RIZIN Fighting Federation has added a pair of additional bouts to RIZIN 24 later this month.
On Tuesday, RIZIN officials announced via social media that Kai Asakura vs. Shoji, and RENA vs. Emi Tomimatsu, had been added to the card. RIZIN 24 is expected to take place on September 27, at the historic Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.
Additional fight announcement for RIZIN.24
Kai Asakura vs. Shoji#RIZIN #RIZINFF #RIZIN24 pic.twitter.com/WUPt5d2DJE
— RIZIN FF English (@rizin_English) September 15, 2020
The card is set to be headlined by a kickboxing bout between young star Tenshin Nasukawa and Kouzi (Koji Tanaka).
Asakura (15-2) has become a budding star for the Japanese promotion, especially after knocking out Kyoji Horiguchi in a non-title fight back in August 2019. However, after Horiguchi was injured and forced to drop his RIZIN belt, Asakura was paired up with Manel Kape for RIZIN’s vacant bantamweight title. Kape won the bout, giving Asakura only his second professional loss.
Asakura bounced back against Hiromasa Ougikubo at RIZIN 23 earlier this year. Winning the promotion’s bantamweight belt, again vacant after Kape signed with the UFC, in the process.
Shoji Maruyama (18-12-1), meanwhile, has been fighting for DEEP of late, and enters the bout on a two-fight win streak. Asakura vs. Shoji is not expected to be for the title, however.
Rena Kubota (10-3), who goes by simply RENA, has won two straight, most recently against Lindsey VanZandt. That fight was a bit of revenge for the Japanese fighter, who had previously lost to VanZandt under the Bellator MMA banner.
Emi Tomimatsu (15-16) went 1-2 in 2019, and has lost her last two fights. A professional since 2006, she’s competed for ROAD FC and DEEP, and will be making her promotional debut at RIZIN 24.
Additional fight announcement for RIZIN.24
RENA vs. Emi Tomimatsu#RIZIN #RIZINFF #RIZIN24 pic.twitter.com/Hh0NfrHnEP
— RIZIN FF English (@rizin_English) September 15, 2020
