With international borders closed Rizin’s matchmakers have been forced to think outside of the box for the New Year’s Eve card. The latest addition is a bout which pits heavyweight YouTuber Atsushi Saito against featherweight kickboxer Yuta Kubo.
Saito (4-9-1) is quite the showman as he proved at Rizin 26. ‘Shibatar’ submitted K-1 veteran Hiroya Kawabe with and armbar although the submission win was only awarded retrospectively, the referee having missed the tap.
That fight alternated between kickboxing rules and MMA rules from round to round and this bout looks likely to follow a similar format. Kubo (0-1) made his MMA debut at Rizin 30 and dropped a decision to wrestling standout Shinobu Ota.
As previously announced Japanese based Brazilian Roberto de Souza will defend his lightweight title against Yusuke Yachi at Rizin 33. The card will consist exclusively of local fighters due to ongoing travel restrictions.
In the super atomweight division champion Ayaka Hamasaki faces Seika Izawa in a non title fight. The bantamweight Grand Prix will conclude at Rizin 33.
The semi finals have been set with Hiromasa Ougikubo facing Naoki Inoue and Kai Asakura taking on Kenta Takizawa. Yuki Motoya takes on Yuto Hokamura in the alternate bout.
Rizin 33, Tokyo, December 31st
Roberto Souza (c) vs. Yusuke Yachi (For lightweight title)
Yutaka Saito vs. Mikuru Asakura (Featherweight)
Kyohei Hagiwara vs. Hiroaki Suzuki (Featherweight)
Ayaka Hamasaki vs. Seika Izawa (Super atomweight)
Koji Takeda vs. Beynoah (Lightweight)
Shoma Shibisai vs. Hideki Sekine (Heavyweight)
Mixed rules: Atsushi Saito vs. Yuta Kubo (Catchweight)
Hiromasa Ougikubo vs. Naoki Inoue (Bantamweight Grand Prix 1/2 final)
Kai Asakura vs. Kenta Takizawa (Bantamweight Grand Prix 1/2 final)
Yuki Motoya vs. Yuto Hokamura (Bantamweight Grand Prix alternate bout)
