.TV’s PPV service. The card costs $19.99 over at Fite.TV.
Rizin 10 Pukuoka Fight Card:
Kyoji Horiguchi vs Ian McCall – Bantamweight
Tenshin Nasukawa vs Yusaku Nakamura – Kickboxing bout, 128lbs
Kanna Asakura vs Melissa Sophia Karagianis – 108lbs
Yusuke Yachi vs Diego Nunes – Lightweight
Daron Cruickshank vs Koshi Matsumoto – Lightweight
Issei Shii vs Daishin Sakai – Kickboxing bout, 114lbs
Kai Asakura vs Manel Kape – 130lbs
Ayaka Hamasaki vs Alyssa Garcia – 108lbs
Ante Delija vs Ricardo Prasel – Heavyweight
Jairzinho Rozenstruik vs Andrey Kovalev – Heavyweight
Kanako Murata vs Lanchana Green – 119lbs
Hironori Kurogi vs Tomohiro Kitai – Kickboxing bout, 139lbs
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