Kyoji Horiguchi won the rematch against Kai Asakura to end the year.
RIZIN headlined their annual New Year’s Eve special at the Saitama Super Arena with a bout between two world class bantamweights, and it ended up as a huge night for Kyoji Horiguchi. After a long stretch being sidelined and forced to drop both his RIZIN and Bellator belts, Horiguchi returned on the main event for his highly anticipated rematch with Kai Asakura.
Asakura swiftly knocked Horiguchi out in 2019, and as 2020 came to a close, Horiguchi got his revenge. He fought a perfect fight, going in and out to land hard leg kicks that clearly did damage. Then he eventually landed a perfectly placed counter as Asakura jumped in with a knee. Horiguchi followed up to drop and finish him at the 2:48 mark of the first round.
Horiguchi not only got that 2019 loss back, he also reclaimed the RIZIN belt in the process. After the fight, he screamed with joy.
“Yessss! Easy Fight!”
— Mike Shytte (@MikeLovesTacosX) December 31, 2020
“Easy fight!” #RIZIN26pic.twitter.com/DjIP4gHqSM
— manos de piedra (@feet_work) December 31, 2020
On the co-main event, Tenshin Nasukawa beat Kumandoi Phetjaroenvit by decision. Also picking up quality wins on the night were Ayaka Hamasaki, Takanori Gomi, Naoki Inoue, and Hideo Tokoro.
Check out more gifs and videos from the fights below, along with full results from the event.
RIZIN.26 NYE RESULTS
Session 3
Kyoji Horiguchi def. Kai Asakura by TKO, R1 – RIZIN bantamweight title
Tenshin Nasukawa def. Kumandoi Phetjaroenvit by unanimous decision
— Mike Shytte (@MikeLovesTacosX) December 31, 2020
Tenshin Nasukawa concludes the year with a dominant three-round performance over a game Kumandoi. Takeru eyeing the fight ringside, but no fight announcement yet again. pic.twitter.com/E6NUuTB7lK
— Beyond Kickboxing (@Beyond_Kick) December 31, 2020
Mikuru Asakura def. Satoshi Yamasu by TKO, R1
Good night. #RIZIN26
— Edwin (@edwinx1903) December 31, 2020
Takanori Gomi def. Kouzi by majority decision
Ayaka Hamasaki def. Miyuu Yamamoto by submission (leg scissor choke), R1 – RIZIN atomweight title
— Mike Shytte (@MikeLovesTacosX) December 31, 2020
Session 2
Naoki Inoue def. Yuki Motoya by submission (RNC), R1
— Mike Shytte (@MikeLovesTacosX) December 31, 2020
— Mike Shytte (@MikeLovesTacosX) December 31, 2020
Kleber Koike def. Kyle Aguon by submission (darce choke)
— Mike Shytte (@MikeLovesTacosX) December 31, 2020
— Mike Shytte (@MikeLovesTacosX) December 31, 2020
Kyohei Hagiwara def. Ren Hiramoto by TKO, R2
— Mike Shytte (@MikeLovesTacosX) December 31, 2020
Hideo Tokoro def. Shinobu Ota by Submission (Armbar), R2
— Mike Shytte (@MikeLovesTacosX) December 31, 2020
— Mike Shytte (@MikeLovesTacosX) December 31, 2020
Session 1
Yoshinari Nadaka def. Phetmalai Phetjaroenvit by TKO, R1
Ulka Sasaki def. Kenta Takizawa by Unanimous Decision
Kanna Asakura def. Ai Shimizu by Unanimous Decision
Shibatar def. Mr. X (Hiroya) by Submission (armbar) — Draw overturned to submission after review showed Hiroya tapped.
Kazuma Kuramoto def. Taiyo Nakahara by KO, R1
Tsuyoshi Sudario def. Ikuhisa Minowa by TKO, R1