The return of RIZIN is just days away, and the bout order for RIZIN 22 in Yokohama has been revealed. In the main event, as hinted at previously, Yusuke Yachi will face Roberto de Souza in an important lightweight bout to close the night.
The night’s co-headliner will see former champion Ayaka Hamasaki face DEEP JEWELS title-holder Tomo Maesawa in a contest with big-time atomweight title implications. One of two female fights on the show, the second of which will go down prior to the co-main event. This will see another former title-challenger, Kanna Asakura, welcome Mizuki Furuse to the RIZIN ring.
The show will begin with a bantamweight bout as Ersom Yamamoto returns against Kenjo Kato in what should be an absolute banger at 61kg. Two more MMA bouts will follow as Rikuto Shirakawa and Tetsuya Seki face Kyohei Hagiwara and Kouya Kanda respectively.
In bouts #4 and #5, the fans will be treated to two high-level kickboxing contests. The first of which being a battle of teenagers as 19-year-old Lumpinee and Rajadamnern champion Nadaka Yoshinari faces an 18-year-old NJKF veteran in Yuushin. The other kickboxing fight will see KING OF KNOCK OUT Rui Ebata return to RIZIN following a first-round knockout loss to Tenshin Nasukawa back in December. He faces an equally thrilling Seiki Ueyama at 56kg.
Finally, in the sixth bout of the night, just prior to the main event and the two female bouts, UFC and DEEP veteran Naoki Inoue will face Fighting NEXUS champion Shooto Watanabe, a highly-touted fighter who is riding an eight-fight win streak.
Shooto Watanabe’s father, Yuichi Watanabe, was one of the original Shooto fighters back in 1989. Competing for the promotion until 1992, Yuichi went on to name his son after the organization. It’s such a great story.
試合順決まりました、6試合目です！
一緒に練習している関鉄矢選手は、3試合目です！
みんなで最高の舞台を創りましょう！！🔥楽しみにしてます！
#RIZIN pic.twitter.com/fO1ZQOooD6— 井上直樹 Naoki Inoue (@NaokiInoueMMA) August 3, 2020
RIZIN 22 goes down on Sunday, August 9, live from the Pia Arena MM in Yokohama, Japan.