Two weeks after a highly successful RIZIN 11 that saw over 17,000 fill the Saitama Super Arena, RIZIN Fighting Federation is back with a fun RIZIN 12 fight card live from Nagoya.
They make their Dolphins Arena debut in what will be their second show in Nagoya. The card consists of 12 highly-intriguing match-ups, this includes seven MMA bouts and five kickboxing fights. The five kickboxing bouts will be the most RIZIN has ever had on a single event, and they all feature young Japanese talent.
In the main event, RIZIN’s premier lightweight fighter, Yusuke Yachi, will take on young Brazilian prospect Luiz “Killer” Gustavo. The card also features familiar names like Yuki Motoya, King Reina, Hatsu Hioki, Kanako Murata, Kaitlin Young, and Kiichi Kunimoto, among others.
On August 10 in Nagoya, all participants went through the typical media day festivities regarding their upcoming RIZIN 12 fights this weekend. Check out the quotes below!
Yusuke Yachi:
I feel great, just another day in the office for me. I usually put my game face on five minutes before the fight, so I’m still relaxed. I’ve seen one fight of my opponent’s, but I can’t really read too much into just one fight. It’s really cool that Wanderlei Silva will be in his corner, though. I’m trying not to stress with the lack of info on my opponent, but I’m just going to go in there and do my thing. Gonna fight my fight and enjoy every step of the way. I am the main event of RIZIN’s Summer Festival.”
Luiz Gustavo:
“I feel great. I’ve been training eight long years for an opportunity like this. My mentor, Wanderlei Silva, beat Japanese star Sakuraba and earned his stardom in Japan. I plan to do the same by beating Yachi. I am very much looking forward to using RIZIN’s ruleset. Much like Wanderlei, I also would like to use soccerkicks to the face. I will do this and one day become champion – for my family.”
Wanderlei Silva:
“I am very happy to introduce this talent to Japan. This kid will be the next star, and avenged our previous (Nunes) loss to Yachi. Me and Andre Dida both want to fight on the NYE card this year, and will be talking to Sakakibara about those possibilities while I’m here in Japan. I hope RIZIN continues to grow and become an event like PRIDE.”
Yuki Motoya:
“I feel great, very relaxed right now. My opponent has good kicks and good striking power, so I need to be aware of that. I will do what I always do and focus on winning every fight in front of me. This would eventually lead to me fighting Horiguchi again.”
Kazuma Sone:
“Everything is so on-point. I want to win on the big stage – in RIZIN – and become popular. I need to leave an impression, so I will go out there and beat the shit out of Motoya. He is a boring fighter with no personality. He doesn’t belong in RIZIN because he has no star power. I need to be aware of his submissions, but that’s about it. I am more than confident I can beat him standing and in the wrestling.”
Kiichi Kunimoto:
“I was wanting to get put on that May RIZIN 10 card, so I have been ready for a long time now. My opponent is on a win streak and very trough, but I will show the difference between a local/regional fighter and an international-level fighter. I will finish him and please the Nagoya crowd, I will not be the defensive, and I will go for that knockout. I will strike with my opponent.”
Ryuichiro Sumimura:
“My opponent’s style will likely give me some trouble, for sure. I have trained with him a couple times. We are both from the western region, so I hope we can put on an exciting fight for these Nagoya fans. He said he will KO me standing, (laughs) so I hope he sticks to his word. I hope he doesn’t freak out and shoot on me for a takedown.”
KING Reina:
“I lost about 10kg from the last time I fought in RIZIN. I feel lighter, faster, and this is a whole new world for me. After studying my opponent, I don’t feel that Kaitlin will be a threat to me. At all. So this won’t be any problem whatsoever. I feel much more confident in my striking since fighting for Shoot Boxing, and the theme for this year for me is; challenges. I want to continue pushing myself and take on any and all challenges. Kaitlin is a veteran and well-respected fighter, but I plan to dominate and raise my value internationally.”
Kaitlin Young:
“Reina is a very young, very good judoka. I plan to not fight her fight, though. I want to fight where I want it to be. Her striking is good, sure, but it still has holes. I plan to capitalize on them and knock her out. For the past four years, I have focused on muay thai and kickboxing, I feel like I didn’t give it all when I left MMA back four years ago. I want to come back and show what I really can do. I love the RIZIN rules with soccer kicks and stomps to the head. I can’t wait to try them out. I have heard nothing but good things about RIZIN, and I am so excited for this experience.”
Taiki Naito:
“I have always wanted to fight in RIZIN ever since I saw their first show live on TV. And now that RIZIN has been putting effort into hosting kickboxing, I want to be a fighter who helps push the company value and make it a better show. My opponent is saying he will kill me or whatever, so I will him try, but he won’t be able to touch me.”
Hannya Hashimoto:
“I was not expecting to get this call from RIZIN, so it was a very pleasant surprise. I accepted without even thinking about it. My opponent is a very tough fighter, but I am just excited to be fighting a high-profile fighter like him on such a high-profile stage like RIZIN. I have nothing to lose, really. So I will go out there, and I will capitalize.”
Hatsu Hioki:
“I will be fighting a young prospect, and I have been in that position before, where I was the young one fighting veterans. But I plan to show everybody that I still have it, and show the sum of my twenty-or-so years of competing. Most of the fighters I fought back in the day have retired and become trains or something, so I would like to put on a performance to make them proud. I wanna showcase my style of MMA to my hometown fans in Nagoya and to the overall RIZIN audience.”
Mikuru Asakura:
“Everybody is saying that Hioki should take this fight without a doubt, so I’m holding any emotions in and waiting to explode in the ring. I want to fight in RIZIN long-term, so I need this win. I want to become the new face of Japanese MMA. I am a finisher and I will finish Hatsu Hioki. He is very experienced and a great grappler, so it won’t be easy. But this is my hometown, too. My backyard. And I really feel like I am the main event of this event, so I don’t plan on losing.”
Roque Martinez:
“I have no information about my opponent, but I will win this fight 100%. I am going to take another opportunity to shine and leave my mark again in Japan. I never study tape and I still always do my thing, so I plan to knock him out like I always do. I want to put on a show and entertain the people.”
Kiyoshi Kuwabara:
“My fighting policy is to knock people out, and all of my wins have come by knockout. I can grapple, and I am a purple belt in jiu jitsu, but I don’t like to use this to attack. I idolize Mark Hunt and his fighting style. I also idolize Samurai’s, as they never back down and will die for their masters. I will die for the people who support me and believe in me. I grew up without parents, so I want to inspire kids, too.”
Kaito:
“I have always been training so I can fight all the time. I took the fight on 24 hours notice just two weeks ago at RIZIN 11 and still came out without any damage done to me, so I asked for another one. Even though RIZIN is about MMA, I want to steal the show with my fight, my kickboxing. There are many other shoot boxers on this card, but I want to outshine all of them.”
Sho Ogawa:
“I am excited to be fighting in a fight that would never happen in other organizations. This fight only happened because this is RIZIN. This fight has me and the entire kickboxing and shoot boxing community excited. I want us to put on a great fight and steal the show… with this of course ending with me knockout that pretty boy out.”
Kananko Murata:
“I made my MMA debut here in Nagoya, so I am happy to be back in the location where I kicked off my career. I’ve had my ups and downs with injuries, but right now I feel great. I know (Magana) is a wrestler, so I automatically don’t want to lose to her in that aspect of the fight. I will show everything I have worked on and beat her. Angela is a well-known figure in the fight community and is well rounded. I will fight my fight and will show everybody my version of MMA wrestling.”
Angela Magana:
“I’ve had a great fight camp. I didn’t have to train in bad conditions, like without fresh water and no electricity like my last fight. I love Japanese MMA and am eager to fight with the RIZIN rules. Murata is a good wrestler but everything else is basic. I plan to keep the fight standing, and knock her out. I’m aiming to compete for the Puerto Rico National wrestling team for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, so I am happy to be here to check Japan out before that.”
Ryuki:
“RIZIN is the biggest fight promotion in Japan. I fight kickboxing now, but eventually I want to fight MMA. I want to leave an impression to the RIZIN fans so I plan to put on a fight to be remembered.”
Naoya:
“My blue hair is a superstitious thing. The last time I fought with this hair I won a title. I have been eager to fight in the ring I have been watching on TV, so I can’t wait to get in there. My opponent is very tough, but I don’t feel like losing.”
Shintaro Matsukura:
“I’m happy that I am able to fight on such a big event. I know this is a different platform. You need to do more than just win. You need to stand out, you need to leave an impression. I idolize Wanderlei, Krazy Horse and Gomi. All these guys are crazy. I have a dull personality and I’m a shy person so I look up to fighters who can go crazy.”
Takahiro Okuyama:
“I’m happy to be able to fight in my home town and in such a big promotion. There are several Shoot Boxers fighting on this card so I hope all of us can represent our sport well. But I plan to stand out more than anybody. My opponent has a bigger name and longer career than me, but I hope to give him hell and knock him out.”
Shota Takiya:
“I want to be like Goku from Dragonball and continue to evolve as a fighter. I am very much looking forward to be fighting in such a promotion like RIZIN. And me being picked for the first fight, I feel obligated to kick off the event with a boom. My kicks are great and I would like to knock my opponent out with my kicks.”
Syuto Sato:
“I feel great and I am ready to knock my opponent out anytime. I’m going to leave a mark in RIZIN’s kickboxing division by winning in spectacular fashion in the 1st round. RIZIN has put on 5 kickboxing fights for this event so I feel obligated to show the world that kickboxing is an exciting sport.”
Check out the full card below, and stay locked to MMASucka for pre, post, and live event coverage. Per usual.
Yusuke Yachi vs Luiz Gustavo
Yuki Motoya vs Kazuma Sone
Kiichi Kunimoto vs Ryuichiro Sumimura
KING Reina vs Kaitlin Young
Taiki Naito vs Hannyo Hashimoto
Hatsu Hioki vs Mikuru Asakura
Roque Martinez vs Kiyoshi Kuwabara
Kaito vs Sho Ogawa
Kanako Murata vs Angela Magana
Ryuki vs Naoya
Shintaro Matsukura vs Takahiro Okuyama
Shota Takiya vs Syuto Sato
