Featherweight contender Tatsuya Kawajiri has left the UFC and returned home.
It appears that Tatsuya Kawajiri’s UFC stint is over. The grizzled veteran recently asked for his release from the promotion after a 3-3 run, culminating in a close loss to Cub Swanson in August.
It was unclear what Kawajiri’s intentions were following his request, but they have apparently been figured out today. According to MMA Fighting, the 38-year-old has returned home, signing with Rizin FF.
Kawajiri (35-10-2, 3-3 UFC) has fought all over the world, but had the most success on home soil in Shooto, Pride, and Dream. He finally signed with the UFC in 2013 and had some good wins, but two close losses to divisional contenders were apparently enough for him to decide to end things.
According to the article, Kawajiri is expected to debut on one of Rizin’s cards around the end of the year.
There was some speculation that he wanted to enter South Korean promotion ROAD FC’s lightweight tournament, which is set to pay one million US dollars to the winner. But it’s unclear at this point if his new Rizin contract allows for that.
Regardless, the UFC has one less featherweight as of today.