RIZIN announced six more fights for their March 20th card, making it an extensive 17-fight card in total. The new fights join a card that is scheduled to take place at the Maruzen Intec Arena Osaka in Osaka, Japan.
One of the top fights sees lightweights Juri Ohara and Akira collide.
This fight is a quick turnaround for Akira, as he fought just last month at RIZIN’s “TRIGGER” card. At that event he beat Takumi Suzuki via unanimous decision, moving his pro record to four consecutive wins since 2020.
Ohara is also on a multi-year run of wins. He scored his second RIZIN win in November, stopping Kohei Tokeshi in the second minute of a fight with strikes.
Veteran Nakamura To Face Rising Yamamoto
Also on the card, veteran Daisuke Nakamura will meet Sora Yamamoto.
Nakamura, a pro of nearly two decades, won his RIZIN debut last year against Suguru Nii. He has fought once more since then, defeating Michihiro Omigawa on a DEEP Impact card.
Yamamoto is riding the momentum of a 35-second stoppage victory that he scored against Suguru Nii last month.
Four Fighters Set For RIZIN Debut
Five MMA fighters will be making their first RIZIN walk later this month.
In a bantamweight fight, Ryuya Fukuda will battle against Masayuki Watanabe (also known as “NavE”).
Fukuda, a former Shooto Japan title challenger, is riding the success of a finish win he scored against RIZIN alum Yuki Ito at a DEEP Impact card last week. That bout snapped a two-fight skid for him.
Watanabe is getting the RIZIN call after success in regional promotion GLADIATOR. He scored two wins in 2021, defeating Kengo Fujita and Tuichi Miyagi.
Undefeated Shooto Japan stand-out Yuto Uda will appear on the card against Tatsuki Saomoto.
Uda has scored five wins and one draw since turning pro in 2019. He is coming off somewhat of a break in this fight, as her last fight was a win in May 2021 over veteran Kiyotaka Shimizu.
Saomoto will be a tough test for Uda. He has won his last three fights in RIZIN, beating names like Daichi Kitakata and Takashi Matsuba.
In a fight between two lesser experienced fighters, Ayumu Yamamoto and Ryuki Kaneda will compete.
Kaneda will be fighting to even his pro record. He took his second pro loss late last year, suffering an armbar loss to Kosuke Terashhima. He has fought in RIZIN debut, although under kickboxing rules in 2018.
Yamamoto will be fighting to bounce back from his sole pro loss, which was against Tetsuya Seki on a DEEP Impact card recently.
Kouzi and Umeno Rematch Booked
The sole kickboxing match announced Thursday is a rematch between Kouzi and Genji Umeno. Their first matchup came in June 2021 as part of a one-night, four-man tournament that RIZIN held. That fight ended in a no-contest due to an accidental headbutt in the first minute.
Updated Lineup
RIZIN 34 is set to be the promotion’s first numbered event of 2022. Here is how the show looks at the moment:
Bout 17: Satoshi Yamasu (12-6) vs. Kyohei Hagiwara (6-4) (145 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 16: Alan Yamaniha (18-9-4) vs. Motonobu Tezuka (34-13-6) (134 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 15: Strasser Kiichi (20-9-2) vs. Daichi Abe (9-5) (169 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 14: Daichi Kitakata (19-10-1) vs. Yutaro Muramoto (8-5-2) (125 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 13: Masaya Jaki vs. KOUTA (154 lbs) (Kickboxing Bout)
Bout 12: YUYA vs. Yosuke Yamato (154 lbs) (Kickboxing Bout)
Bout 11: Yuuki Kasahara vs. MOTOKI (134 lbs) (Kickboxing Bout)
Bout 10: TAIGA vs. Ryo Takahashi (134 lbs) (Kickboxing Bout)
Bout 9: Jin Mandokoro vs. Shuto Sato (117 lbs) (Kickboxing Bout)
Bout 8: Yuma Yamahata vs. Sho Ogawa (139 lbs) (Kickboxing Bout)
Bout 7: Ryo Sato vs. Shun Onishi (132 lbs) (Kickboxing Bout)
Bout 6: Ryuki (1-2) vs. Ayumu Yamamoto (3-1) (139 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 5: Ryuya Fukuda (13-7-1) vs. NavE (14-9-2) (132 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 4: Tatsuki Saomoto (17-2) vs. Yuto Uda (5-0-1) (126 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 3: Juri Ohara (29-17-3) vs. Akira (17-8-4) (157 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 2: Daisuke Nakamura (32-20-1) vs. Sora Yamamoto (13-6-2) (150 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Bout 1: Kouzi vs. Genji Umeno (134 lbs) (Kickboxing Bout)
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