Tofiq Musaev was among the fighters booked to appear at Rizin 22. His management confirmed on Instagram that the newly crowned lightweight champion had signed to fight in Yokohoma on April 19th:
https://www.instagram.com/p/B-jo2YOBX9t/
Rizin 22 has been postponed indefinitely. However the promotion is instead working on a ‘Midsummer Martial Arts Festival’ that will feature some of the biggest names on the roster.
High on Nobuyuki Sakakibara’s agenda will be finding a new bantamweight champion to replace the departed Manel Kape. Hiromasa Ogikubo is believed to be the number one contender with Kyoji Horiguchi still injured.
A lightweight, or possibly catchweight, contest between Mikuru Asakura and Kotetsu Boku is also in the works. That matchup was announced in the aftermath of the former’s win at Rizin 21.
Last week Japan had a significant increase in Covid-19, or coronavirus cases. As of Friday there were 3,329 confirmed cases and 74 deaths nationwide.
Tokyo appears to be the epicentre. Last week the city’s governor called on residents to stay home but unlike other major cities across Asia there is no official curfew in place.
However the majority of MMA events in Japan have either been cancelled or postponed. Pancrase 313 and 314, Deep Cage Impact Osaka, Shooto 0329 and Rizin 22 and 23 have all fallen by the wayside.
One event that does remain on the calendar is Road to ONE 2. Promoted by Shooto, this card will take place in Tokyo on April 17th and features Shinya Aoki in a grappling match.
