Break out your caffeine (if you’re on the east coast) and nachos because tonight Rizin returns to the airwaves with Rizin 27. Live from the Nippon Gaishi Hall in Nagoya, Japan, Rizin 27 has 14 fights (four kickboxing and 10 MMA) on an already packed fight weekend. While this was initially supposed to be their Tokyo Dome show, the card is packed with big names, regional favorites, and debutantes.
Rizin 27 Results
In the main event, two-time super atomweight champion Ayaka Hamasaki defends the title against familiar foe Kanna Asakura. This is their second outing, with the first time Hamasaki submitting Asakura with an armbar. Despite these two not being trash talkers, there have been some biting comments toward one another.
“I think Asakura has grown since we last fought, but so have I, which means nothing will change in tomorrow’s fight. I think she’s a bit agitated because of my comments and she’s going to bring it so I expect a fun fight,” Hamasaki said at the weigh-ins.
“I have evolved very much in the past two years, and if she takes me lightly, she will be in for a surprise,” Asakura commented. “I am the main event so I want to put on a fight that will make people happy.”
In the co-main event, two former Quintet teammates will go at it with Roberto “Satoshi” de Souza taking on the Rizin debuting Kazuki Tokudome in a lightweight match. Neither fighter is letting their past get in the way of a winner.
“I don’t care if my opponent has experience all over the world,” de Souza said. “I want to prove that Rizin has the best fighters. Wherever they come from, Rizin fighters will win.”
Tokudome said he is not afraid of the BJJ champion’s grappling. “I’m not too worried about his ground. I know my capabilities and I am confident that I can hang with the best.”
In a fight that has the potential to be the meme fight of the weekend with the unfortunate cancellation of the Bombardier/Mariusz Pudzianowski, will see the return of the undefeated heavyweight Tsuyoshi Sudario taking on debuting former All Japan Pro Wrestler Kazushi Miyamoto.
“I really want to show what I’ve been working on but I’m not sure if this opponent will let me show what I can really do. I hope he can push me to the edge,” Sudario said.
“I will fight to give hope to the people who still suffer from the tsunami that happened 10 years ago,” Miyamoto said. “I came from a town that was close to the nuclear plant and I want those people to not give up on life. My challenge is their challenge.”
Not everything went as planned as one fighter didn’t make weight. Riki Sakurai weighed in at 65.95kg for his 64kg kickboxing match against Riku Yoshida. He will start the fight with minus two points and if he wins it will be declared a no contest. Sakurai still didn’t hold back his words.
“I’m a professional brawler and my opponent is an MMA fighter making his kickboxing debut. I would like to make sure he would never want to kickbox again.”
Rizin 27 will air live on Live-Now with English commentary Sunday, March 21 at 1 AM EST. You can buy the show here for $24.99.
Check out our preview of some of the fights on the show here.
Check out our write-up of the announcement of the main event here.
Follow along with MMASucka as we provide you with the results throughout Rizin 27.
Start time on LIVENow (1 a.m. ET/10 p.m. PT)
Ayaka Hamasaki (c) def. Kanna Asakura to retain the super atomweight championship via split decision
Roberto Satoshi Souza def. Kazuki Tokudome via submission (triangle choke) in 1:44 in Round 1
Koji Takeda def. Takasuke Kume via unanimous decision
Kleber Koike def. Kazumasa Majima via submission (triangle choke) in Round 2
Tsuyoshi Sudario def. Kazushi Miyamoto via KO (punch) in 0:06 in Round 1
Taiga def. Kanta Motoyama (kickboxing) via unanimous decision (30-28,30-27,30-27)
Yoshinori Horie def. Tetsuya Seki via KO (punch) in 1:16 in Round 3
Shian def. Kazuma Sone via KO (punch) in 0:27 in Round 1
Shooto Watanabe def. Takumi Tamaru via submission (neck crank) in 4:13 in Round 2
Yutaro Muramoto def. Seigo Yamamoto via TKO (punches) in Round 1
Syuto Sato vs. Masayoshi Kunimoto (kickboxing) ended in a draw (29-28,29-29,29-29)
Riki Sakurai vs. Riku Yoshida (kickboxing) ended in a no contest (originally a KO win for Sakurai but ruled a no-contest due to Sakurai missing weight)
Ryota Naito def. Hiroki (kickboxing) via unanimous decision (30-28,30-28,30-27)
Yuki Ito def. Kohei Sugiyama via KO (punch) in 0:33 in Round 1
