Rizin
Fighting Federation 42 will feature some of the promotion’s top
stars as well as some familiar faces from other organizations.
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The Japanese promotion recently announced the lineup for the May 6
card, which will take place at Ariake Arena in Tokyo and is
headlined by a bantamweight clash between Kai Asakura
and Yuki
Motoya.
In other featured bouts, two-time UFC veteran Naoki Inoue
will face former Bellator bantamweight champion Juan
Archuleta; reigning Rizin lightweight kingpin Roberto
Satoshi de Souza will square off against former UFC and
Bellator competitor Spike
Carlyle; Rizin super atomweight champ Seika Izawa
will meet Miyuu
Yamamoto and ex-UFC flyweight title challenger John Dodson
will lock horns with Tatsuki
Saomoto.
As it currently stands, no titles will be on the line at Rizin
42.
Asakura, a former Rizin 135-pound champ, is coming off a loss to
Hiromasa
Ougikubo in the promotion’s one-night bantamweight tournament
in December. Motoya, meanwhile, has won five straight under the
Rizin banner — including a second-round KO of UFC vet Rogerio
Bontorin on New Year’s Eve.
Inoue has won seven of his last eight professional appearances,
including a second-round submission of Kenta
Takizawa in his last outing at the Rizin vs. Bellator event.
Archuleta represented Bellator at the cross-promotional event,
where he took a split decision triumph over Soo Chul
Kim.
Satoshi had a five-bout winning streak snapped at Bellator vs.
Rizin, as he dropped a unanimous verdict to former Bellator
featherweight champ A.J. McKee.
Carlyle saw a five-bout winning streak come to an end in his last
outing at Bellator 286, where he also fell to McKee via unanimous
decision.
Izawa is undefeated in nine professional outings and last appeared
at Bellator vs. Rizin, where she edge Si Woo Park
via split decision. The 48-year-old Yamamoto has lost four of her
last five fights with Rizin.
Dodson has been alternating appearances between Rizin and BKFC,
most recently stopping Jarod Grant in the first round of their
encounter at Knuckle Mania. Saomoto, meanwhile, has won 14
consecutive fights, a streak that dates back to 2016.