May’s RIZIN 42 card has been announced in its entirety, and some familiar names will be taking part.
Among the standouts in action, Kai Asakura (19-4) returns for the first time since December 2021. The former bantamweight champion will seek to bounce back from a loss to Hiromasa Ougikubo in RIZIN’s bantamweight grand prix when he takes on Yuki Motoya (33-10) in the RIZIN 42 main event.
Fight announcement for RIZIN.42
Kai Asakura vs. Yuki Motoya#RIZIN #RIZIN42 pic.twitter.com/QUFNZyMqKR
— RIZIN FF English (@rizin_English) March 6, 2023
Former two-time UFC flyweight title challenger John Dodson (22-13) also returns at RIZIN 42. Dodson made his promotional debut for the Japanese organization in December, knocking out Hideo Tokoro. Having won his last two fights, Dodson has also been pulling double-duty, posting a 2-0 record thus far in bare-knuckle boxing outfit BKFC.
Dodson gets Tatsuki Saomoto (18-2) in a flyweight contest. Current Bellator MMA fighter Spike Carlyle (14-4) returns to the RIZIN ring for the first time since last April, meanwhile, in a non-title fight with Roberto “Satoshi” Souza (14-2), RIZIN’s featherweight champ.
Carlyle had a five-fight win streak snapped in his last outing, a memorable scrap with A.J. McKee at Bellator 286. Souza dropped a decision against McKee on New Year’s Eve in a cross-promotional event.
RIZIN 42 takes place May 6, 2023 at the Tokyo Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan. The following match-ups have been announced for the event:
- Kai Asakura vs. Yuki Motoya
- Naoki Inoue vs. Juan Archuleta
- Roberto Satoshi vs. Spike Carlyle
- Seika Izawa vs. Miyu Yamamoto
- Kouta Miura vs. YA-MAN — custom rules bout
- Yuryuka Sasaki vs. Boyd Allen
- John Dodson vs. Tatsuki Saomoto
- Takashi Soya vs. Ramazan Temirov
- Hiroki Ito vs. Arsen Yamamoto
- Takuya Yamamoto vs. Takeshi Yokoyama
