Former
Rizin Fighting Federation featherweight champion Vugar
Karamov made a triumphant return to the cage and needed just 28
seconds to dispatch of opponent Kazumasa
Majima in the main event of Rizin
FF: Landmark Vol. 10 on Saturday in Nagoya, Japan. Karamov
dropped Majima with a right hook seconds into the fight and
finished him with punches and elbows on the ground for a crucial
victory that put him back in the title hunt.

Karamov (20-5, 6-2 Rizin), who lost his featherweight title one
year ago at Landmark Vol. 7, was forced out of competition for most
of 2024 after being jailed for “hooliganism” in his native
Azerbaijan earlier this year. Saturday’s comeback fight was an
important one for the 32-year-old, and he made a statement with his
quick destruction of Majima (17-6, 3-5 Rizin), who had won three of
his past four fights. Following his quick win, Karamov issued
challenges to current Rizin champion Chihiro
Suzuki, who defeated Karamov in November 2023, and Kleber
Koike Erbst. Suzuki and Koike vie for the championship next
month at Rizin FF 49: Decade, and Karamov will be hoping that he is
next in line to challenge the victor.

In the co-main event, former two-time Rizin women’s super
atomweight champion Ayaka
Hamasaki employed a nasty kimura to submit onetime
Road FC titleholder Yu Ri Shim
in their 108-pound contest. Hamasaki (25-6, 11-4 Rizin), who had
been sidelined with an injury earlier this year, showed no ill
effects from her lengthy layoff tonight and she quickly took Shim
(6-5, 0-2 Rizin) down with a leg-sweep takedown early in their
fight. Shim battled back to her feet she fared well with straight
right hands and two quick combinations of punches.

Shim’s success on the feet was short-lived and Hamasaki immediately
worked for a takedown in the second stanza. Shim reversed it, and
she took Hamasaki’s back, but Hamasaki latched on to Shim’s arm in
the process and rolled through with a kimura. She wrenched Shim’s
arm behind her back and forced the South Korean fighter to tap out
at the 1:15 mark of Round 2.

Hamasaki entered tonight’s bout in need of an impressive win after
dropping three of her past four fights, including two to current
undefeated Rizin champion Seika
Izawa, and she got just that by submitting the tough and game
Shim. At 42, Hamasaki hopes to make another run at the Rizin title
that was previously hers, but it remains to be seen whether she
will be granted another shot while the belt is still held by
Izawa.

In bantamweight action, Ryusei
Ashizawa picked up his second straight win by stopping veteran
Shoji
Maruyama with a knee to the body early in the second round.
Ashizawa (2-1, 2-1 Rizin) established his jab in the first round
and he used it to prevent the shorter Maruyama (17-18-1, 1-5 Rizin)
from getting into punching range. Maruyama did land some solid leg
kicks, but Ashizawa was the better striker and Maruyama wasn’t able
to shift momentum in the round until he scored a takedown in the
final minute.

The second round devolved into a brawl almost immediately, with
both men throwing and landing looping punches, and Ashizawa backed
Maruyama up to the cage with a flurry. He then dashed forward with
a knee to Maruyama’s midsection that crumpled the 41-year-old and
ended the fight at the 1:05 mark of Round 2.

Tsuyoshi
Kamiyama – better known as “Sudario” – sliced open the forehead
of opponent Hisaki Kato
with an elbow to earn a third-round doctor stoppage in their
heavyweight contest tonight. Kamiyama (9-3, 9-3 Rizin) weathered
early body kicks from his opponent and took over as the first round
progressed and Kato (8-4, 1-1 Rizin) began to fatigue. He stunned
Kato with two hard punches early in the second round and later took
him down, where Kamiyama landed a slashing elbow to the top of
Kato’s forehead just before the round came to a close. The cageside
doctor checked on Kato between rounds and allowed him to continue
fighting, but the cut became even worse after Kamiyama targeted it
with punches and Kato’s face was a bloody mess. The doctor waved
off the fight at the 1:11 mark of the third and final round, giving
Kamiyama the TKO victory.

Opening up the main card, highly touted 18-year-old prospect
Kyoma
Akimoto remained undefeated by taking a well-deserved unanimous
decision win over Rizin mainstay Hiroaki
Suzuki at featherweight. Akimoto (7-0, 2-0 Rizin) scored a
body-lock takedown early in the fight and he spent a large portion
of round one pummeling Suzuki (4-5, 4-5 Rizin) with punches and
elbows on the ground. During the second round, the commentators
noted that Akimoto has been training boxing since the age of four,
and he showcased his skills by repeatedly snapping Suzuki’s head
back with jabs and straight lefts. Suzuki responded with leg kicks
but his offense was limited. During the final round, Akimoto took
Suzuki down three times and he stood over him while landing
punches. The bout went to the scorecards and all three judges sided
with Akimoto for the teen’s seventh pro win.

During the middle portion of tonight’s event, former Road to UFC
semifinalist Kyung Pyo
Kim (14-5, 3-1 Rizin) halted the five-fight winning streak held
by Daigo
Kuramoto (6-2, 0-1 Rizin) when he stopped Kuramoto with elbows
and punches at the 3:59 mark of Round 1 at lightweight; Yuki Ito
(17-5, 7-1 Rizin) extended his run of consecutive wins to four by
pinning down Jung Hyun
Lee (4-3, 0-2 Rizin) and finishing him with elbows at the 2:59
mark of Round 3 in their flyweight matchup; also at flyweight,
Hiroya
Kondo (9-13-1, 2-3 Rizin) took a well-deserved unanimous
decision win over Yuya
Shibata (19-8, 1-1 Rizin); Tony
Laramie (10-2, 1-0 Rizin) kicked off his Rizin flyweight career
with an impressive unanimous decision victory against Yutaro
Muramoto (12-9-2, 2-4 Rizin); Magerram
Gasanzade (10-0, 1-0 Rizin) remained undefeated and won a
unanimous decision over Rikuto
Shirakawa (12-10-1, 3-4 Rizin) at bantamweight; Alan
Yamaniha (22-11-4, 5-2 Rizin) rallied back after a strong first
round from underdog opponent Seigo
Yamamoto (7-13-1, 0-2 Rizin) and submitted Yamamoto with a
rear-naked choke at the 3:07 mark of Round 2 in their bantamweight
bout; and Alibek
Gadzhammatov (5-0, 1-0 Rizin) used knees and punches to halt
Daichi
Kitakata (20-13-1, 2 NC; 1-3 Rizin) at the 3:20 mark of Round 1
at flyweight.

On the preliminary card, Taito
Kubota (14-6, 1-0 Rizin) survived submission scares in the
first round of his bantamweight bout against Junya
Hibino (7-5, 1-2 Rizin) and scored a TKO stoppage 26 seconds
into Round 2; Masashi
Inada (4-2, 1-0 Rizin) forced Katsuyoshi
Sasaki (6-9-1, 1 NC; 0-1 Rizin) to submit to a straight armbar
just 98 seconds into their heavyweight contest; Sho
Hiramatsu (7-5, 1-0 Rizin) cut featherweight foe Daisuke
Tatsumi (19-12, 0-1 Rizin) with an elbow that led to a doctor
stoppage at the 2:53 mark of Round 2; and Jin scored a unanimous
decision victory over Toshizou in a 121-pound kickboxing match.

IMAK ADMIN

By IMAK ADMIN

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