Rizin 26 is set for the Saitama Super Arena tomorrow night. In the main event Kai Asakura defends his bantamweight title against Kyoji Horiguchi and both fighters made weight.
Asakura tipped the scales at 60.5kg and admitted he had bulked up for this fight,
“I’ve put on some muscle so adjusting my weight cut has been a challenge but I think I have
it figured out. Everything about me has gotten better and I want to show that in my fight. I will make a
statement in this fight”
He thinks the event will attract a big audience outside of Japan and wants to show the world’s best bantamweights what he is capable of,
“I think this fight will be seen by many top fighters so this is a great opportunity for me to show what I can do. I plan to defend my belt against Horiguchi and then go after the Bellator belt,” he said.
Horiguchi has been out for over a year with a knee injury but still tipped the scales at 60.80kg. He doesn’t feel the lengthy absence from the ring will have an adverse effect,
“I’ve been adding new stuff to my original style during this period I never think about the fight until right before the fight so things are as usual. My absence from the ring really doesn’t affect me.”
Just like Asakura he has his sights set on the Bellator bantamweight title,
“Once I take back my Rizin belt, I feel obligated to take back my belt in Bellator. I feel terrible that I wasn’t able to defend it.”
The only fighter to miss weight was Sakura Mori. Her 51kgs catchweight bout with Eru Takebayashi is going ahead but she will be penalized in some capacity after coming in 1.7kgs over the limit.
Rizin 26, Tokyo, December 31st
Kyoji Horiguchi (60.80kg) vs. Kai Asakura (60.75kg)
Tenshin Nasukawa (56.90kg) vs. Kumandoi Phetjaroenvit (56.50kg)
Takanori Gomi (78.00kg) vs. Kouzi (65.00kg)
Kyle Aguon (66.50kg) vs. Kleber Koike (66.75kg)
Naoki Inoue (60.35kg) vs. Yuki Motoya (60.95kg)
Ayaka Hamasaki (48.95kg) vs. Miyuu Yamamoto (48.55kg)
Satoshi Yamasu (67.85kg) vs. Mikuru Asakura (68.00kg)
Ren Hiramoto (67.80kg) vs. Kyohei Hagiwara (68.0kg)
Hideo Tokoro (60.70kg) vs. Shinobu Ota (60.90kg)
Nadaka Yoshinari (49.90kg) vs. Phetmalai Phetjaroenvit (49.95kg)
Ulka Sasaki (60.75kg) vs. Kenta Takizawa (60.95kg)
Kanna Asakura (48.95kg) vs. Ai Shimizu (48.75kg)
Shibatar (92.60kg) vs. Mr X (?)
Taiyo Nakahara (62.30kg) vs. Kazuma Kuramoto (62.75kg)
Ikuhisa Minowa (82.70kg) vs. Tsuyoshi Sudario (114.65kg)
Sakura Mori (52.70kg) vs. Eru Takebayashi (50.60kg)
*misses weight by 1.7kg
