Bellator 237, Rizin FF 20 cards begin to fill out with multiple additions, including five crossover bouts

Multiple new additions have been added to December’s dual Bellator and Rizin FF cards in Japan, including five crossover contests.

Five additional fights have been added to the upcoming Bellator and Rizin FF joint cards being held in Saitama, Japan.

Bellator president Scott Coker shared the news of three crossover bouts that are headed to the Bellator 237 card at Saitama Super Arena, as well as two crossover bouts added to the Rizin FF 20 card also taking place at the same venue, two days later.

On the Bellator card, UFC veterans [autotag]Lorenz Larkin[/autotag] (21-7 MMA, 3-2 BMMA) and [autotag]Keita Nakamura[/autotag] (35-10-2 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) will both make quick turnarounds and square off in a welterweight bout. Since dropping his first two promotional bouts with Bellator, Larkin has won his last three in a row, most recently picking up a split-decision win over Andrey Koreshkov at Bellator 229. Nakamura made good in his Rizin debut, scoring a first round finish over Marcos Yoshio de Souza at Rizin FF 19.

Also headed to Bellator 237 is a women’s flyweight bout between [autotag]Ilara Joanne[/autotag] (9-4 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) and [autotag]Kana Watanabe[/autotag] (8-0-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA). Joanne recently picked up the biggest win of her career, submitting UFC veteran Bec Rawlings in her Bellator debut last month. Joanne, who’s riding a three-fight winning streak, recently called out 125-pound champ Ilima-Lei Macfarlane, but instead draws Japan’s undefeated Watanabe.

The third bout added to Bellator 237 is a lightweight bout between [autotag]Goiti Yamauchi[/autotag] (24-4 MMA, 10-3 BMMA) and [autotag]Daron Cruickshank[/autotag] (22-12 MMA, 0-0 BMMA). Yamauchi is coming off back-to-back wins that include a decision over Daniel Weichel and a first-round submission over Saad Awad at October’s Bellator 229. Cruickshank, has dropped his last two in a row to Damien Brown and Tofiq Musaev, and he now looks to get back in the win column.

Meanwhile, on the Dec. 31 Rizin card, two bouts will take place under the Japanese promotion’s ruleset. [autotag]Yuki Motoya[/autotag] (23-7) faces undefeated [autotag]Patrick Mix[/autotag] (12-0) in a bantamweight bout, while [autotag]Mikuru Asakura[/autotag] (11-1) will take on [autotag]John Macapa[/autotag] (23-42) in a featherweight clash.

Meanwhile, Rizin officials announced a series of post-lim bouts to take place at Bellator 237, which the Japanese promotion is calling “Bellator Japan powered by RIZIN.”

The matchups include [autotag]Andy Nguyen[/autotag] (6-8) vs. [autotag]Ai Shimizu[/autotag] (5-1), [autotag]Ryuichiro Sumimura[/autotag] (14-7) vs. [autotag]Jon Tuck[/autotag] (10-5), [autotag]Jarred Brooks[/autotag] (15-2) vs. [autotag]Haruo Ochi[/autotag] (19-7-2) and [autotag]Hiroto Uesako[/autotag] (16-8) vs. [autotag]Yusuke Yachi[/autotag] (20-9).

Kyoji Horiguchi withdraws from Rizin FF 20 due to knee injury, subsequently vacates title

Kyoji Horiguchi and Kai Asakura won’t be fighting at RIZIN 20 on New Year’s Eve.

[autotag]Kyoji Horiguchi[/autotag] will have to wait to try to get his revenge against Kai Asakura.

Rizin/Bellator MMA double champ Horiguchi (28-3) was forced to pull out of his upcoming Rizin FF 20 bout against Asakura (14-1) due a torn ACL and damaged meniscus, the promotion announced in a release late Wednesday evening.

Expected to miss 10 months of competition, Rizin officials said Horiguchi “has asked to revoke his status as Rizin champion,” and his bantamweight title has since been vacated. Asakura is expected to remain on the card and fight a new opponent for the 135-pound strap at the Dec. 31 event at Saitama Super Arena in Japan.

“Injuries happen, and this is what we have to deal with on a regular basis,” Rizin CEO Nobuyuki Sakakibara stated. “We will work hard to take this situation and turn it into a positive. We believe that the fighters who look to stand up to these types of occasions will leave a special impression.”

Also in the release, Horiguchi issued an apology to fans, the promotion, and his opponent for having to withdraw from the New Year’s Eve headliner.

“I am terribly sorry,” Horiguchi stated. “I have injured myself and have just had surgery, and I am forced to withdraw from the Rizin 20 event.

“When I think about everybody who was looking forward to my fight on New Year’s Eve, I am lost in words and have an indescribable feeling of guilt for everybody. I am sorry. I am sorry to Kai Asakura, I am sorry to all the fans. I cannot describe how I feel in words.”

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The first fight between Horiguchi and Asakura served as the Rizin 18 headliner in August. Asakura sent shockwaves through the MMA community when he knocked out the dual belt holder in a mere 68 seconds.

Check out the current RIZIN 20 lineup below:

  • Kai Asakura vs. TBA – for vacant bantamweight title
  • Champ Ayaka Hamasaki vs. Seo Hee Ham – for super atomweight title
  • Johnny Case vs. Tofiqu Musaev – lightweight grand prix semifinal
  • Luiz Gustavo vs. Patricky Freire – lightweight grand prix semifinal
  • Patrick Mix vs. Yuki Motoya
  • Mikuru Asakura vs. John Teixeira

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