Japan’s hottest combat sports property lines up a lovely set of events, and it all starts here.
RIZIN gears up to host a series of events for the next few months, showcasing Japanese and international talent in the usual kickboxing and MMA format. It begins with this card right here, with what is mostly a meat-and-potatoes card with none of the unconventional spectacle bouts they put on from time to time.
The headliner is a fun kickboxing bout between Koji Tanaka and Ryusei Ashizawa. You may remember Takanka as the fighter that took on Floyd Mayweather’s bodyguard for some strange reasons we don’t have to get into. Ashizawa has a less-than-stellar record, and that’s fine for an action bout. This is a showcase, plain and simple, there’s no need to delve further into that.
Yoshinori Horie (12-3) had a great start to his career in Pancrase, was one and done in the UFC with a loss to Hakeem Dawodu, and now rides a three-fight win streak including this wild knockout against Tetsuya Seki. He meets Azerbaijan’s Vugar Karamov (17-4), a consistent talent that has extraordinary grappling and submission chops. It’s a banger, and one of the best fights of the weekend.
Welterweight veterans Kiichi Kunimoto (20-10, 2 draws, 1 no contest) and Keita Nakamura (35-11, 2 draws 1 no contest) are both coming off losses, but still have that veteran savvy and dad strength. It’s an interesting matchup between two crafty, well-rounded combatants, and a great addition to the card.
Guam’s Kyle Aguon (14-11) and Kyohei Hagiwara (6-7) are also scheduled for this card. They may not have extraordinary records, but put on some fun bouts from time to time when they fight against type and decide to throw bombs.
The real under-the-radar bout here is Sho Patrick Usami (6-1) vs Kyung Pyo Kim (11-4). Usami pulled of a stunner of a knockout against Noah Bey back in December, and against Shinji Sasaki in the fight before that. He meets ROAD, GLADIATOR and Shooto vet Kyung Pyo Kim (11-4), who can finish the fight anywhere and has an aggressive submission game.
You can check out the weigh-ins here:
Koji Tanaka vs Ryusei Ashizawa – 135lb kickboxing bout
Yoshinori Horie vs Vugar Karamov – Featherweight
Kiichi Kunimoto vs Keita Nakamura – Welterweight
Makoto Takahashi vs Daichi Kitakata – Flyweight
Kyohei Hagiwara vs Kyle Aguon – Featherweight
Yuto Hokamura vs Koichi Ishizuka – Bantamweight
Sho Patrick Usami vs Kyung Pyo Kim – Lightweight
Yusaku Nakamura vs Mehman Mamedov – Flyweight
Shun Onishi vs Motoki – 134lb kickboxing bout
Shingeki no Yuki vs Sota Kimura – 147lb kickboxing bout
Asataro vs Shin Sakurai – 127lb kickboxing bout
Yuto Miwa vs Daichi Akahira – 127lb kickboxing bout
RIZIN 41 takes place Friday night into Saturday morning starting at 2:00am EST for those of us stateside. The event will be available for purchase over at FITE.tv.