The second chapter in a high-profile MMA feud will headline RIZIN’s third-ever trip to the world-famous Tokyo Dome later this year.
Ren Hiramoto and Mikuru Asakura will face off for the second time on May 4th, serving as the main event for “The Match 2” in Tokyo, Japan.
The card is being marketed by RIZIN as a sequel to “THE MATCH 2022,” a Tokyo Dome event in 2022 which was centered around a kickboxing super-fight between Tenshin Nasukawa and Takeru Segawa.
Hiramoto and Asakura, two of the most famous names surrounding the RIZIN brand at the moment, faced off in 2024 with the stipulation of the losing fighter going into retirement. The bout, which served as the headliner for “Super RIZIN 3” in front of a massive crowd in the Saitama Super Arena, came to an end in just over two minutes via stoppage in favor of Hiramoto.
The rivalry continued at the promotion’s New Year’s Eve card this week, with Asakura and Hiramoto presenting their own teams of fighters to face off as part of a seven-bout lineup.
Hiramoto has quickly become a prominent figure in RIZIN after making his MMA debut in the promotion four years ago. The former kickboxer, despite having just seven professional MMA fights to his name, has nonetheless found enough notoriety in the sport to headline a card inside a 55,000-capacity venue in May.
Asakura, a RIZIN fighter since 2018, has become a highly notable celebrity in Japan due to his presence on social media. He is the host of the popular web-series “Breaking Down,” which sees influencers and fighters face off in amateur combat sports. His YouTube channel currently has over 3 million subscribers with a combined 2.1 billion views on his videos.
Prior to “THE MATCH 2022,” RIZIN’s sole Tokyo Dome appearance came in June 2021. While hosting an event in the venue – which has deep ties to combat sports going back decades – was a landmark moment for the promotion, live attendance restrictions in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic caused the turnout to only be over 9,000.
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