The first fight for July’s Super RIZIN 3 has been announced.
On Monday, RIZIN Fighting Federation officials announced that Mikuru Asakura, one of the promotion’s biggest stars, will take on Ren Hiramoto at the event on July 28, 2024.
The fight will take place in the featherweight division. Super RIZIN 3 will be held at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, located just outside Tokyo.
Brother of fellow RIZIN star Kai Asakura, Mikuru has twice fought for featherweight gold in the promotion. After joining the company in 2018, he faced Yutaka Saito for the company’s inaugural 145lb title, dropping a unanimous decision. Then, having gone 4-1 in his next five fights, Asakura got another crack at the then-vacant title at Super RIZIN 2 last July, where he was submitted by Vugar Karamov.
Mikuru Asakura has not fought since. Outside of his MMA career, he’s also known for having faced Floyd Mayweather Jr. in an exhibition boxing match in 2022, where he was finished by TKO in the second round.
Ren Hiramoto is 3-3 in MMA, but held a number of amateur kickboxing titles, and went 11-4 as a pro in the sport. He was runner up in the 2017 K-1 Lightweight World Grand Prix.
No other bouts have been announced for Super RIZIN 3 thus far.
