／
Yogibo presents
#RIZIN33
＼：12.31(金) 14:00開始(予定)
：さいたまスーパーアリーナ
：https://t.co/ulXsBcdRdOチケット一般発売 12.12(日)10:00~
フジテレビ系列全国放送
：12.31(金) 18:00~#大晦日
#フジテレビ pic.twitter.com/cVBWZlFQ4R— RIZIN FF OFFICIAL (@rizin_PR)
December 9, 2021
Fans of Rizin Fighting Federation can breathe a sigh of
relief as the traditional New Year’s Eve show in Japan is going big
again.
Per a press release from the league on Thursday morning, Rizin has
made official a number of matches expected to take place on
Rizin
33 on Dec. 31. In an announcement press conference helmed by
Rizin head Nobuyuki Sakakibara, the travel ban implemented in Japan
will allow for international competitors coming to the country
until the year’s end. Additionally, the Saitama Super Arena will be
allowed to fill to full capacity, up from the 50% past Rizin shows
had been permitted by the government.
“We have been officially told that international athletes will be
able to enter the country until December 30th,” Sakakibara
explained in the release, “so we have been in the process of making
major changes to the card. These [COVID] times have been quite
challenging but with the staff and fighters’ support, we have been
able to put together some great cards.”
He continued, “We are also happy to announced that we will be
allowed to put on an event at 100% capacity for the NYE show, so we
expect about 25,000 in attendance. NYE in Japan has always been
something special for the fight fans in Japan, and the ‘fight expo’
has always taken a big part of it. We haven’t been able to do our
fight expos since the pandemic, but I am happy to announced that we
will hold the fight expo during the day time for December
31st.”
Several fights had already been booked or under consideration for
this year-end show, and the release made 10 matches official. The
promotion will end its bantamweight grand prix with the semifinals,
and its finals will serve as the last fight of the night. The other
major attraction comes in the form of a lightweight championship
affair pitting champ Roberto de
Souza (12-1) against Rizin staple Yusuke
Yachi (23-11). Whether other belts will be on the line remains
to be seen, although there will be a non-title bout featuring one
reigning champ earlier on the card.
Souza has yet to go the distance as a pro, let alone reach the
third frame across 13 fights. The Brazilian out of Japan has not
competed beyond the nine-minute mark of a pro MMA bout, with twice
as many submissions to his credit as knockouts. Souza claimed the
throne by tapping Tofiq
Musayev with a triangle choke in June in 72 seconds. His
opponent Yachi ended a losing skid this year by winning decisions
over Yuki Kawana
and Koji Takeda
to earn his first crack at Rizin gold.
Rizin 33 Card Lineup:
Semifinalist 1 vs. Semifinalist 2 – bantamweight final
Roberto de
Souza vs. Yusuke
Yachi – lightweight title
Mikuru
Asakura vs. Yutaka
Saito – featherweight
Ayaka
Hamasaki vs. Seika Izawa
– 108-pound catchweight
Kyohei
Hagiwara vs. Hiroaki
Suzuki – featherweight
Koji
Takeda vs. Noah Bey –
lightweight
Shoma
Shibisai vs. Hideki
Sekine – heavyweight
Kai
Asakura vs. Kenta
Takizawa – bantamweight semifinal
Hiromasa
Ougikubo vs. Naoki Inoue
– bantamweight semifinal
Yuki
Motoya vs. Yuto
Hokamura – bantamweight alternate