RIZIN is primed to kick off a brand new 12 months.
On Wednesday, the Japanese promotion introduced a number of fights for its first card of 2023, together with the returns of Ok-1 standout Kouzi and 22-year-old flyweight prospect Makoto Shinryu. RIZIN 41 is about to happen April 1 in Osaka, Japan.
Kouzi is about to combat fellow kickboxer Ryusei Ashizawa, who makes his RIZIN debut. The principles of the bout are nonetheless to be decided. Kouzi made headlines in 2022, going viral with a knockout of Floyd Mayweather Jr. bodyguard Ray “Jizzy Mack” Sadeghi at a Tremendous Rizin occasion this previous September. He stayed within the highlight by competing in an exhibition bout in opposition to J’Hon Ingram on the Mayweather vs. Deji card in Dubai.
Shinryu (15-1-1) faces a stiff check as he steps into the ring in opposition to Daichi Kitakata (20-11-1, 2 NC). In two earlier RIZIN appearances, Shinryu scored a choice victory over Hideo Tokoro and a second-round submission of Seiichiro Ito. He has additionally competed for Bellator, DEEP, and Pancrase. In his most up-to-date outing this previous November, Shinryu captured a vacant Cage Fury Combating Championships with a fourth-round submission of Diego Paiva.
See extra introduced bouts for RIZIN 41 right here.
Vugar Karamov vs. Yoshinori Horie
Kintaro vs. Koichi Ishizuka
Yusaku Nakamura vs. Mehman Mamedov
Shun vs. Motoki — kickboxing
Shingeki no Yuuki vs. Sota “Cerberus” Kimura — kickboxing
Asataro vs. Shin Sakurai — kickboxing
