Rizin 22 & 23 Reaction

Several weeks ago, Sakakibara took to Youtube to announce the financial difficulties Rizin was facing as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. Since then, they have raised over 69 million Yen ($647,000) in a crowdfunding campaign and held successful back to back events. In this article, I will write about my experience going to both Rizin 22 and 23 with a group of fans. Out of curiosity, I asked each who they were coming to see, and these were the responses: Motoya, Taiga, Hamasaki, Kaito, and Kai. However, they all agreed that their favorite Rizin fighter was Horiguchi.

COVID-19

It is impossible to overstate the effect of COVID-19 on sporting events in general and as a result on Rizin events. During the before mentioned Youtube video conference, Sakakibara made it clear that Rizin would not be following the UFC model of hosting events without fans. Currently in Japan, events can be held with a maximum of 5,000 spectators. This meant that Rizin had to select a smaller arena, the new Yokohama Pia Arena. In addition, strict guidelines were laid out.

For example:

• People had to register their contact information online via e-mail and show proof to enter the venue
• People were required to have their temperature taken to enter the venue
• No food was sold at the venue
• All staff and spectators wore masks
• People entered in separate groups at separate times
• People exited in separate groups at separate times
• Fans were asked not to approach fighters for autographs or photographs
• Alcohol dispensers were easily accessible
• Social distancing, one seat between each spectator was empty

With COVID-19 numbers rising to new heights in Tokyo, it can also be assumed that this effected the number of people who went to the events. On Rizin 22, 2,805 people attended and on Rizin 23, 4,410 people attended.

Rizin 22

• Kenji Kato defeated Erson Yamamoto via KO (Punches, RD 1)
• Kyohei Hagiwara defeated Rikuto Shirakawa via KO (Punches, Round 3)
• Tetsua Eki defeated Kouya Kanda via KO (Punches, RD 2, Kickboxing)
• Yoshinari Nadaka defeated Yushin via KO (Knee and Elbows, RD 2, Kickboxing)
• Rui Ebata defeated Seki Ueyama via UD (Kickboxing)
• Naoki Inoue defeated Shooto Watanabe via Submission (RNC, Round 1)
• Kanna Asakura defeated Mizuki Furuse via TKO (Punches, Round 1)
• Ayaka Hamasaki defeated Tomo Maesawa via Submission (Double Wristlock, Round 2)
• Roberto de Souza defeated Yusuke Yachi via TKO (Punches, Round 1)

In the opening fight, Erson Yamamoto was stunned several times with strikes until he was eventually dropped. Afterwards, Sakakibara echoed the sentiment of many fans in wondering if Erson has been training very seriously. Erson would state in his post-fight interview that he needs to fight at a lower level and build himself up for Rizin. Having been a part of Rizin since the beginning, it is obvious that the promotion was hoping to use his name and youth to build him into a future star, but that may not be in the cards.

In a kickboxing bout, Nadaka absolutely destroyed his opponent. Nadaka, who has fought in Thailand, repeatedly threw his opponent to the ground, before finishing him with strikes in the second. It appears that Rizin may be attempting to build another kickboxing star and we should expect to see Nadaka on a future event soon. I will say that the throws confused the fans I came with. As casual fans, they were more familiar with Japanese kickboxing rules and did not know what was going on. I do not know if this was a common issue, but it was where I was seated.

In an emotional bout for Japanese fans, Rui Ebata defeated Seki Ueyama via UD. The fight itself was a back and forth affair, with Ebata being more technical and Ueyama, the Shootboxer, being more aggressive. Many Japanese fans were invested in the fight because Ebata’s friend and famous actor Haruma Miura died from an apparent suicide back in July. Miura actually walked with Ebata to the ring when he faced Tenshin.

In the next fight, Naoki Inoue looked very good over his opponent Shooto Watanabe. As a veteran of over 30 fights and with 10 wins by RNC, Shooto claimed that he would beat Naoki with his magical choke in the lead up to the fight. However, it was Naoki who expertly defended against several takedown attempts, took Shooto’s back and defeated him via RNC. With his first finish in Rizin, it is obvious that Naoki is high caliber. After the fight, in an awkward moment, the person interviewing Naoki in the ring somewhat forced him to call someone out for his next fight. Naoki chose Ishiwatari who was sitting in the commentary both, which some fans thought was strange as Ishiwatari is injured. However, it seems more likely that Naoki who comes across as soft spoken was forced to give an answer and just said the name of the person that he could see. With Rizin building up this division, it seems likely that Naoki will be active within the promotion.

In the next match, Kanna Asakura, who is clearly one of the stars in Rizin, defeated Mizuki Furuse in 1 minute and 35 seconds via ground and pound. It was a strange fight as Mizuki was not able to mount any offense. Afterwards, Mizuki stated that she has fought a lot recently and wants to take some time off. This surprised and upset Kanna Asakura and fans a like, with Kanna even stating that Mizuki is treating the fight like it didn’t mean anything and that in martial arts, it is the strength to continue that it is important. It also appears that Mizuki has received a number of distasteful messages on SNS and that may be one reason that she is stepping back. Even if she does step back, she is 7-7 at 19 years old, so she still has time.

In the Semi-Final, former champion Ayaka Hamasaki defeated Tomo Maesawa in the 2nd Round via double wristlock, which appears to be her favorite submission. The fight in all likelihood could have been finished earlier, but Ayaka wanted to see if she could KO Tomo and elected to strike with her in the opening round. Once she decided to grapple, the match was over. At 38 years old, Ayaka is still the best female in Japan, and outside of a rematch with Ham, there is not a lot of competition for her.

In a surprise to many, Roberto de Souza came out very aggressive and destroyed Yachi on the ground. Made all the more impressive by the fact that Roberto trained exclusively for the fight at home, he was very energetic after the fight, screaming into the microphone, moments that will almost certainly be used by Rizin in future promotional videos. Once Roberto got the fight to the ground it was just a matter of time, but surprisingly he did not go for the submission, electing to finish the fight with ground and pound.

Rizin 23

• Shintaro Matsukura defeated Koji Mori via KO (Punch, RD 1, Kickboxing)
• Tatsuki Saomoto defeated Yusaku Nakamura via KO (Punch, Round 1)
• Kaito Ono defeated Daryl Lokoku via UD (Kickboxing)
• Makoto Takahashi defeated Seiichiro Ito via Submission (Guillotine, Round 2)
• Jin Aoi defeated Kotetsu Boku via UD
• Kento Haraguchi defeated Taiga Kawabe via KO (Punches, RD 1, Kickboxing)
• Yutaka Saito defeated Kazumasa Majima via TKO (Soccer Kicks/ Knees, Round 2)
• Yuki Motoya defeated Mamoru Uoi via Submission (Guillotine, Round 2)
• Kai Asakura defeated Hiromasa Ougikubo via TKO (Soccer Kicks, Round 1)

Upcoming Shootboxing star Kaito returned to the Rizin ring and won a unanimous decision against Daryl Lokoku, however it was not a very exciting match. Kaito seemed content to land low kicks and avoid the big punches of Lokoku. While he coasted to victory, this isn’t the kind of victory that will excite fans to see him again.

Takahashi and Ito put on a very exciting fight. In the closing sequence, Takahashi threw a flying knee that Ito caught. Takahashi then locked on a guillotine choke to win the fight. After the somewhat lackluster Kaito fight, this fight got the audience back into good spirits.

On a depressing note, Boku lost a UD to Jin Aoi. Boku was on the defensive for most of the fight, never really putting together any significant offense. Afterwards he stated that he either needs to retire or fight lower level competition. At 42 years old, it seems that the veteran is contemplating retirement. While Boku used his experience to avoid any significant damage, the loss makes one wonder about Krazy Bee. Even casual fans in Japan have noticed that the gym seems to be struggling. Both Krazy Bee fighters lost at Deep Jewels in July and all three fighters lost at the Rizin shows.

In an anticipated kickboxing match, Kento made quick work of Taiga, knocking him out in just under three minutes. It is matches like this that make it hard to remember that Taiga is 23 years old. Rizin is using him like a washed up star to build up new kickboxers. If that is their goal it is working, his fights gain attention, tend to be exciting, and raise the stock of those defeating him.

In the final match, Kai made quick work of Ougikubo, TKO’ing him in the 1st Round. It seems obvious that his next match will be a rematch against Horiguchi. While Horiguchi is in the US currently, as a Japanese national he would be able to return to the US as long as he underwent a 2 week quarantine. The winner of that fight, will be one of the biggest stars in Rizin, if not the biggest. Currently, it would seem that Mikuru or Horiguchi is the most popular.

Random Observations:

• Marrion and Lazy God apparent were very popular amongst the fans.
• A diverse audience, there were older people, young couples, families with their children, women, men, and die hard fight fans.
• The pacing of these events was amazing. Without intermissions for TV broadcasts, the events were roughly 4 hours each, allowing fans to grab dinner afterwards and discuss the fights before they went home.
• The crowd enjoyed the banter between Tenshin and Koji. Koji is looking like a smart signing for Rizin as the former K1 star is going to do a good job promoting the fight as Tenshin can be soft spoken at times.