The majority of RIZIN 32 was revealed at a press conference on Friday. The event, which is set to happen on November 20th at the Okinawa Arena in Okinawa, Japan, now has 10 fights set for it in total.
The new fights join a card that includes a previously announced main event between Miyuu Yamamoto and RENA. Additional details for the fight were also announced Friday, as it was revealed that the matchup will take place at 110 pounds – two pounds up from the super atomweight class.
Sunabe Matched With Veteran Maeda
Former Strawweight King of Pancrase Mitsuhisa Sunabe has been given a new opponent for November, being booked to face veteran Yoshihiro Maeda.
Maeda, a former Pride FC and WEC fighter, will be making his RIZIN debut. He will be looking to break a two-fight losing streak that has developed through fights in Shooto Japan.
The previous opponent for Sunabe, Yutaro Muramoto, had to withdraw from the card due to injury.
Now with a new opponent, Sunabe will also be fighting to end his own losing streak in his first appearance since 2019.
Ologun Ends Decade-Long Absence From Ring Against Former Pro Wrestler Kitamura
Comedian Bobby Ologun will make his return to MMA at the event, facing former pro wrestler Katsuya Kitamura.
Ologun, 55, is best known in combat sports for competing in MMA and kickboxing for K-1 in the mid-2000s. His last fight was in 2007 when he lost to Bob Sapp.
Ologun has been involved in controversy quite recently. Most notably, Ologun pleaded guilty last year to a domestic violence incident that occurred in May 2020. He was later fined 100,000 yen for the crime.
Kitamura is known for being part of New Japan Pro Wrestling from 2015 to 2019. After being one of the breakthrough stars in the promotion’s trainee program, he debuted in 2017 as part of their main roster.
Kitamura suffered a concussion in 2018 that forced him out of action. After being absent from NJPW for over a year, Kitamura reportedly departed the promotion in February 2019.
Kitamura, a former bodybuilder, will be competing in MMA for the first time.
Three Lightweight Fights Join RIZIN 32
A trio of fights around the lightweight class in MMA was confirmed for the card.
RISE Kickboxer BeyNoah will look for his first MMA win when facing Daryl Lokoku.
BeyNoah lost his MMA debut at RIZIN 28 in June, dropping a split decision to former DEEP Impact Featherweight Champion Satoshi Yamasu.
Lokoku, a veteran of the combat sports scene in Japan, will be looking for his first win in RIZIN. He appeared under their kickboxing rules last year, losing a decision against Shootboxer Kaito. He has since bounced back with a win in regional MMA promotion Grachan.
DEEP Impact veteran Juri Ohara will return to the RIZIN ring when facing Kohei Tokeshi.
Ohara’s last RIZIN appearance was in September 2020, where he fought a back-and-forth brawl against Yusuke Yachi for a decision win. His success has only continued since then, scoring three wins in DEEP Impact this year alone.
Tokeshi will be making his RIZIN debut. His MMA career in regional promotion Pancrase hasn’t been happening since 2017, although he has remained active since then in combat sports like Muay Thai and lethwei.
The card will also feature kickboxer Hirokatsu Miyagi, who will face Lopez Satsuma. Both fighters will be making their MMA debut.
Experienced Flyweights Ochi and So Matched
Experienced flyweights will collide next month when Haruo Ochi and Tatsuya So meet.
Ochi is a regular in regional promotion DEEP Impact. His last appearance was just last month, scoring a decision victory over Kazuki Shibuya.
Ochi’s last RIZIN appearance was in late 2019, losing a scorecard result against Jarred Brooks down at the strawweight class.
So, a Pancrase veteran of over a decade, will be one of the many RIZIN debutants on this card. He has been out of the cage since 2019, with his last victory being a stoppage win against Ryo Hatta.
Kouzi To Face Sone In Kickboxing
The sole kickboxing bout of the card announced thus far will see Kouzi face MMA vet Kazuma Sone.
Both fighters will be aiming to score their first win in RIZIN.
Kouzi fought in a one-night kickboxing tournament for RIZIN earlier this year. After an accidental headbutt injured his opponent in the first round of the bracket and caused a no contest result, Kouzi went on to lose a decision to Taiju Shiratori in the finals later that night.
Sone has been unsuccessful under MMA rules in recent years, having lost six of his last seven. Of those fights were three appearances in RIZIN.
DEEP Jewels Talent NISSE and Koga Matched
DEEP Jewels fighters NISSE and Aira Koga will step into the RIZIN ring for the first time in November.
Koga, a pro rookie, picked up her second pro win just earlier this month, defeating Eru Takebayashi via unanimous decision.
NISSE has fought in the all-women’s promotion since 2019. She snapped a three-fight losing streak in September, earning a second-round stoppage win over Mizuki Furuse.
Updated Lineup:
Bout 10: RENA (11-3) vs. Miyuu Yamamoto (6-5) (110 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 9: Tomohiro Adaniya (16-15-3) vs. Yuichi Miyagi (16-10-1) (126 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 8: Mitsuhisa Sunabe (29-9-4) vs. Yoshiro Maeda (38-19-3) (129 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 7: Kouzi vs. Kazuma Sone (134 lbs) (Kickboxing Bout)
Bout 6: Bobby Ologun (2-2) vs. Katsuya Kitamura (0-0) (265 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 5: Daryl Lokoku (9-5-1) vs. BeyNoah (0-1) (159 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 4: Juri Ohara (28-17) vs. Kohei Tokeshi (6-7) (159 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 3: Haruo Ochi (20-9-2) vs. Tatsuya So (18-17-4) (126 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 2: NISSE (3-4) vs. Aira Koga (2-0) (108 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 1: Hirokatsu Miyagi (0-0) vs. Lopez Satsuma (0-0) (161 lbs) (MMA Bout)
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