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Kai Asakura Outstrikes Alan Yamaniha, Advances to Grand Prix Semifinals at Rizin 30

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Eight men collided at the Saitama Super
Arena in Saitama, Japan, on Sunday in hopes of
eventually earning a shot at Rizin Fighting Federation bantamweight
titleholder Kyoji
Horiguchi’s belt. Now only four of those athletes are one step
closer to that goal.

The Rizin
30 main card featured all four quarterfinal bouts of the
Japanese promotion’s bantamweight grand grix. In the main event,
former 135-pound kingpin Kai Asakura
(18-3, 10-2 Rizin) extended his winning streak to two after
defeating Alan
Yamaniha (18-9-4, 1-1 Rizin) via unanimous decision. Both
contenders started strong in the first couple of minutes in Round
1, as the 27-year-old Asakura aimed for “Hiro”’s body with wide
right hooks and mixed it up with shots to the face, while his
opponent attempted to rip the Tri-force Akasaka export’s head off
his shoulders. After several hard exchanges, it become clear that
Asakura’s striking skills were superior, although Yamaniha held his
own.

The second stanza saw an unintentional low blow from Yamaniha halt
the contest for a few seconds. After Asakura recovered, the
Brazilian worked hard to take his opponent down. For a split
second, the 35-year-old was able to accomplish that goal, but the
former divisional champion bounced back and retaliated with his
overhand. “Hiro” regained energy for some stubborn takedown
attempts in the third frame, but there was no way to keep Asakura
on the mat, as the Japanese standout stuffed his opponent’s
takedowns and scored precious points with his hands. After three
action-packed rounds, the younger brother of Mikuru
Asakura won the grinding battle via unanimous decision.

In the co-headliner, Ultimate Fighting Championship alum Naoki Inoue
locked horns with Yuto
Hokamura. The 24-year-old Inoue (15-2, 5-0 Rizin) made the
most out of his longer reach, moving in and out from “Kintaro”’s
guard with his jab and finishing his combinations with calf kicks.
Hokamura (18-11-2, 2-2 Rizin) evened the score with power shots,
but he could hardly match the head movement and the footwork of the
Hakushinkai Karate representative. The calf kicks were the most
lethal weapon in Inoue’s arsenal as Hokamura entered the third
round with a battered lead leg. Sensing that he was losing on the
scorecards, the Pancrase Inagakigumi standout swung wide with
haymakers, missing his target most of the time but forcing his
opponent to fight on his back foot as the contest concluded.
Ultimately, all three ringside judges rewarded Inoue with a
unanimous decision victory.

In the remaining two quarterfinals, “The Ultimate Fighter Season
24” competitor Hiromasa
Ougikubo (23-5-2, 5-2 Rizin) laid claim to a unanimous decision
over T-Grip Tokyo rep Takafumi
Otsuka (29-18-2, 3-2 Rizin), and Kenta
Takizawa (13-7, 3-2 Rizin) put away Yuki Motoya
(28-10-1 1NC, 5-5 1NC Rizin) with a flurry of punches that stopped
the contest via technical knockout at the 2:27 mark in Round 1.

During the intermission, the Japanese promotion honored former
bantamweight King of Pancrase Shintaro
Ishiwatari, who hung up his MMA gloves after 39 fights. He
recently suffered back-to-back defeats at the hands of Ougikubo and
Inoue, but he mentioned neck injuries as the main reason for
retirement.

In the featured bout on the preliminary card, speed and an accurate
right hook spurred atomweight queen Ayaka
Hamasaki (23-3, 9-1 Rizin) to a unanimous decision
over Emi Fujino
(25-12 1 NC, 0-1 Rizin) in their non-title rematch.

Prior to that, Krazy Bee’s Yusuke
Yachi (23-11, 8-5 Rizin) scored his second consecutive decision
victory after outpointing Koji Takeda
(12-2, 2-2 Rizin) at lightweight; Yoshinori
Horie (11-3, 2-0 Rizin) took a unanimous decision victory from
long-time UFC vet Yuta Sasaki
(23-9-2, 2-3 Rizin) at featherweight; Olympic medalist Shinobu Ota
(1-1, 1-1 Rizin) gained his first MMA victory after upending
former K-1 welterweight champion Yuta Kubo
(0-1, 0-1 Rizin); and Shoji
Maruyama (17-14-1, 1-1 Rizin) crushed Chihiro
Suzuki (5-3, 0-1 Rizin) with punches 20 seconds into their
featherweight affair.

The card opened with the first women’s kickboxing bout in
promotional history, where 27-year-old sensation Rina Okamoto
outpointed Momoka Mandokoro at atomweight.

This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com

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