RIZIN is returning to its home arena, the famous Saitama Super Arena, for RIZIN 24. All fighters made weight and 11 fights in total are expected to go down. There will be eight MMA fights and three kickboxing matches. This is one of the most diverse cards RIZIN has put on this year with a mix of kickboxing, two fighters making their pro debuts, a number of important lightweight matches, and other potentially exciting matchups.
In the main event, undefeated kickboxing sensation Tenshin Nasukawa (35-0, 27KO) will take one of the top 132-pound kickboxers, Koji (28-13, 10 KO). Koji is a former fighter from K-1 who made major news signing with RIZIN this year. Tenshin has made easy work of all his kickboxing competition in RIZIN but given Koji’s credentials, he might actually prove to be competitive for Tenshin.
In the co-main event, newly crowned RIZIN bantamweight champion Kai Asakura (15-2) will take on veteran Shoji (18-12-1) in a non-title match. Asakura is fresh of his win over Hiromasa Ougikubo a little over a month ago. The match saw Asakura capture the vacant title with a finish in the first round. Shoji has been fighting since 2005 and was the first King of Pancrase lightweight title. He is riding a two-fight win streak.
Making her return to the RIZIN ring, shootboxing champion RENA (10-3) takes on accomplished grappler Emi Tomimatsu (15-16) in a strawweight match. RENA is a RIZIN fan favorite due to the devasting way she finishes her opponents, many by body punch. Tomimatsu has been an omnipresent face in Japanese women’s MMA since 2006. She has fought in Shoot, Jewels, DEEP Jewels, and ROAD FC. This is her RIZIN debut and she has never been finished by KO/TKO except once due to injury in between rounds.
One fight that sticks out among the rest will be the pro debuts of a former sumo wrestler vs. a pro wrestler. Tsuyoshi Sudario, a high ranking sumo, will take on former All Japan Pro Wrestling tag team champion Dylan James. The expectations of this fight are unknown but this has the making to be a fight that could go down as the most memorable or infamous on the card.
Check out our initial coverage of the announcement of Tenshin Nasukawa vs. Koji.
RIZIN 24 airs live from the Saitama Super Arena Sunday, September 27 at 2:30 am EST. To watch RIZIN 24, go to RIZIN Live, RIZIN’s official streaming platform. The cost of the show is around $50 USD.
RIZIN 24 Results:
(Kickboxing) Tenshin Nasukawa def. Koji via unanimous decision
Kai Asakura def. Shoji via TKO (punches and soccer kick) at 2:37 in the 1st round
Koji Takeda def. Yuki Kawana via split decision
Takasuke Kume def. Satoru Kitaoka via split decision
(Kickboxing) Taishi Hiratsuka def. Yuki Kitagawa via KO (punch) at :27 of the 2nd round
Kenta Takizawa def. Yuto “Kintaro” Hokamura via split decision
RENA def. Emi Tomimatsu via unanimous decision
Takahiro Ashida def. Kyohei Hagiwara via submission (omoplata) at 4:25 of the 1st round
Sudario Tsuyoshi def. Dylan James via TKO (doctor stoppage) at 3:00 of the 1st round
(Kickboxing) Mutsuki Ebata def. Rasta via unanimous decision
Juri Ohara def. Yusuke Yachi via split decision
