This Saturday, Rizin has its first show outside of Japan. Rizin Landmark 7 will be live from the National Gymnastics Arena in Baku, Azerbaijan. 10 fights will round out the card and will see returning fighters such as Tofiq Musayev taking on Rizin stalwart Koji Takeda. A last-minute replacement fight is happening at 132 lbs. as returning flyweight Mehman Mamedov faces Ferit Göktepe. The main event features Rizin featherweight champion Vugar Karamov defending the title against the always-exciting Chihiro Suzuki. Let’s look at some of the fights that will be featured.
Vugar Karamov vs. Chihiro Suzuki
Vugar Karamov (19-4) has been a dominant force in Rizin. All his wins have been uncontested affairs going 5-1 in the promotion. His one loss was a very close fight. Karamov doesn’t come to brawl but instead looks to control the fight through grappling that wears down his opponent. His finishes in Rizin have been all by submission. He became champion after easily defeating Mikuru Asakura at Super Rizin 2.
Chihiro Suzuki (11-3) has become an unsung hero in Rizin. First an MMA fighter, he then went into kickboxing, then came back into MMA. Despite losing his first fight in the promotion (also his MMA return), he has gone on undefeated in the promotion. Without a doubt, his most memorable win to date was a short-notice knockout over the Bellator featherweight champion at Super Rizin 2 this year. The fight was made on a few day’s notice and Suzuki defied the odds defeating the veteran Pitbull. He has some of the strongest striking in the division and has a “never say die” attitude. Even when losing, he maintains great composure and comes forward to fight back.
Tofiq Musayev vs. Koji Takeda
Tofiq Musayev (21-5) was Rizin’s first signed fighter from Azerbaijan. In Rizin, he won the 2019 Lightweight Grand Prix, scored one of the most memorable knockouts in his Bellator debut against Sidney Outlaw, and made a return to Rizin this year with a knockout over Akira. He likes to overwhelm his opponents with his striking and grappling. He has an astounding 17 KO/TKO wins out of 21.
Koji Takeda (15-5) has become a fan favorite after his beginnings in Rizin were marred by very grindy, boring fights. A grappler, Takeda is a former Deep lightweight champion and is well known for using suplexes in his fights. He has one of the strongest armbars and kimuras when it comes to finishing opponents. He has an unlimited gas tank.
Anastasiya Svetkivska vs. Farida Abdueva
Anastasiya Svetkivska (2-2) is the winner of the 2019 IMMAF 115 lb. championship. She was a part of Rizin’s AW Grand Prix last year. Despite being eliminated by Rena in the opening rounds, she managed to injure Rena during the fight. Rena was not able to continue in the tournament so Svetkivska got an opportunity to take on Seika Izawa as a replacement. Again, even though she lost, she put up a valiant effort. She brings to her fights a strong grappling pedigree.
Farida Abdueva (2-0) from Kyrgyzstan is making her Rizin debut. Despite only having 2 professional fights she looks like a natural bringing precise and volume-heavy striking and solid grappling.
Rizin Landmark 7 is available on Fite live with English commentary with a special start time at 9 a.m. ET/6 a.m. PT.
Full Card
Vugar Karamov (c) vs. Chihiro Suzuki for the Rizin featherweight championship
Tofiq Musayev vs. Koji Takeda
Nariman Abbasov vs. Ali Abdulkhalikov
Mehman Mamedov vs. Ferit Göktepe
Tural Ragimov vs. Kyung Pyo Kim
Anastasiya Svetkivska vs. Farida Abdueva
Jaures Dea vs. Ilkhom Nazimov
Iliyar Askhanov vs. Vladislav Rudnev
Quentin Domingos vs. Shota Betlemidze
Hasan Mezhiev vs. Konstantin Merkulov
