Former
Rizin Fighting Federation featherweight champion Vugar
Karamov proved that he is no steppingstone and held off the
challenge of a highly-touted prospect on Saturday in the main event
of Rizin „Landmark Vol. 11“ in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. Karamov earned
a unanimous decision victory over 25-year-old Shuya
Kimura, who had previously knocked out each of his five
opponents within the first 76 seconds.

Early in the opening round, Karamov (21-6, 7-3 Rizin) hopped on the
back of Kimura (5-1, 0-1 Rizin) and threatened with the first of
several face cranks that he attempted throughout the fight. Kimura
defended well and he reversed position into Karamov’s guard after
Karamov dragged him down to the mat. Kimura stood over his opponent
and landed some decent punches to Karamov’s face. A subsequent
Karamov takedown led to nothing and the round came to an end in a
clinch on the feet.

Karamov tried for another face crank in the second round and he
kept his opponent tied up in clinches while kneeing Kimura’s
thighs. It was more of the same in the final round and Kimura again
had to fight off a tight face crank followed by multiple takedowns
from the more experienced Karamov. Kimura’s defense was solid, but
his offensive output was severely limited after the first round and
that was a key factor for the judges. All three scored the fight in
favor of Karamov for a well-deserved win.

In the lightweight co-main event, Yoshinori
Horie (14-5, 5-2 Rizin) spoiled the promotional debut of former
Shooto
champion Yamato
Nishikawa (22-6-6, 0-1 Rizin) via a one-sided TKO stoppage in
the first round.

Mere seconds into the fight, Horie took Nishikawa down, and he kept
him pinned there for the next four minutes while staying busy with
punches and short elbows from Nishikawa’s half-guard. As time
ticked down, Horie mounted Nishikawa and he postured up with heavy
elbows and punches that forced Nishikawa to cover up and prompted
referee Minoru
Toyonaga to wave off the fight at the 4:40 mark of Round 1.
This was arguably Horie’s best performance since he debuted for
Rizin more than four years ago.

The remainder of the evening’s main card showcased more of Rizin’s
featherweight division. Ilhom
Nazimov (12-3, 3-0 Rizin) engaged in a competitive striking
battle with Suguru Nii
(18-12, 2-5 Rizin) early on before brutally knocking him out with a
front kick to the jaw. Nii was holding his own in the boxing
exchanges until Nazimov unleashed the kick that shut Nii’s lights
off just 2:09 into the first round. The highlight-reel finish
extended Nazimov’s Rizin winning streak to three and moved him
closer to title contention.

Hiroaki
Suzuki (5-6, 5-6 Rizin) outstruck former Fighting Nexus
titleholder Sora
Yamamoto (12-9, 3-5 Rizin) and overcame Yamamoto’s late
grappling to take a unanimous decision win in their featherweight
tilt. Suzuki’s leg kicks and punches to Yamamoto’s body were very
effective in the opening round. Yamamoto initiated more grappling
exchanges in the second stanza, and he landed some nice downward
elbows while pinning Suzuki against the base of the cage. The
grappling tired Yamamoto out, however, and Suzuki took advantage by
landing punches on the feet and from Yamamoto’s guard in the final
frame. All three judges scored the fight for Suzuki, who halted his
losing streak.

Opening up the main card, Viktor
Kolesnik (27-4-1, 4-0 Rizin) remained undefeated under the
Rizin banner by stopping Shooto titleholder Keisuke
Sasu (14-4-1, 0-1 Rizin) late in the first round of their
featherweight bout. Kolesnik was already outstriking Sasu
throughout the round when he landed a devastating left hook to the
liver that dropped Sasu and ended the bout at the 4:43 mark.
Kolesnik is now riding an impressive nine-fight winning streak that
includes four triumphs for Rizin.

Earlier on the card, Alexander
Soldatkin (15-4, 1 NC, 1-0 Rizin) took a unanimous decision
victory over Prince
Aounallah (20-13, 0-1 Rizin) in a heavyweight grand prix
quarterfinal bout that started well and quickly fizzled out after
the first five minutes; Joji Goto
(17-8, 3-0 Rizin) won a well-deserved unanimous decision against
Jinnosuke
Kashimura (8-5, 0-1 Rizin) at bantamweight; kickboxer Sina
Karimian (1-0, 1-0 Rizin) put forth one of the most disciplined
performances of his combat sports career and won his heavyweight
MMA debut via unanimous decision against Grachan champion Hidetaka
Arato (11-2, 1-1 Rizin); Deep Jewels contender Machi
Fukuda (8-2, 3-0) earned another key win by defeating
strawweight Queen of Pancrase champion Haruka
Hasegawa (5-6, 0-2 Rizin) via unanimous decision; Taichi
Nakajima (18-13, 2-2 Rizin) finished Kosuke
Terashima (17-22-5, 1-1 Rizin) with a left hook and follow-up
punches just 1:17 into their bantamweight bout; Tatsuya
Ando (15-4-1, 1-0 Rizin) handed fellow bantamweight Magerram
Gasanzade (10-1, 1-1 Rizin) his first defeat via rear-naked
choke at the 3:33 mark of Round 1; Kisugi Endo
(17-15-5, 1-1 Rizin) easily defeated the much less experienced
Bading
Zhaxi (1-1, 0-1 Rizin) via unanimous decision at featherweight;
Suguru
Hayasaka (23-18-5, 2-0 Rizin) submitted Arashi
Suzuki (2-4, 0-1 Rizin) with a nasty toe hold 3:41 into their
123-pound bout; bantamweight Yukito
Morinaga (11-4, 1 NC, 1-0 Rizin) left Daiki
Kobayashi (2-2, 0-1 Rizin) convulsing on the mat after
arm-triangle choking him unconscious in just 53 seconds; and
Takashi
Noto (8-9, 1-0 Rizin) forced Yuki Narita
(11-6-1, 0-1 Rizin) to submit to an armbar at the 4:50 mark of
Round 2 in welterweight action.

In kickboxing bouts, Kuto Ueno took a unanimous decision win
against an overweight Farphayap Grabs at 141 pounds; Yuya Uzawa
prevailed via unanimous decision against Toshizou in a 121-pound
contest; Kanata Ueno earned a unanimous decision victory over
Kensei Yamakawa at bantamweight; and Shuto Hayashi won his
strawweight bout with Kyohei Nishijima via unanimous decision.

IMAK ADMIN

By IMAK ADMIN

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