After we’ve finished with the ridiculousness of this half of the card, we’ll move on to the RIZIN 38 event, which features a banger of the main event, the women’s super atomweight tournament, and some fun bouts peppered throughout the schedule.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. faces Mikuru Asakura in the ring at the RIZIN 38 event. Mayweather has never lost his professional career, while Asakura has never been knocked out. This will be a primetime bout in the Land of the Rising Sun, featuring one of the biggest boxers in the world.
Mayweather is set to compete in his fourth exhibition bout since his retirement from professional boxing. The opening fight featured the native of West Michigan, who had previously defeated Tenshin Nasukawa in a RIZIN competition. He had also competed in fights against Logan Paul and Don Moore, resulting in a draw and not producing a clear victor. Mayweather’s professional career came close with a perfect record of 50-0.
Asakura is a former mixed martial arts (MMA) title challenger who competed in RIZIN. Throughout his career, he has compiled a record of 16-3-1. This will be his very first fight of any kind in the boxing ring.
Well, folks… it’s going to keep happening at the moment.
Floyd Mayweather has once again discovered a chance under RIZIN to fight a relative rookie for an excessive amount of money. This time, the bout will take place in Japan. This time, MMA bad boy Mikuru Asakura is going up against the former champion, who has a perfect record of 50-0. And I’m happy for him.
Since we can’t control whether or not he makes more money, the best thing we can hope for is that Asakura gets more exposure. Although it seems like every other clue indicates that this is a horrible idea, all parties have already agreed to move forward. No backsies.
The buildup is the one thing that has been interesting during all this.
A bodyguard of Floyd Mayweather shoved Asakura during what was supposed to be a brief, face-to-face encounter during a press conference. Because Asakura maintained his composure, the situation did not become any more dangerous in that same instant.
Read more: How to watch Mayweather vs Asakura All details are here.
RIZIN 38
Kyoji Horiguchi, who has a record of 29-5, is returning to RIZIN in the category he dominated not too long ago. Yoto Hokamura, a DEEP and Pancrase veteran, is the one he talks to. Hokamura does not have impressive record numbers, but he is primarily known as an action fighter. The night will end with this performance, which should be an excellent showcase.
And I say that because the part that matters comes before the part that everyone is talking about. When unheralded 23-year-old Seika Izawa finished Ayaka Hamasaki, she shocked the entire world with her perfect record of seven wins and zero losses. Hamasaki was 23-3 while Izawa was merely 4-0. Even more incomprehensible than that was the fact that they immediately fought each other again four months later, and Izawa once again prevailed by unanimous decision.
Now, Izawa is competing in the first leg of the super atomweight event, and her opponent will be Anastasiya Svetkivska of Ukraine (2-1). Svetkivska started her professional career with a string of impressive back-to-back victories, building on the momentum she gained while competing for IMMAF. This summer, she suffered her first defeat at the hands of Rena Kubota, and now she is working hard to get back on track and stop the winning streak of a very skilled young grappling prodigy.
Speaking of Hamasaki, the former Invicta champion faces off against Si Woo Park. Hamasaki’s record is 24-5. (8-4). Although Park has suffered defeat at the hands of Izawa in the past, she has triumphed over Kanna Asakura and Rena Kubota.
Hiromasa Ogikubo, a veteran of both Shooto Japan and The Ultimate Fighter, is back in the fight with a record of 25-5 and two draws. Former two-division Road Fighting Championship champion Soo Chul Kim takes on the grappling ace with sly striking (27-6, 1 draw). Since his days competing in the ONE Championship, Kim has proven to be a difficult opponent to finish, and the combination of his clinch game and his inside work makes standing against him difficult.
Finally, Luiz Gustavo (11-2), a protégé of Wanderlei Silva, makes his return to RIZIN to compete against Juri Ohara (31-17, 3 draws), a previous star at DEEP. Ohara has won his last eight fights in a row and is a tough opponent who will give Gustavo a run for his money. However, Gustavo’s attacks have a lethal accuracy, and he possesses an excellent knack for completing the fight.
All details about Super RIZIN & RIZIN 38
- Event: Super RIZIN & RIZIN 38 (Mayweather will face Asakura)
- Date: 25th Sep, Sunday
- Time: 11 p.m. (ET)
- Venue: Saitama Super Arena (Saitama, Japan)
- Live Broadcast: Fite TV
Super RIZIN Fight Card
Floyd Mayweather vs Mikuru Asakura – Boxing exhibition (Main Event)
Koji Takeda vs Ray Sadeghi – Custom rules bout
Nadaka Yoshinari vs Bandasak So Trakunpet – Kickboxing
Kota Miura vs Bunchuai Phongsungnoen – 150lbs
RIZIN 38 Fight Card
Kyoji Horiguchi vs Yuto Hokamura
Seika Izawa vs Anastasiya Svetkivska – Super atomweight tournament bout
Ayaka Hamasaki vs Si Woo Park – Super atomweight tournament bout
Hiromasa Ogikubo vs Soo Chul Kim
Shoma Shibisai vs Cally Gibrainn de Oliveira – Heavyweight bout
Kyohei Hagiwara vs Chihiro Suzuki – 146lbs
Juri Ohara vs Luiz Gustavo – 157lbs
