Following Saturday’s Bellator x RIZIN 2 card (taking place Sunday, July 30 local time in Japan), Super RIZIN 2 continued to action for eastern fight fans, and those willing to stay up a little later in the west.
Two title fights adorned the card at the Saitama Super Arena, with RIZIN’s vacant bantamweight and featherweight titles up for grabs.
In the main event, homegrown star Mikuru Asakura faced off with Vugar Karamov to crown a new featherweight champ in the Japanese promotion. Asakura might be best known to casual fans for boxing Floyd Mayweather Jr. a year ago, but he had also won his last three fights in MMA. Karamov, for his part, had won three straight fights under the RIZIN banner, including a win over UFC vet Yoshinori Horie.
In the co-main event, former Bellator MMA bantamweight champion Juan Archuleta looked to claim a second title in a major promotion, as he went after the 135lb crown in RIZIN. Originally booked against Kai Asakura, Mikuru’s brother, the injured Kai was instead replaced by Ultimate Fighter vet Hiromasa Ougikubo.
Super RIZIN 2 takes place Sunday, July 30, 2023 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. The card streams live via Fite.tv. Full results can be found below.
Super RIZIN 2: Asakura vs. Karamov Results
Featherweight: Vugar Karamov def. Mikuru Asakura by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 1, 2:41 — for the vacant RIZIN featherweight championship
Bantamweight: Juan Archuleta def. Hiromasa Ougikubo by unanimous decision — for the vacant RIZIN bantamweight championship
Seika Izakawa def. Claire Lopez by submission (ninja choke), Round 1, 1:04 — for the RIZIN women’s atomweight championship
Lightweight: Chihiro Suzuki def. Patricio Pitbull by KO, Round 1, 2:32
Lightweight: Tofiq Musayev def. Akira Okada by KO, Round 2, 1:11
Bantamweight: Shinobu Ota def. Kenta Takizawa by TKO, Round 1, 4:54
Middleweight: Igor Tanabe def. Daichi Abe by submission (heel hook), Round 1, 4:34
Flyweight: Yuki Ito def. Hiroya Kondo by split decision
