At yesterday’s press conference RIZIN Fighting Federation CEO, Nobuyuki Sakakibara has announced more fights for the RIZIN 33, which will be held on December 31 in Saitama. This time popular names from the entertainment world were chosen, although not necessarily having much relation to MMA or combat sports in general. Sakakibara stated that more matchups would be announced as we’re getting closer to New Year’s Eve.
A few days earlier it was announced that Youtube personality Atsushi “Shibatar” Saito will square off against former K-1 champion, Yuta Kubo (0 – 1). Shibatar returns after a year-long hiatus and his last fight took place on lats NYE. It was a mixed rules bout with one round being a kickboxing fight and the second an MMA fight and it was one of the most-watched attractions at RIZIN 26. Kubo is a Glory and K – 1 veteran, who won tournaments in three different weight classes. He made his MMA debut at RIZIN 30, where he lost to the world wrestling champion, Shinobu Ocie. One of the most memorable things about this fight was the vocal performance of Ocie’s wife, who sang his entrance theme falsifying at the same time.
Another well-known name is Kota Miura. He’s the son of Japanese soccer legend, Kazuyoshi Miura better known under his nickname, ‘King Kazu’. Despite being 54 years old, he still plays soccer professionally and what’s more interesting he’s a real-life inspiration for Tsubasa Ohzora, a protagonist of the famous anime series ‘Captain Tsubasa’. Now the time has come for his son to make his debut in professional sports. His opponent will be YUSHI, a former bodybuilder and a Youtuber focused on various fitness topics. He has some fighting experience as he fought in street MMA bouts. The match will be contested under special rules with elbows and soccer kicks being allowed. Stomps and knees to the head of the grounded opponent will be prohibited. The fight will be 3 rounds, 3 minutes each.
The aforementioned wrestling world champion and Olympic silver medalist, Ota, also will fight at the upcoming event. His opponent will be an experienced fighter, Kazuma Sone. He is both MMA and kickboxing veteran, who has fought at Krush events and challenged for the Shooto belt. His most notable win was against Teruto Ishihara in Shooto, which took place shortly after his release from the UFC.
Rena Kubota will be in action at NYE, as she will fight Si Woo Park. Kubota’s last fight took place in November at RIZIN 32, where she defeated Miyy Yamamoto. She didn’t suffer any injures, so she’s ready to get back to action. The Korean fighter has been living and training in Japan for quite some time infamous Krazy Bee gym. In her native country, she trains at MAD gym in Busan alongside the former RIZIN champion Seo Hee Ham, UFC’s Doo Ho Choi, and the ONE champion Rae Yoon Ok.
Featured Image courtesy of RIZIN’s official Twitter
