RIZIN cards finalized for next two shows, including Ayaka Hamasaki vs. Tomo Maesawa
Ayaka Hamasaki (pictured) fights Tomo Maesawa in a strawweight bout at RIZIN 22 in Yokohama, Japan, this Sunday | Esther Lin, MMA Fighting
RIZIN is loading up for its comeback show this Sunday.
The Japanese promotion made more bouts official for RIZIN 22, its first show since February, a break that was necessitated by the outbreak of the coronavirus in March. The Aug. 9 event takes place at Pia Arena MM in Yokohama, Japan, and will feature a crowd at 50 percent capacity.
Recently announced fights for RIZIN 22 include a strawweight bout between Ayaka Hamasaki and Tomo Maesawa, Tetsuya Saeki stepping in for an injured Yojiro Uchimura to face Kouya Kanda in a featherweight bout, and Rui Ebata meeting Seiki Ueyama in a flyweight kickboxing bout.
Hamasaki (19-3) is coming off of a split decision loss in a super atomweight title defense against Seo Hee Ham at RIZIN’s New Year’s Eve show in December.
Maesawa, an atomweight veteran of 23 fights, holds a 13-10 record and most recently fought at a JEWELS event in October, where she beat Emi Tomimatsu by unanimous decision.
RIZIN is holding back-to-back events this upcoming weekend, with RIZIN 23 taking place on Aug. 10, also at Pia Arena MM. North American broadcast information is still to be announced.
See the updated cards for both shows below:
RIZIN 22
Yusuke Yachi vs. Roberto Satoshi Souza
Ayaka Hamasaki vs. Tomo Maesawa
Kanna Asakura vs. Mizuki Furuse
Naoki Inoue vs. Shooto Watanabe
Rui Ebata vs. Seiki Ueyama — kickboxing
Nadaka Yoshinari vs. Yuushin — kickboxing
Tetsuya Saeki vs. Kouya Kanda
Rikuto Shirakawa vs. Kyohei Hagiwara
Erson Yamamoto vs. Kenji Kato
RIZIN 23
Kai Asakura vs. Hiromasa Ougikubo
Yuki Motoya vs. Mamoru Uoi
Yutaka Saito vs. Kazumasa Majima
Kento Haraguchi vs. Taiga — kickboxing
Kotetsu Boku vs. Jin Aoi
Seiichiro Ito vs. Makoto Shinryu
Kaito vs. Daryl Lokoku — kickboxing
Yusaka Nakamura vs. Tatsuki Saomoto
Shintaro Matsukara vs. Koji Mori — kickboxing