RIZIN announced eight fights for their first numbered event of 2022 on Wednesday. The fights are now attached to RIZIN 34, which will take place on March 20th at the Maruzen Intec Arena in Osaka, Japan.
The most promoted fight out of the eight-fight pack announced this week was a featherweight bout between Satoshi Yamasu and Kyohei Hagiwara.
Hagiwara has quickly attained a reputation as an explosive fighter since joining RIZIN in 2020. His record with the promotion is currently a strong five wins through seven appearances.
Hagiwara’s last win came on New Year’s Eve, where he defeated former ONE Championship Muay Thai fighter Hiroaki Suzuki via decision. A month before then, he beat Shoji in the main event of a “TRIGGER” card.
Yamasu, a former DEEP Impact Champion, is returning for his third RIZIN fight. He scored his first win for the promotion in his most recent appearance, defeating RISE Kickboxer BeyNoah via split decision.
Notable names are set for lower on the card as well.
Bonzai Jiu-Jitsu fighter Alan Yamaniha will return against veteran Motonobu Tezuka.
Yamaniha recently competed in RIZIN’s Bantamweight Grand Prix. After defeating Kazuma Kuramoto in the opening round, he lost a fight to Kai Asakura – a fighter who would later become a finalist in the bracket.
Tezuka will be making his RIZIN debut in this appearance. He is a veteran of the regional MMA scene and is currently on a six-fight winning streak from fights in promotions like Grachan, Pancrase and Shooto Japan.
Former Bellator fighter Strasser Kiichi is expected to meet Daichi Abe.
Strasser won in his return to RIZIN in November, submitting Takahiro Kawanaka in the first round with an arm triangle choke. This was his first appearance since 2019 and broke a two-fight skid for him that was developed in Bellator.
Abe is still on the search for his first RIZIN win. The UFC and ONE Championship alum lost his RIZIN debut in October to Akira Okada.
The fourth MMA bout on the card will see Daichi Kitakata and Yutaro Muramoto face off.
Kitakata, a veteran of Pancrase, was set to fight in his home prefecture of Osaka last year against Yusaku Nakamura. However, that fight had to be canceled on short notice. Nine months removed from that, he will return to the prefecture in this fight.
Muramoto had an explosive RIZIN debut last year, scoring a first-round stoppage win against Seigo Yamamoto.
Updated Lineup:
Along with the four MMA bouts is numerous kickboxing matchups. Here are all of the fights that have been set for the card thus far.
Bout 8: Satoshi Yamasu (12-6) vs. Kyohei Hagiwara (6-4) (145 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 7: Alan Yamaniha (18-9-4) vs. Motonobu Tezuka (34-13-6) (134 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 6: Strasser Kiichi (20-9-2) vs. Daichi Abe (9-5) (169 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 5: Daichi Kitakata (19-10-1) vs. Yutaro Muramoto (8-5-2) (125 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 4: Masaya Jaki vs. KOUTA (154 lbs) (Kickboxing Bout)
Bout 3: YUYA vs. Yosuke Yamato (154 lbs) (Kickboxing Bout)
Bout 2: Yuuki Kasahara vs. MOTOKI (134 lbs) (Kickboxing Bout)
Bout 1: TAIGA vs. Ryo Takahashi (134 lbs) (Kickboxing Bout)
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