Japanese MMA promotion RIZIN Fighting Federation is set to return to Saitama, Japan on September 27th with a kickboxing bout between star talent Tenshin Nasukawa and former K-1 fighter Kouzi.
News of RIZIN 24 and the one matchup announced for it was learned on Wednesday following a press conference broadcasted by the promotion on Youtube.
Nasukawa will be making his 14th appearance in the promotion. The now 21-year-old kickboxer has retained an undefeated 37-fight record in his career as a professional.
2020 has been a slower year for Nasukawa as opposed to his six-fight 2019, as he has only fought once in the year. His sole 2020 win was in July, defeating Yuki Kashahara on a RISE Kickboxing card.
His opponent, Kouzi (also known as “Koji”), will be making his first appearance outside of Japanese kickboxing promotion K-1 World GP since 2016. His K-1 campaign had a strong final year, winning all three of his 2019 bouts.
Kouzi’s most recent loss was in late 2018, losing via decision to Takeru, who extended his winning streak to 11-in-a-row with the victory. Takeru is set to face Leona Pettas for the K-1 60kg title in November.
RIZIN has signed K-1 World GP talent before, picking up names like Ren Hiramoto and Taiga in the past.
RIZIN 24 will be the promotion’s first event at Saitama Super Arena, their most frequent venue, since their 2019 New Year’s Eve show RIZIN 20.
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