Tag: Kenta Takizawa

Rizin FF announces 16-man bantamweight grand prix, opening round matchups

Sixteen fighters will partake in the Rizin FF bantamweight grand prix, including former champ Kai Asakura.

Sixteen fighters are set for action in the Rizin FF bantamweight grand prix, but only one will pocket the grand prize.

On Monday, the promotion announced details of the 135-pound tournament, which includes a host of Rizin’s top names, including former champion [autotag]Kai Asakura[/autotag], leg lock legend [autotag]Masakazu Imanari[/autotag] and former finalist of “The Ultimate Fighter,” [autotag]Hiromasa Ogikubo[/autotag].

The first round will take place across two Rizin FF events in May, with subsequent rounds through the year culminating in the tournament finale, with the winner set to pocket ¥10,000,000 JPY (approximately $91,000). The runner-up will earn ¥5,000,0000 JPY (approximately $45,000).

The eight opening-round matchups were set in a live draw that was streamed on YouTube. The first-round matchups include:

  • [autotag]Takafumi Otsuka[/autotag] (28-17-2) vs. [autotag]Hiroki Yamashita[/autotag] (billed as “Shian”) (8-8)
  • [autotag]Kuya Ito[/autotag] (10-8-1) vs. [autotag]Yuto Hokamura[/autotag] (billed as “Kintaro”) (13-9-2)
  • [autotag]Yuki Motoya[/autotag] (27-9) vs. [autotag]Ryo Okada[/autotag] (17-4-3)
  • Kai Asakura (16-3) vs. [autotag]Shooto Watanabe[/autotag] (22-5-6)
  • [autotag]Kenta Takizawa[/autotag] (11-7) vs. Masakazu Imanari (38-19-2)
  • [autotag]Kazuma Kuramoto[/autotag] (8-1) vs. [autotag]Alan Yamaniwa[/autotag] (17-8-4)
  • [autotag]Takeshi Kasugai[/autotag] (26-7-1) vs. Hiromasa Ogikubo (21-5-2)
  • [autotag]Naoki Inoue[/autotag] (15-2) vs. [autotag]Shintaro Ishiwatari[/autotag] (26-8-4)

After the matchups were set, Asakura was given the opportunity, as a former Rizin FF champion, to swap places with any other fighter in the draw. He declined the offer and kept his originally-drawn matchup.

The eight opening-round fights will be split between two events. Four of the bouts will be part of the fight card at Rizin FF 28, which takes place Sunday, May 23 at the Tokyo Dome, which has an event capacity between 42,000 and 55,000 spectators. Currently, the arena has a permitted capacity of 10,000 due to COVID restrictions, but Rizin FF officials are hopeful the arena capacity could be increased to 50 percent of its full capacity by the day of the fights.

The remaining four fights will be contested at Rizin FF 29, which takes place Sunday, May 30 at Maruzen Intech Arena in Osaka.

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Rizin FF 25 live results

Follow the results as they happen as the vacant featherweight title is put up for grabs in the main event of Rizin FF 25 in Osaka, Japan.

The Rizin FF ring lands in Osaka, Japan, with the promotion’s featherweight title up for grabs in the main event.

The 145-pound strap will be contested between two explosive contenders as [autotag]Mikuru Asakura[/autotag] (13-1), brother of current Rizin FF bantamweight champion Kai, will look to add a second title to the family collection when he takes on former two-time Shooto featherweight champion [autotag]Yutaka Saito[/autotag] (18-4-2).

The fight card in Japan features six MMA bouts in total, with bantamweight contenders [autotag]Hiromasa Ogikubo[/autotag] (20-5-2) and [autotag]Kenta Takizawa[/autotag] (11-5) set to face off in the co-main event looking to earn a shot at the title in 2021, while former ONE lightweight champion [autotag]Kotetsu Boku[/autotag] (26-15-2) returns to action against [autotag]Rikuto Shirakawa[/autotag] (8-8-1).

Rizin FF 25 takes place Saturday, Nov. 21 at Osaka-Jo Hall in Osaka, Japan. The event streams live via online pay-per-view. Stay up to date with our live results below.