RIZIN FF Confirm Several Fights For Upcoming August Shows

RIZIN FF announced several bouts today for its RIZIN 23 and RIZIN 23 cards. The two events will be held back to back on Sunday, August 9, and Monday, August 10, respectively, inside the Pia Arena in Yokohama, Japan.

The promotion announced four fights for each event. All the fighters who will be competing on the cards are based in Japan. So, there will be no danger of bouts getting canceled due to border restrictions.

RIZIN FF President Nobuyuki Sakakibara also spoke about the crowdfunding drive that began earlier this week. The company has taken a hefty financial hit due to Covid-19. The pandemic has impacted its ability to put on shows; the aim of the funding campaign is to mitigate the company’s losses by raising 50,000,000 yen ( approx US$465,000)

“I would like to sincerely ask the fans for their support in order to maintain the life form of martial arts called RIZIN,” Sakakibara said.

The fight that will generate the most excitement among fans is the clash between Kai Asakura and Hiromasa Ougikubo. The two men will square off for the vacant RIZIN bantamweight title. Ogikubo has only lost twice since 2013, with both losses coming at the hands of Kyoji Horiguchi, whom Asakura defeated at RIZIN 18.

Asakura will be looking to rebound from his last outing, which saw him stopped in the second by Manel Kape at RIZIN 20.

Former UFC fighter Naoki Inoue will make his second appearance under the RIZIN banner when he takes on Shooto Watanabe, who will be making his promotional debut.

Below is the list of confirmed bouts for the two upcoming shows.

RIZIN 22: Starting Over
Naoki Inoue vs Shooto Watanabe
Tetsuya Seki vs Yojiro Uchimura
Kanna Asakura vs Mizuki Furuse
Yusuke Yachi vs Roberto Satoshi Souza

RIZIN 23: Calling Over
Hiromasa Ougikubo vs Kai Asakura
Seiichirio Ito vs Makoto Takahashi
Yuki Motoya vs Mamoru Uoi
Yutaka Saito vs Kazumasa Majima

What do you think of the announced fights?