Kid Yamamoto protegé Yusuke Yachi faces lightweight menace Mikuru Asakura in the main event of a quietly solid card live from Tokyo.
RIZIN’s return to the Saitama Super Arena may be somewhat overshadowed by this week’s UFC card, but there’s a lot to look forward to on this one.
Krazy Bee standout Yusuke Yachi (20-8) returns after a loss to Wanderlei Silva understudy Luiz Gustavo and an eye cut injury against Johnny Case to take on striking daredevil Mikuru Asakura (10-1). Asakura is on a five fight win streak with his last win being a decision over the same Luiz Gustavo. He’s managed to use his precision and timing to nail some of his opponents, and against a risk-taker like Yachi, that could prove to be in his favor.
A showdown of veterans is in the co-main as former Pancrase, Shooto and VTJ ace Shintaro Ishiwatari (25-7, 4 draw) faces former UFC, Shooto and DEEP talent Ulka Sasaki (22-6, 2 draws) at bantamweight. Both fighters have been around the block and had some tough adversaries, but this is a great matchup for the two of them, with a lot of fun scrambly grappling potential.
Yuki Motoya (23-6) has a flair for the dramatic, with a five-fight win streak that was snapped after a decision loss to Josh Barnett protegé Victor Henry. Those wins included a leg scissor choke victory over Justin Scoggins, a vicious TKO over Korean vet Je Hoon Moon and a rear naked choke over Makoto Kamaya. He’s up against former Shooto champ and Ultimate Fighter (flyweight champ season) participant Hiromasa Ogikubo (18-4, 2 draws) at bantamweight.
Korea’s Hoon Kim (10-12, 2 draws) will be dealing with one-time UFC hopeful Ivan Shtyrkov (16-0, 1 draw). Shtyrkov had made a name for himself after his fights against Bigfoot Silva, Fabio Maldonado, Thiago Silva and Phil De Fries. Well, that and other unsavory activities. The guy hits like a truck, so Kim better hope he’s getting his bills paid out of this.
Former UFC fighter Johnny Case (25-6, 1 draw) faces Japanese Ironman Satoru Kitaoka (42-19, 9 draws) in what will be Kitaoka’s 71st fight. Another seemingly indestructible Japanese vet in Tatsuya Kawajiri (36-13, 2 draws) meets Russian prospect Ali Abdulkhalidov (7-0).
BJJ ace Roberto Satoshi (8-0) showed he was about that life in his RIZIN debut against DEEP, Sengoku, Shooto and UFC veteran Mizuto Hirota. Hirota’s coming off a three fight losing skid that saw him part ways with the UFC, while Satoshi’s coming off a submission win against the aforementioned Satoru Kitaoka in April.
Vitaly Semetov (23-9) may not be a name you’re very familiar with, but he’s a joy to follow on social media and a hell of an athlete. He’ll have a chance to really show off his skillset against globetrotting strongman Jake Heun (13-9). Seo Hee Ham (20-8) — affectionately known as Hamderlei — didn’t get the traction she (or a lot of us) would have wanted during her UFC tenure, but she’s racked up three straight wins since. For some reason, she’s paired up against Tomo Maesawa (12-9).
Finally one-time Invicta fighter Stephanie Egger will be back after more than a year of inactivity against giant killer Reina Miura (11-2).
Full weigh in video below (link here if not working on page).
Full card is as follows:
Yusuke Yachi vs Mikuru Asakura – Lightweight
Ulka Sasaki vs Shintaro Ishiwatari – Bantamweight
Hiromasa Ogikubo vs Yuki Motoya – Bantamweight
Ivan Shtyrkov vs Hoon Kim – Light heavyweight
Taiga Kawabe vs Hikaru Machida – Kickboxing bout, 137lbs
Satoru Kitaoka vs Johnny Case – 157lbs
Mizuto Hirota vs Roberto “Satoshi“ de Souza – 157lbs
Jake Heun vs Vitaly Shemetov – Light heavyweight
Seo Hee Ham vs Tomo Maesawa – 139lbs
Daiki Watabe vs Hideki – Kickboxing bout, 148lbs
RIZIN 17 takes place this Saturday night into Sunday morning starting at 1:00am EST. The event will be streaming live and exclusively on FITE.tv for $19.99.