Yuto Hokamura – Syndication Server

Rizin free fight: Kyoji Horiguchi chokes Yuto Hokamura unconscious in ruthless fashion

Watch Kyoji Horiguchi put away Yuto Hokamura in his return to Japan.

[autotag]Kyoji Horiguchi[/autotag]’s return to Rizin was one to remember.

The former Bellator champion put out [autotag]Yuto Hokamura[/autotag] in ruthless fashion in the main event of Rizin FF 38 last month in Japan. This was Horiguchi’s (30-5) first fight under the Rizin banner since December 2020.

After a shaky start where Horiguchi was dropped in the first round, the 31-year-old came out in the second and choked Hokamura unconscious with an arm triangle. It was a vicious finish.

You can watch Horiguchi’s return to Rizin in the video above.

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The result was an important one for Horiguchi. He was the recipient of the 2021 Knockout of the Year against Sergio Pettis at Bellator 272, then was unable to advance in the Bellator bantamweight grand prix when he lost a unanimous decision in his opening-round bout with Patchy Mix at Bellator 279 in April.

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Kyoji Horiguchi returns at RIZIN 38 in September, same card as Floyd Mayweather vs. Mikuru Asakura

Kyoji Horiguchi will return in search of his first win of 2022.

[autotag]Kyoji Horiguchi[/autotag] will return in search of his first win of 2022.

The former Bellator titleholder and current Rizin champion has been booked to return to the ring. Horiguchi (29-5) is set to take on [autotag]Yuto Hokamura[/autotag] (14-11-2) in a bantamweight bout at Rizin 38, which is scheduled for Sept. 25 at Saitama Super Arena in Japan.

The promotion announced the news Tuesday. It did not specify if the bout between Horiguchi and Hokamura is a championship fight.

Horiguchi is on the heels of the worst streak of his 12-year-career. The Japanese star is on a two-fight skid and 1-3 in his past four outings. Horiguchi was last seen in April when he was eliminated from the Bellator bantamweight grand prix in a unanimous decision loss to Patchy Mix. This upcoming fight will be Horiguchi’s first with Rizin since December 2020.

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Additionally, the previously reported exhibition boxing bout between [autotag]Floyd Mayweather[/autotag] and [autotag]Mikuru Asakura[/autotag] will take place on the same card.

Other matchups that were also announced: [autotag]Kyohei Hagiwara[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Chihiro Suzuki[/autotag] at featherweight; [autotag]Juri Ohara[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Luiz Gustavo[/autotag] at lightweight; [autotag]Shoma Shibisai[/autotag] vs. Callyu Gibrainn at heavyweight, [autotag]Hiromasa Ougikubo[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Soo Chul Kim[/autotag] at bantamweight, and [autotag]Nadaka Yoshinari[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Bandasak So Trakunpet[/autotag] at strawweight (kickboxing).

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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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Combat Rewind, April 14: Zabit Magomedsharipov’s lone career loss, ‘Good night, Tokyo!’

Check out the best highlights from this day in history with MMA Junkie’s “Combat Rewind.”

There’s “Flashback Friday” and “Throwback Thursday” (and Tuesday, too, if you want). But at MMA Junkie, we figured why not expand that to every day?

“Combat Rewind” brings you some of combat sports’ best highlights from every calendar day of the year. It’s a look back at history, courtesy of the UFC Fight Pass archives, featuring stellar finishes and classic moments in MMA and beyond on their anniversaries.

So kick back and relive the following bits of greatness in the video above:

Pancrase 304: [autotag]Yuto Hokamura[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Toshinori Tsunemura[/autotag] – April 14, 2019
ProFC 47: [autotag]Jessica Andrade[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Milana Dudieva[/autotag] – April 14, 2013
Pancrase 304: [autotag]Kenta Takagi[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Kazuma Maruyama[/autotag] – April 14, 2019
ProFC 47: [autotag]Igor Egorov[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Zabit Magomedsharipov[/autotag] – April 14, 2013
Pancrase 304: [autotag]Takasuke Kume[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Tom Santos[/autotag] – April 14, 2019
Victory FC 60: [autotag]Josh Streacker[/autotag] vs. [autotag]J.P. Saint Louis[/autotag] – April 14, 2018

Fight footage courtesy of UFC Fight Pass, the UFC’s official digital subscription service, which is currently offering a seven-day free trial. UFC Fight Pass gives fans access to exclusive live UFC events and fights, exclusive live MMA and combat sports events from around the world, exclusive original and behind the scenes content and unprecedented 24-7 access to the world’s biggest fight library.

Rizin FF 21 sees promotional debut of UFC vets Masanori Kanehara, Naoki Inoue

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:

Mikuru Asakura vs. Daniel Salas
[autotag]Kyle Aguon[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Vugar Kyaramov[/autotag]
Victor Henry vs. Masanori Kanehara
Trent Girdham vs. Naoki Inoue
[autotag]Yuto Hokamura[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Kenji Kato[/autotag]
[autotag]Roque Martinez[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Hideki Sekine[/autotag]
[autotag]Marcos Yoshio de Souza[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Falco Neto[/autotag]