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RIZIN 24: Tenshin vs. Kouzi – Live Results, Recaps, and Highlights
RIZIN 24 marks the promotion’s return to the world-famous Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.
On tap for what will be the fourth RIZIN event of the year, the third post-pandemic, is another solid lineup featuring some of Japan’s biggest combat sports superstars.
In the main event, kickboxing sensation and young megastar, Tenshin Nasukawa is back in the RIZIN ring and will take on Koji Tanaka. Directly before that, recently crowned bantamweight champion, Kai Asakura competes for the first time since becoming champion at RIZIN 23. He’ll be tasked with the seasoned veteran Shoji Maruyama in a non-title contest.
Also stepping back into the RIZIN ring will be the likes of the Shootbox queen, Rena Kubota, and lightweight entertainer, Yusuke Yachi, just to name a few.
RIZIN 24 showcases the lightweight division as three champions from different organizations will be in action. Oh, and we also have the classic “freakshow” between two super heavyweight debutants. Both of which are coming from rather unique backgrounds in Sumo and pro wrestling. Get ready for a wild ride, folks.
MyMMANews has you covered with all of the fight summaries, results, and highlights as they happen.
RIZIN 24 results below:
Lightweight – 155lbs: Yusuke Yachi vs. Juri Ohara
Round 1
Yachi starts off with a very kick heavy offense landing low and to the body while his head kicks were getting blocked. A big straight left stuns Ohara briefly. Yachi continues to aim to the body with his kicks and gets caught and dropped by a punch but springs back up indicating he may have just been off balance. Ohara lands a good left behind the ear as the two seek head kicks. Yachi catches an Ohara body kick for a big takedown. Ohara gets back up seconds later and connects with another solid body kick. Ohara rushes in and the two exchange punches with Yachi on the receiving end of the bigger shots. A knee puts Yachi down and Ohara initiates the swarm with a stomp followed by big hammerfists while Yachi attempts a heel hook to no avail. Now busted open eating punches, Yachi looks for an armbar. Ohara escapes and reigns down massive punches until the round’s end but eats some up-kicks for his trouble.
https://twitter.com/MikeLovesTacosX/status/1310115333945069568
Round 2
Yachi continues with his kick heavy offense but swings wild punches as Ohara pressures. Ohara lands a body kick while Yachi connects with a punch over the top. This sequence repeated a couple of times afterward. Another big straight left from Yachi finds a home. Yachi circles and lands a good four-punch combo while Ohara continues to look for single shots. Yachi’s confidence in his punches grew as the round went on. Yachi drilled Ohara with three bombs late before a fourth dropped Ohara and he began pouring it on. Ohara was arguably saved by the bell.
https://twitter.com/MikeLovesTacosX/status/1310116995103420416
Round 3
Ohara continued to walk forward early but Yachi’s accuracy with that left hand remained a problem. Ohara started going back to his body kicks which were a consistent weapon. A flying knee from Ohara backfires as it lands to the chest of Yachi and both fall to the ground briefly. Ohara rattled off multiple body kicks in succession. Yachi continued to try and circle away while striking with punches when Ohara entered the pocket. Yachi scored a very nice single leg trip late and found himself in mount. Sliding off Ohara’s back late, Ohara began dropping down more vicious ground and pound reminiscent of round one.
Result: Juri Ohara def. Yusuke Yachi via split decision
Kickboxing: Catchweight – 121lbs: Mutsuki Ebata vs. Rasta
Round 1
Both men traded violent body and leg kicks instantly. Rasta ripped the body with punches while Ebata countered up top. The kicking attacks were filtered throughout between punch flurries. A huge straight right cracks Rasta and knocks him off balance forcing the count. He recovers and Ebata goes back to work but Rasta recovered well leading to him feeding Ebata a front kick to the mouth. However, a sensational combination floors Rasta at the bell.
https://twitter.com/MikeLovesTacosX/status/1310121752165527553
https://twitter.com/MikeLovesTacosX/status/1310121880221814785
Round 2
Rasta recovered well between rounds and started landing some clean shots only to receive more of his own. Ebata’s right hand was starting to land at will. Rasta’s kicking game only saw him attack to the leg while his punches targeted the body as Ebata threw hooks in tight.
Round 3
Rasta began aggressively by winging punches as Ebata evaded. A missed head kick led to Rasta taking a two-punch combo followed by a knee. His aggression continued and he stung Ebata behind the ear with a right hand. Rasta goes for a weird half spinning back kick that finds him taking a nice body kick of his own. Rasta throws the kick again a second prior to the bell and it somewhat gets through up high.
https://twitter.com/MikeLovesTacosX/status/1310123343438323712
Result: Mutsuki Ebata def. Rasta via unanimous decision
Openweight – 265lbs+: Sudario Tsuyoshi vs. Dylan James
Round 1
Sudario starts out with a jumping front kick and the two start swinging wildly. Sudario gets ahold of James and pushes him into the corner. They separate off a knee from Sudario. A big right-hand cracks James and he attacks for a sloppy double leg as he breathes heavily and eats a knee to the dome on the ground. Sudario continues to feed knees aplenty but James defends surprisingly well with one arm as he bleeds. Sudario lets loose of James’ neck and looks for big punches as the round winds down. The referee calls a stop to the action between rounds due to James’ broken nose.
Result: Sudario Tsuyoshi def. Dylan James via first-round TKO (Doctor’s stoppage)
Featherweight – 145lbs: Takahiro Ashida vs. Kyohei Hagiwara
Round 1
Trading kicks early, Hagiwara slipped leading to Ashida seeking a grappling exchange. Hagiwara provides a handful of nasty elbows to Ashida before eventually getting dragged to the ground and mounted. Eating punches and fending off a brief arm-triangle choke, Hagiwara would get caught with an armbar during a scramble and be forced to tap.
https://twitter.com/MikeLovesTacosX/status/1310132636929716224
Result: Takahiro Ashida def. Kyohei Hagiwara via first-round submission (armbar)
Strawweight – 115lbs: Rena Kubota vs. Emi Tomimatsu
Round 1
The fighters felt each other out in the first two minutes with only a leg kick or two from Tomimatsu as Rena looked to get off her jab. A left hook to the body followed by a right straight eventually found a home for Rena. Backing Tomimatsu into the corner, Rena lands a good uppercut. An overhand right lands for Rena after a jab to the body. Rena gets in a leg kick for good measure before the round dwindles to its end seeing Tomimatsu start to eat some stiffer shots from her adversary.
Round 2
Rena started out the round with a much quicker pace as she was turning things up late in the first. Popping out the jab at a higher frequency, she was attacking the leg more now as well. Tomimatsu found an opening to engage in the clinch with Rena where she found her back while standing. Tomimatsu attempted a single leg takedown which Rena defended well as they went into the corner. Tomimatsu pulled for the leg again where she spun and took Rena down before transitioning into mount and started dropping punches and elbows. Rena scrambled and Tomimatsu moved to the back getting her hooks in. Tomimatsu slowly started to work for the rear-naked choke but lost position as Rena moved into the full guard on top. Rena escaped and landed a big stomp to the body before the round concluded.
Round 3
Rena lands a nice one-two combo early. Another lands and forces a shoot from Tomimatsu that Rena defends. Halfway out of the ring trying to stand, Rena absorbs a pair of knees to the body and face. Tomimatsu keeps the pressure on until they separate and Rena rattles off some hard punches leading to another takedown attempt from Tomimatsu. Rena now comfortably on top in north-south looked to soften up the body before cranking what looked to be a potential kimura. Rena gave up the position and stood. A stiff left for Rena lands followed by a big stomp after a lazy shot from Tomimatsu.
https://twitter.com/MikeLovesTacosX/status/1310138620674813952
https://twitter.com/MikeLovesTacosX/status/1310140006749671425
Result: RENA def. Emi Tomimatsu via unanimous decision
Bantamweight – 135lbs: Yuto “Kintaro” Hokamura vs. Kenta Takizawa
Round 1
Kintaro strikes first with a hard body kick. Takizawa fires back with one of his own but it’s blocked. A flurry of punches in the pocket reddens Takizawa’s nose early. A looping left from Takizawa lands and is followed by a head kick that grazes Kintaro. Takizawa leaps in with a big skyscraper of an uppercut that just misses. A wild burst from Takizawa finds both men landing big punches to the body and head. Each man stings the other with big straight rights but Takizawa backed him up with a head kick that Kintaro somehow survived.
Round 2
The pair trade body kicks early. Kintaro strikes to the midsection again with a straight left. Takizawa continued to play along as he attacked with tips and step knees. A head kick from Takizawa slips through Kintaro’s guard once again. Kintaro rips the body nicely with a left hook before a step knee. A very nice left straight from Kintaro finds it’s target around the 30-second mark to snap Takizawa’s head back. Takizawa hits a spinning wheel kick which Kintaro takes like nothing.
Round 3
Takizawa blitz forward early and the two begin trading bombs aplenty. A left for Takizawa connects and he attacks with a knee and punches that drop Kintaro. Grabbing for dear life, Kintaro hits a takedown and almost gets choked out by a modified guillotine. Takizawa walks the ropes and gets back to his feet with Kintaro still locked around his waist. Takizawa can’t get Kintaro off of him and the fight comes to an end.
https://twitter.com/MikeLovesTacosX/status/1310147384064835587
Result: Kenta Takizawa def. Yuto “Kintaro” Hokamura via split decision
Kickboxing: Catchweight – 132lbs: Yuuki Kitagawa vs. Taishi Hiratsuka
Round 1
Hiratsuka attacks high with a kick before they each trade leg kicks. Kitagawa attacks Hiratsuka in the corner but gets hit with a punch that backs him off awkwardly. Hiratsuka finds two straight lefts in succession. Kitagawa finds a home for a pair of leg kicks as the round comes to a close.
Round 2
Kitagawa goes to touch gloves and Hiratsuka fires off two leg kicks. Kitagawa backs Hiratsuka into a corner and starts firing away only to get tagged with a monster left hook and put unconscious.
https://twitter.com/MikeLovesTacosX/status/1310151549184868357
Result: Taishi Hiratsuka def. Yuuki Kitagawa via second-round KO (punch)
Lightweight: Takasuke Kume vs. Satoru Kitaoka
Round 1
Kume attacks with a body kick and gets clipped by Kitaoka. Seemingly dazed, Kume grabs a guillotine as Kitaoka goes for the takedown. Kitaoka circles on the ground and forces Kume to release his grip as he fights from bottom in half guard. Kume manages to kick Kitaoka off and goes right back to his body kicks before catching Kitaoka and wobbling him with a left hand. Again Kume comes in with his body kicks and seemingly gets caught with a hook from Kitaoka. Kume gives up his neck as he shoots for a takedown. Kitaoka looks for the guillotine but time expires in the opening frame.
https://twitter.com/MikeLovesTacosX/status/1310155707979886597
Round 2
An uneventful first half of the round sees Kume landing knees to Kitaoka’s knees as they’re clinched in the corner. The rest of the round was essentially more of the same until Kume landed two nice hooks that got Kitaoka’s attention around the minute mark.
Round 3
Kume unleashes a flurry early before taking Kitaoka back to the corner in the clinch where round two primarily took place. The referee separated them to check a cut on Kitaoka’s left eyebrow. Grabbing hold of Kitaoka after pressing forward, Kume found a brief trip takedown that brought the two back into a corner. Kume gave an opening to Kitaoka and Kitaoka jumped on the guillotine. Kume rode it out and started attacking the body with punches. The referee separated the fighters after Kitaoka slowly worked his way to his feet in the corner and Kume quickly put him back there.
Result: Takasuke Kume def. Satoru Kitaoka via split decision
Lightweight: Koji Takeda vs. Yuki Kawana
Round 1
Kawana catches Takeda with a good left hook but eats some counter shots in defense. A right straight from Kawana snaps back Takeda’s head. Stepping in with a knee, Takeda unleashes a left hook that lands flush. A nice stiff jab from Kawana finds its target and Takeda walks through it to grab underhooks. Kawana reverses to look for a takedown that results in a sprawl.
Round 2
Kawana cracks Takeda with a big right early that forces Takeda to retaliate and eat another. Takeda initiates the clinch by grabbing for the wrists and then dropping for a single leg in the corner. He brings the action to the may for a split second and they get back to the ropes before Kawana takes control as the aggressor. A referee separation brings the fighters to the center of the ring. Kawana connects with a straight right. Takeda attacks with a two-punch combo finding the latter strike. The last strike landed in the round was an inside leg kick from the Deep champion, Takeda.
Round 3
Takeda presses forward early looking for the takedown to no avail. Backed into a corner, Kawana throws short shots that Takeda absorbs, still seeking the grappling exchanges. A left and right from Takeda land consecutively. Kawana starts throwing wildly and eats shots for his troubles. Tightening things up, Kawana starts to find his right straight up high again. Takeda rebounds with a wonderful three-punch combination which preceded, even more, punches finding their way home. Kawana snaps Takeda’s head back with a left and Takeda lands another combo to close things out.
Result: Koji Takeda def. Yuki Kawana via split decision
Bantamweight: Kai Asakura vs. Shoji Maruyama
Round 1
Asakura slaps Maruyama with a head kick across the forehead early before his left-hand hits the target. Maruyama came forward absorbing kicks to the legs and body. A big right hand down the pipe from Asakura connects and is followed by another that sits Maruyama down. A soccer kick is thrown and finishes the job for the champion, Asakura.
https://twitter.com/KakutogiWorld/status/1310184332590559232
Result: Kai Asakura def. Shoji Maruyama via first-round TKO (soccer kick)
Kickboxing: Catchweight – 128lbs: Tenshin Nasukawa vs. Koji “Kouzi” Tanaka
Round 1
A straight left followed by a knee blasts Kouzi early. Another left from Tenshin gets through quickly. Tenshin sends another knee towards Kouzi’s skull which lands clean. A right hook from Tenshin gets Kouzi’s attention… not like Tenshin didn’t have it already. A big left look hits for Tenshin as he evades Kouzi’s counter hooks.
Too fast, too strong, too good. Tenshin Nasukawa (38-0) outscores tough Osaka emperor Kouzi, landing his jab and flying knees at will and continuing his reign over the Kickboxing world. #RIZIN24 pic.twitter.com/oEAUeNPcT6
— Beyond Kickboxing (@Beyond_Kick) September 27, 2020
Round 2
A lightning-quick right hook and knee combination lands for Tenshin but he eats a big counter from Kouzi. A knee-head kick combo scores for Tenshin. Tenshin strikes with a straight left that breaks the guard of Kouzi causing him to stagger. Tenshin’s left straight and jab score at will as the round winds down.
Round 3
Kouzi comes out with a sense of urgency as the two swing away. Kouzi absorbs a body kick that leads to Tenshin backing him to the ropes and rattling off a three punch combo. Kouzi steps forward into the clinch to get blasted with a left straight. Tenshin attacks the body with a jab and sends a knee up high. Tenshin’s knees continue finding their mark. Tenshin evades a head kick late and the fight ends.
Result: Tenshin Nasukawa def. Koji Tanaka via unanimous decision
