Buakaw Banchamek will be fighting at Rizin Landmark 9. The Thai legend has been matched with Minoru Kimura in a catchweight kickboxing match at the World Memorial Hall in Kobe on March 23rd.
It will be Buakaw’s first fight of the year. The 41 year old went up against Rukiya Anpo at Rizin 42 ten months ago and that bout ended in a draw.
Kimura will be looking for his first win since 2020. The Brazilian knocked out his last two opponents but both results were changed to no contests after he failed a drug test.
💥💥決定カード💥💥#RIZIN_LANDMARK9 in KOBE
RIZIN キックボクシングルール 74.0kg
🟥ブアカーオ・バンチャメーク
ムエタイ最強王者
ーーー🆚ーーー
🟦木村“フィリップ”ミノル @philip_minoru
第3代K-1 WORLD GP王者📅3/23(土)12:00開場/14:00開始
※ｵｰﾌﾟﾆﾝｸﾞﾌｧｲﾄは12:30開始… pic.twitter.com/3ZKeoGXTR5— RIZIN FF OFFICIAL (@rizin_PR) March 18, 2024
New name
This event was originally supposed to be Rizin 46. There are no titles on the card but in the main event lightweight king Roberto de Souza has been booked to face Keita Nakamura.
De Souza is still the champion despite losing two of his last three fights. Nakamura is highly experienced, the UFC veteran turns 40 this year.
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Experienced bantamweights
The card will also feature a clash between two experienced bantamweights. UFC veteran Naoki Inoue has been matched with ONE Championship veteran Shoko Sato.
Inoue won his first six Rizin fights. But the 26 year old has suffered a slight dip in form, suffering two decision losses in his last three fights. Sato has has numerous ups and downs during a professional career which began back in 2008 but is currently riding a two fight winning streak
In total there are 16 fights on the card. It will also feature Erson Yamamoto who is still struggling to live up to the family name and has been matched with Yuya Shibata in a flyweight fight.
Rizin Landmark 9, Kobe, March 23rd
Roberto Souza vs. Keita Nakamura (Lightweight)
Naoki Inoue vs. Shoko Sato (Bantamweight)
Rena Kubota vs. Shim Yu-Ri (Super Atomweight)
Koji Takeda vs. Kyohei Hagiwara (Featherweight)
Igor Tanabe vs. Kiichi Kunimoto (Welterweight)
Erson Yamamoto vs. Yuya Shibata (Flyweight)
Yuto Kubo vs. Ryogo Takahashi (Featherweight)
Kintaro vs. Daiki Lightyear (Heavyweight)
Takakenshin vs. Cody Jerabek (Flyweight)
Yusaku Nakamura vs. Arman Ashimov (Lightweight)
Ryo Takagi vs. Taisei Nishitani (Strawweight)
Kickboxing: Yuya vs. Masaya Jaki (Lightweight)
Kickboxing: Buakaw Banchamek vs. Minoru Kimura (Catchweight)
Kickboxing: Shun Matsuyama vs. Shin Sakurai (Strawweight)
Kickboxing: Aoi Noda vs. Yuto Uemura (FLyweight)
Kickboxing: Daichi Akahira vs. Yuki Yoshioka (Flyweight)
