Mayweather Destroys Asakura, Kyoji Horiguchi Chokes Out ‘Kintaro’ in Rizin Doubleheader

By Martial Arts Videos September 25, 2022
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It took a little over two rounds for Mikuru
Asakura to learn the same lesson his countryman and Rizin FF stablemate Tenshin
Nasukawa did back on New Year’s Eve 2018: An exhibition against
Floyd
Mayweather is exactly as serious as you make it.

In the main event of the Super Rizin card that formed half of a
doubleheader with Rizin 38 on Saturday at Saitama Super Arena in
Saitama, Japan, the undefeated boxing legend was content to move
and trade jabs and three-quarter-speed body shots with the Rizin
featherweight contender for most of the first round. Late in that
round, Asakura dialed up the intensity, leading to some awkward
collisions and a clean head shot or two landed on Mayweather. At
that point, Mayweather flipped a switch, stinging Asakura with
several hard shots before the round expired.

Round 2 opened up with both men looking to score, and Mayweather
made things look like child’s play. After several unblocked head
shots, the 45-year-old great finished things with a final left to
the face that dropped Asakura to his seat in a daze as the round
expired, prompting referee Kenny Bayless to call a halt to the
proceedings. Asakura’s MMA record remains unchanged at 16-3;
Mayweather remains a perfect 50-0 as a professional boxer, even as
he continues to extend his lifetime earnings with another
exhibition win.

Horiguchi Chokes Out ‘Kintaro’

Kyoji
Horiguchi may have had a rough patch in Bellator MMA over the last year, but he served notice
to Rizin’s bantamweights that he is still the man
to beat.

Horiguchi (29-5) bounced back from back-to-back losses against
Sergio
Pettis and Patrick Mix
in the Bellator cage with a win over Yuto
Hokamura in the Rizin 38 headliner on Saturday night. He may
have reestablished his supremacy over the division with the
second-round submission of “Kintaro,” but the win was not without
adversity.

The opening round saw Hokamura drop Horiguchi with a clean left
hand while countering a flying knee, a favor that Horiguchi
returned with a knockdown of his own later in the round. Horiguchi
landed a sensational double-leg takedown early in Round 2, and from
there he truly went to work. He moved to half guard, set up and
arm-triangle choke and applied a crushing squeeze. After a few
tense seconds of struggle, Horiguchi insisted to referee Masato
Fukuda that Hokamura was unconscious, and it proved to be true,
as the champ hopped up to celebrate while his fallen opponent was
attended by medical staff and cornermen.

Super Atomweight Semifinals: Izawa Taps out Svetkivska

A thrown-together matchup ended in a rousing fight, as Rizin super
atomweight champ Seika Izawa
met Anastasiya
Svetkivska—who lost to Rena Kubota
in the quarterfinals but replaced her when Kubota withdrew with an
injury—in the first tournament semifinal. The Ukrainian’s
advantages in height and reach availed her little on the feet, as
Izawa changed levels within the first 30 seconds and took her down
with ease. Izawa went to work immediately, but Svetkivska survived
and then some, wrapping the champ up in her spidery guard and
keeping her on the defensive with constant positional changes and
submission attempts. By the end of the round Svetkivska was the
clear aggressor despite having spent nearly the entire five minutes
on her back. They picked up right where they left off in Round 2,
going to the mat right away and engaging in a furious series of
scrambles and transitions. Late in the round, Izawa held Svetkivska
in a loose triangle, then transitioned to an armbar at the
10-second warning, cranking for the tap just moments before the
bell. The finish came officially at 4:56, leaving Izawa undefeated
at 8-0, while Svetkivska falls to 2-2 but may actually have
elevated her stock in defeat. With the win, Izawa is set for a
finals rematch with Si Woo Park, who earned her berth immediately
prior.

Super Atomweight Semifinals: Park Batters Hamasaki

In the first grand prix semifinal, Si Woo Park
(9-4) used speed, power and excellent takedown defense to bust up
Ayaka
Hamasaki (24-6) on the way to a unanimous decision. A tense
first round was characterized by Hamasaki’s attempts to bring the
fight to the ground, which were unsuccessful outside of a few brief
moments, in contrast to Park’s quick counter punching and effective
low kicks. The same dynamic held true in Round 2, but the momentum
seemed to be swinging gradually in favor of the Korean, especially
after a flurry before the bell that left Hamasaki stumbling. There
was no question of momentum in the final round, however, as Park
dropped Hamasaki with a big right cross in the first minute.
Hamasaki scrambled to her feet immediately, but the slow-motion
rout was on: Park eluded Hamasaki with increasing ease, while
smashing her lead leg and damaging one arm with strikes. The
“Korean Queen Bee” will carry a four-fight win streak into the
tournament final, while longtime atomweight queen and
pound-for-pound stalwart Hamasaki finds herself at age 40 on a 1-3
stretch in her last four.

Kim Upsets Ougikubo

In his Rizin debut, Road FC two-division champion Soo Chul
Kim announced himself as an immediate person of interest,
defeating Rizin bantamweight tournament winner Hiromasa
Ougikubo. After a back-and-forth first frame, Kim nearly
shocked the world in Round 2, as he staggered Ougikubo badly with
punches, then followed up with a soccer kick and a series of knees
to the head that had the referee looking on closely. Ougikubo
survived, but with his face swelling badly enough to warrant a
visit from the ringside physician, he had his work cut out for him.
The rest of the round was largely Kim’s as well, as he took
Ougikubo down twice, stayed busy on the ground and gave Ougikubo
little chance to get off any offense of his own. The final frame
offered more of the same, as Kim was simply too big, too strong and
too good for the longtime Japanese standout. After being awarded
the decision win, Kim (18-6-1; 1-0 Rizin) finds himself in line for
a possible fight with Kai Asakura
for supremacy in his new promotion; Ougikubo falls to 25-6-2 and
sees a five-fight win streak snapped in defeat.

Shibisai Makes Quick Work of “Callyugibrainn”

In the lone heavyweight bout of the evening, Shoma
Shibisai made things look easy against
Callyugibrainn Marinho Borges de Oliveira. A few early punch
exchanges were inconclusive, but Shibisai soon changed levels for a
takedown, and once he brought the Brazilian to the canvas, the rest
was academic. Shibisai took his foe’s back within seconds, cinched
up a rear-naked choke against nearly no resistance, and
“Callyugibrainn” was tapping the mat almost immediately. The quick
finish gives Shibisai (9-3, 1 NC; 5-2 Rizin) his second straight
victory inside the distance; de Oliveira falls to 5-2.

Suzuki Strangles Hagiwara

Chihiro
Suzuki took the path of least resistance, exploiting Kyohei
Hagiwara’s deficiencies on the ground en route to a
second-round submission win in their featherweight feature. A
spirited first round featured some sharp kicks by both men,
including calf kicks from Hagiwara that had Suzuki looking
compromised almost immediately. However, once they hit the mat in
the middle of the round, Suzuki began to take control, and a
belly-to-back suplex in the closing seconds set the tone for the
remainder of the fight. Suzuki took Hagiwara down quickly in Round
2, and after a series of grappling exchanges, took his opponent’s
back and applied a rear-naked choke. Hagiwara was tapping within
seconds, and referee Tomoki Matsumiya jumped in for the stop at 2
minutes, 14 seconds. With the win, his third straight since
dropping his Rizin debut a year ago, Suzuki goes to 8-3 overall;
Hagiwara (6-7) suffers his third consecutive loss.

Dos Santos Swarms on Ohara

Returning to action after over two years away from the ring,
Luiz
Gustavo Felix dos Santos made up for lost time, needing just 83
seconds to leave Juri Ohara
prone on the canvas in the lightweight opener. Dos Santos came
forward immediately with his customary aggression, and after some
early attempts to force a more measured striking battle, Ohara made
the fateful choice to oblige him. From there, the end was not long
in coming, as dos Santos rocked Ohara with a sweeping right hook
reminiscent of his idol, Wanderlei
Silva, then followed up with a torrent of lefts and rights
until Ohara was on the floor and referee Minoru Tonoyaga was forced
to intervene. The quick and brutal stoppage leaves the 26-year-old
“Killer” at 11-2 overall, 3-2 in Rizin, and gets him back on track
after his New Year’s Eve 2019 loss to Patricky
Freire and subsequent lengthy layoff.

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