RIZIN will touch down at the Okinawa Arena in Okinawa, Japan for the first time this weekend when presenting RIZIN 32. The card will be headlined by experienced fighters RENA and Miyuu Yamamoto, who will be meeting in the ring for the second time.
The event is also set to include numerous veterans and local talent from Okinawa.
Here’s a preview of the evening.
Main Card (12:00AM EST / 2:00PM JST) (Live-Now / RIZIN Live)
Bout 1: Ryoga Terayama vs. HIROKI (121 lbs) (Kickboxing Bout)
TEPPEN Gym talent Ryoga Terayama will make his RIZIN debut in the opening bout of the card, facing HIROKI in a kickboxing bout.
Terayama, only 17 years old, has been successful as a pro so far. Recent bouts of his have taken place in promotions like RISE Kickboxing and Shooto Japan. His team, TEPPEN Gym, also includes talents like Taiju Shiratori and Tenshin Nasukawa.
HIROKI lost his RIZIN debut in March, dropping a unanimous decision to Ryota Naito.
Bout 2: TARKER (2-3-1) vs. Sho Sekihara (7-2) (128 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Flyweights TARKER and Sho Sekihara will battle in the second bout of the card.
Sekihara has won four consecutive bouts on the regional scene, including three recent appearances in DEEP Impact. His last fight was only two months back, defeating Naoto Ayuta via decision.
TARKER is one of the few fighters on this card representing Okinawa. He has the chance to even his pro record in Saturday’s fight. He currently has a negative pro record of two wins, three losses and one draw.
Bout 3: Hirokatsu Miyagi vs. Lopez Satsuma (161 lbs) (Kickboxing Bout)
In the second of three kickboxing fights in the lineup, Hirokatsu Miyagi and Lopez Satsuma will fight.
Miyagi, who is fighting out of Okinawa, is a veteran of RISE Kickboxing. He will be fighting to bounce back from a loss, as he was defeated by Tsukuru Midorikawa in June.
Satsuma lost on a regional kickboxing event earlier this year, losing via unanimous decision to Toru Tsutsumi on a Kyushu Professional Kickboxing card in February.
Bout 4: Shinya Kumazawa (9-10) vs. Tanner Lourenco (0-0) (163 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Shinya Kumazawa will attempt to even his 20-fight pro record when fighting the debuting Tanner Lourenco.
Kumazawa has fought as a pro since 2006. The 40-year-old fighter trains in Okinawa and will be fighting for the first time since 2015.
In an interview with the We Are RIZIN Podcast, Lourenco revealed details about how he got into this fight. Lourenco said that he has trained in MMA for years in the U.S. He joined the U.S. Marines during the COVID-19 pandemic, which sent him to a base in Japan. It was there that he decided he wanted to compete in a pro bout for the first time. His skills will be showcased for the first time on Saturday.
Bout 5: NISSE (3-4) vs. Aira Koga (2-0) (108 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Super atomweights NISSE and Aira Koga will make their RIZIN debuts on Saturday night.
Both fighters have developed their short pro careers thus far in regional promotion DEEP Jewels/DEEP Impact.
Koga has scored two wins since her pro debut in July. Her last victory was just last month, defeating RIZIN alum Eru Takebayashi via decision.
NISSE has fought some of the top names in the DEEP Jewels 108-pound class. She snapped a three-fight skid in September, scoring a stoppage win against Mizuki Furuse.
Bout 6: Tomohiro Adaniya (16-15-3) vs. Yuichi Miyagi (16-10-1) (126 lbs) (MMA Bout)
DEEP Impact veteran Tomohiro Adaniya will face Yuichi Miyagi as part of Saturday’s card.
Adaniya has won three of his past five pro bouts. He was submitted last time around, losing to Yuki Ito in June.
Miyagi is also coming off a loss. He fought in GLADIATOR two months back, losing on scorecards to Masayuki Watanabe.
Bout 7: Haruo Ochi (20-9-2) vs. Tatsuya So (18-17-4) (126 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Experienced flyweights Haruo Ochi and Tatsuya So have been matched up for Saturday’s card.
The majority of So’s pro career has taken place in Pancrase. While he has struggled and even went on a seven-fight losing streak at one point during his career, he has won four of his last five bouts currently. He is making his return this weekend, as his most recent appearance was in late 2019.
Ochi fought twice in RIZIN in 2019, dropping down to strawweight to face former UFC fighter Jarred Brooks. Their first meeting ended in just 10 seconds via no contest due to an accidental headbutt, but their second fight later that year saw Brooks win via decision.
Ochi has since picked up a win and a loss in regional promotion DEEP Impact.
Bout 8: Juri Ohara (28-17-3) vs. Kohei Tokeshi (6-7) (159 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Kohei Tokeshi will make his return to MMA when facing Juri Ohara.
Ohara is on a strong five-fight winning streak currently, with most of the wins have taken place in DEEP Impact. The streak also includes a victory he took in RIZIN last year, earning a split decision over veteran Yusuke Yachi.
Tokeshi has not competed in MMA since 2017, although he has remained active in combat sports like lethwei and Muay Thai.
Bout 9: Daryl Lokoku (9-5-1) vs. BeyNoah (0-1) (159 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Decorated kickboxer BeyNoah will attempt to earn his first MMA win when fighting Daryl Lokoku.
BeyNoah lost his MMA debut in June, losing via split decision to Satoshi Yamasu. Being a striker, BeyNoah was focused on keeping his debut fight on the feet. However, Yamasu was persistent in trying to get the fight to the ground.
BeyNoah has scored a kickboxing win since then, defeating Negimajin on a RISE Kickboxing show in September.
Lokoku dropped his RIZIN debut under kickboxing rules last year, losing on scorecards to Kaito. He won in an MMA bout in his last fight, defeating Junpei Sasakawa on a Grachan card.
Bout 10: Bobby Ologun (2-2) vs. Katsuya Kitamura (0-0) (265 lbs) (MMA Bout)
In one of the more odd bouts on the card, comedian Bobby Ologun will return to MMA to face former bodybuilder and pro wrestler Katsuya Kitamura.
Ologun, now 55 years old, notably fought as a pro in MMA from 2004 to 2007, attaining two wins and losses. He fought on a big stage, being part of many K-1 “Dynamite” cards during that time period.
Ologun has stressed that his return to MMA recently is part of trying to return from mistakes. Those mistakes are specifically a domestic violence charge that he pled guilty to in May 2020 and was fined 100,000 yen for.
Kitamura will be making his MMA debut in the fight. The former pro wrestler is best known for his run with New Japan Pro Wrestling from 2015 to 2019. He mostly fought as a trainee through the promotion’s “Dojo” program. After debuting in 2017 and being sidelined for some time due to injuries, Kitamura exited the promotion in early 2019.
Bout 11: Mitsuhisa Sunabe (29-9-4) vs. Yoshiro Maeda (38-19-3) (129 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Veterans Mitsuhisa Sunabe and Yoshiro Maeda will fight in a rematch nearly two decades in the making.
Maeda was the first person to hand Sunabe a loss, defeating him all the way back in 2003. They have since both gone on to have long and storied careers.
Sunabe’s career has mostly taken place in Pancrase, where he has claimed championships and become a big name for their brand.
Sunabe will be fighting for his first RIZIN win. He has come up short in his two previous appearances for the promotion, losing in MMA and kickboxing each once.
Maeda has fought all around the world. After competing in Pancrase early in this career, he went on to fight in Pride FC, WEC, and Dream, among other promotions.
He enters the weekend on a two-fight losing streak from recent fights in Shooto Japan.
Bout 12: Kouzi vs. Kazuma Sone (134 lbs) (Kickboxing Bout)
Former K-1 Japan title challenger Kouzi will search for his first RIZIN win when facing Kazuma Sone under kickboxing rules.
Kouzi has been on the RIZIN roster for a year now. He has competed in three kickboxing bouts in that time, including a fight against Tenshin Nasukawa, but has yet to win a fight.
Kouzi notably was part of a four-man tournament in June. After a no contest pushed him past the first round of the bracket, he lost in the main event to Taiju Shiratori.
Sone, an MMA veteran, has been struggling as a pro in recent years. He has lost six of his last 10 MMA bouts. He has lost his two RIZIN bouts, including a 27-second loss to Shian in March.
Bout 13: RENA (11-3) vs. Miyuu Yamamoto (6-5) (110 lbs) (MMA Bout)
RIZIN veterans RENA and Miyuu Yamamoto will face off in a rematch to close out the evening of action.
Yamamoto and RENA first met quite early in their MMA careers. Their fight, which took place in 2016, was only RENA’s second pro bout and was Yamamoto’s debut.
RENA won in that appearance, securing a first-round ninja choke submission.
This weekend, RENA is making her first appearance in over a year. She enters on a three-fight winning streak, which includes a rematch victory win over Lindsey VanZandt from late 2019 and a decision victory over Emi Tomimatsu from September 2020.
Yamamoto is competing for the first time since losing a title shot to Ayaka Hamasaki on New Year’s Eve last year.
A successful performance on Saturday for Yamamoto would not only put her back into the win column, but it would avenge the first loss she ever took in the sport of MMA.
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