With the formalities out of the way, the 2022 Rizin Fighting Federation atomweight grand prix
is ready to begin!
Rizin returns to the iconic Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan,
for an exciting card on Sunday morning. The upcoming Rizin
37 card will feature the much-anticipated quarterfinal battles
in the women’s 108-pound tourney. All eight women entering the
tournament made weight ahead of their assignments, as well as the
remaining combatants on the card.
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The event is headlined by a clash between current Rizin super
atomweight titleholder Seika
Izawa, who will lock horns with Maria
Laura Alves Fontoura. Izawa, who is also the current Deep Jewels 115-pound champion, shocked the mixed
martial arts world when she stopped former divisional queen
Ayaka
Hamasaki with elbows and punches in their Rizin 33 non-title
matchup. In the subsequent rematch at Rizin 35, Izawa dominated
Hamasaki to capture the divisional belt on the scorecards. In this
tourney, Izawa will not be putting her belt on the line; if she
does not win it all, she may be facing the victor of the grand prix
in her next title defense. Izawa and Fontoura had no issues on the
scales, as both contestants weighed 107 pounds exactly.
In the co-headliner, Hamasaki takes on Ultimate Fighting Championship alum and fellow
WMMA pioneer Jessica
Aguilar. The 40-year-old Hamasaki is looking to bounce back
following back-to-back defeats at the hands of Izawa. On the other
side, Aguilar is aiming to notch her first victory since July 2018.
Making the fight official, Hamasaki weighted 107.7 pounds, while
“Jag” came in at 106.6 pounds.
Rizin 37 streams live to Internet pay-per-view at 12 a.m. ET/9 p.m.
PT on Sunday.
Rizin 37 Weigh-in Results:
Seika
Izawa (107) vs. Maria
Laura Alves Fontoura (107)
Ayaka
Hamasaki (107.7) vs. Jessica
Aguilar (106.6)
Hideo
Tokoro (125) vs. Makoto
Takahashi (125.7)
Johnny
Case (158.8) vs. Koji Takeda
(158.5)
Kota
Miura (144.2) vs. Felipe
Masoni (145.3)
Kanna
Asakura (107.7) vs. Si Woo Park
(107.7)
Rena
Kubota (107.7) vs. Anastasiya
Svetkivska (107.7)
Hideki
Sekine (258.5) vs. Tsuyoshi
Kamiyama (259)
Yuki
Motoya (134.2) vs. Shinobu Ota
(134.3)
Tetsuya
Seki (150) vs. Yoshiki
Nakahara (148.5)
Marcos
Yoshio Souza (175.5) vs. Daichi Abe
(176.1)
Vugar
Karamov (145) vs. Sora
Yamamoto (145.3)
Yushi
Sakura (135.7) vs. Takeru
Sudo (136.1)