Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Check out which UFC veterans are in action over the holidays from Dec. 21-31.
The UFC is done for the year after UFC Fight Night 216 in Las Vegas.
However, there are other MMA promotions in action for their final cards of the year during holidays that feature a number of UFC veterans, including multiple former flyweight title challengers.
These 15 veterans of the UFC are competing across the globe from Dec. 21-31.
Check out the names and details about their bouts below.
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:
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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Mikuru Asakura scored another impressive win inside the Rizin FF ring, then received a new opponent, in the form of former ONE lightweight champion Kotetsu Boku.
Japanese featherweight star [autotag]Mikuru Asakura[/autotag] produced another crowd-pleasing finish to defeat Mexico’s [autotag]Daniel Salas[/autotag] in their 150-pound bout at Rizin FF 21 in Shizuoka, Japan, then received an unexpected callout from a former champion.
Salas mixed up his strikes well in the opening round and looked to use his jab and reach to work from range, but was countered with stiff, crisp southpaw shots from Asakura, whose punches looked much more solid than those of the Mexican. That power advantage was evident in the final seconds of the round when Asakura first connected with a head kick, then landed a powerful right hand that briefly stunned Salas.
Salas came out for the second round switching stances in a bid to confuse Asakura, but the Japanese contender looked calm and composed as he stalked his opponent around the ring. He walked Salas onto a counter left hook, then moments later connected with a jumping switch kick to the body that drew gasps from the crowd.
Asakura could sense a finish, and he got one with a big head kick, which landed flush to Salas’ temple and sent him to the canvas. Asakura then followed his man to the mat and landed a final salvo of ground strikes to secure the knockout finish.
After the bout, a new challenge emerged in the form of 42-year-old former ONE lightweight champion [autotag]Kotetsu Boku[/autotag], who appeared with Rizin president Noboyuki Sakakibara to issue a challenge to the Japanese star, who looked less than impressed with the unexpected appearance of the man known to Japanese fans as “No Face”.
In the night’s co-main event, American bantamweight contender [autotag]Victor Henry[/autotag] delivered a statement performance to finish Japanese veteran [autotag]Masanori Kanehara[/autotag] in the second round, before calling for a title shot in his own inimitable way.
After a cagey opening round, Henry loaded up on his punches at the start of the second stanza to score a quickfire knockout after the restart.
Two short right hands stunned Kanehara, who fell to the canvas in the corner. Henry moved in and landed more shots to his downed opponent before the referee moved in to stop the fight 45 seconds into the round.
With a second impressive stoppage victory under his belt in Rizin, Henry said he was ready to get a shot at the bantamweight title currently held by Portugal’s Manel Kape.
“I’ve been in the Rizin ring twice now,” he told the crowd after his victory. “The first time I ended it by submission. The second time, knockout of a legend. Whose leg do I gotta hump in order to get a title shot?”
The most brutal finish of the night came in the heavyweight bout between American heavyweight [autotag]Roque Martinez[/autotag] and Japanese hulk [autotag]Hideki Sekine[/autotag].
Martinez (15-5-2) was clearly the more comfortable man in the stand-up as he regularly found a home for his punches and, after stuffing Sekine’s takedown attempts mid-way through the first round, let fly with his hands, then his feet, to score the big KO.
Martinez landed with a flurry of punches and eventually dropped Sekine (7-4) with a straight left before connecting with a soccer kick as the 46-year-old tried to get back to his feet.
The kick sent him back to his knees once again, and Martinez connected with a second, bigger, head kick that sent “Shrek” through the ropes and forced the referee to step in.
At first it looked like the official may be looking to bring Sekine back inside the ropes but, with the Japanese veteran clearly in no state to continue, the referee swiftly waved off the contest with just over a minute remaining in the opening round.
The opening bout of the main card produced something of a surprise, as jiu-jitsu ace [autotag]Marcos Souza[/autotag] unleashed his striking to score a first-round TKO finish of Portugal’s [autotag]Falco Neto[/autotag].
Souza (9-2) was knocked out by Keita Nakamura on his Rizin debut at Rizin FF 19 in October 2019, and was widely expected to utilize his grappling skills to overcome Neto (11-11), who came into the bout with seven knockouts to his name.
But the Brazilian stayed on his feet, even when Neto ended up on the canvas, and unloaded a barrage of punches that eventually forced the referee to call an end to the bout at the 1:27 mark of the opening round.
Full Rizin FF 21 MMA results include:
MAIN CARD
PRELIMINARY CARD
Follow the results as they happen with MMA Junkie’s live coverage of Rizin FF 21 in Shizuoka, Japan.
Hamamatsu Arena in Shizuoka, Japan plays host to the latest event from Japanese organization Rizin FF, with a fight card featuring a host of the promotion’s rising stars, plus a jiu-jitsu exhibition match unlike anything you’ve seen before.
Rizin FF 21 features Japanese contender [autotag]Mikuru Asakura[/autotag] (12-1), who takes on Mexican [autotag]Daniel Salas[/autotag] (16-6-1) in a 150-pound main event clash, while American bantamweight [autotag]Victor Henry[/autotag] (19-4) looks to extend his impressive win streak to seven with victory over Japanese veteran [autotag]Masanori Kanehara[/autotag] (27-13-5).
There’s also heavyweight action at the top end of the card, with Guam’s [autotag]Roque Martinez[/autotag] (14-5-2) lining up against hulking Japanese judoka [autotag]Hideki Sekine[/autotag] (7-3).
In non-MMA action, the event will also feature a unique jiu-jitsu exhibition contest as Brazil’s [autotag]Roberto Satoshi Souza[/autotag] goes solo to take on a five-person team, featuring Japanese BJJ legend Yuki Nakai, Japanese BJJ ambassador Edison Kagohara, Para-BJJ practitioner Koji Shigemitsu, comedian Hiroshi Shinagawa and ADCC kids gold medalist Yua Kimura in a one-versus-five elimination match.
Full Rizin FF 21 live MMA results include:
MAIN CARD
PRELIMINARY CARD
Japan’s Rizin FF kicks off its 2020 schedule on Feb. 22, and a few UFC veterans will be making their promotional debut.
Japan’s Rizin FF kicks off its 2020 schedule on Feb. 22, and a few UFC veterans will be making their promotional debut.
Promotional officials recently announced that Rizin FF 21 takes place on that date at Hamamatsu Arena in Hamamatsu, Japan. Seven MMA bouts have been added to the lineup thus far, including three-time UFC veteran and former Sengoku featherweight champion [autotag]Masanori Kanehara[/autotag] (27-13-5), who takes on [autotag]Victor Henry[/autotag], as well as two-time UFC vet [autotag]Naoki Inoue[/autotag] (12-2), who meets fellow bantamweight [autotag]Trent Girdham[/autotag] (12-3).
“I’m honored to be fighting in the stacked Rizin bantamweight division,” Inoue stated. “I’ve cornered my teammate Ulka Sasaki’s fights a few times, and I have been wanting to fight on such a great platform in front of many fans, so I am very excited that this is finally happening. I think this is this is my opportunity to show the Japanese fans what I am capable of doing.
“Trent Girdham is a confident striker, but I will be able to take him on at every aspect of the fight, so I would like to finish him and make a statement.”
In the Rizin FF 21 main event, [autotag]Mikuru Asakura[/autotag] (12-1) returns quickly from a New Year’s Eve win over John Teixeira to take on “The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America 2” cast member [autotag]Daniel Salas[/autotag] (16-6-1).
“I know I can put on an entertaining fight regardless of my opponent, so I ask that everybody to come to Hamamatsu to watch the fights live and experience the fights,” Asakura stated. “I’ve seen a few minutes of my opponents’ fights, and I think he is very tough.”
The Rizin FF 21 MMA lineup includes:
