The super atomweight belt will be on the line when Ayaka Hamasaki battles Miyuu Yamamoto for the vacant throne, the company announced Wednesday. Hamasaki (20-3) is a former Invicta FC and DEEP titleholder, and Yamamoto (6-4) gets her first shot at a MMA belt after defeating Suwanan Boonsorn at RIZIN’s past NYE show.
Shinobu Ota, who won captured a silver medal at the 2016 Olympics in greco-roman wrestling in Rio de Janeiro, makes his long-awaited MMA debut against 66-fight veteran Hideo Tokoro.
“I’m very excited and grateful to be able to perform in the platform I’ve been watching my entire life,” Ota stated in a release. “I hear many people saying I’m taking MMA lightly, but I am aware of that. But I have been training hard and there is a reason why I decided to make my debut. I have no plans to lose.”
Ikuhisa Minowa, also known as “Minowaman,” makes his first appearance in the RIZIN ring almost 27 years after his professional MMA debut. A veteran of PRIDE, UFC, Pancrase, Dream and many other promotions, “Minowaman” enters his 117th MMA bout when he takes on heavyweight Sudario Tsuyoshi (1-0). Tsuyoshi is a former sumo wrestler who needed one round to stop Dylan James in his RIZIN debut in September.
The card will also feature Kanna Asakura (17-4) vs. Ai Shimizu (5-0), Naoki Inoue (14-2) vs. Yuki Motoya (26-8, 1 NC), Kyohei Hagiwara (2-3) vs. Ren Hiramoto (0-0 in MMA, 11-4 in kickboxing), and Ulka Sasaki (22-8-2) vs. Kenta Takizawa (11-6). Due to COVID-19 restrictions, only 10,000 fans will be allowed inside the Saitama Super Arena.
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