Ayaka Hamasaki Takes Split Verdict Over Kanna Asakura, Retains Title at Rizin 27
After an intense war, Ayaka Hamasaki (@kk331ayaka) retains her belt against Kanna Asakura (@a_kanna_)!#RIZIN #MMA #Kickboxing #RIZIN27 pic.twitter.com/mFTMPN60OA
— RIZIN FF English (@rizin_English) March 21, 2021
Though the rematch was more difficult than the first fight, Ayaka Hamasaki nonetheless seems to have Kanna Asakura’s number.
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After a wild exchange in the bout’s opening moments, Hamasaki took Asakura down, where she landed a couple solid knees on her grounded opponent. The 23-year-old Paraestra Matsudo product turned the tide in Round 2, when she grounded Hamasaki, defended an armbar and ended the frame unloading ground-and-pound from mount. Asakura landed another takedown in the third period, but Hamasaki responded late in the round by threatening with a standing armbar.
— Streetfight Banned-cho (@streetfitebncho) March 21, 2021
Ultimately, two of the three ringside judges sided with Hamasaki (22-3), who has won eight of her last nine appearances under the Rizin banner. Asakura (18-5) saw a four-bout winning streak come to an end in defeat.
サトシ1R決着! pic.twitter.com/YsTuyJIezV
— まくれが (@_Notorious_UFC) March 21, 2021
In the co-main event, Roberto de Souza (11-1) earned his 11th finish in as many professional victories when he submitted UFC and Pancrase veteran Kazuki Tokudome (20-11-1) with a triangle choke 1:44 into the opening stanza of their lightweight clash. The Brazilian wasted little time taking the action to the canvas, where he secured the fight-ending maneuver, adjusted the hold and forced his opponent to tap out. Ten of de Souza’s 11 victories have ended inside of a round.
Koji Takeda #RIZIN27 pic.twitter.com/eRCFm7iIT1
— Mike Shytte (@MikeLovesTacosX) March 21, 2021
In other main card action, Deep lightweight champion Koji Takeda (12-1) captured a hard-fought three-round verdict against King of Pancrase Takasuke Kume (24-6-4). In an action-packed matchup, Takeda authored perhaps the most memorable moment of the fight when he executed a belly-to-back suplex on his opponent in the third round.
Koike cements his place in the 8-man Featherweight Grand Prix with his 11th career triangle submission victory!
— RIZIN FF English (@rizin_English) March 21, 2021
Stream the last 3 fights here:
https://t.co/Mi4AiMpNGQ @livenowglobal
https://t.co/KeydVIWlMN
#RIZIN27 #RIZIN #MMA pic.twitter.com/HHynSQbfsq
Elsewhere, Kleber Koike Erbst secured a spot in Rizin’s bantamweight grand prix by tapping out Kazumasa Majima in a 135-pound main card affair. Erbst (27-5-1) scored his 23rd career submission triumph by finishing Majima (14-3) with a triangle choke at the 3:02 mark of Round 2.
暴君スダリオ pic.twitter.com/7jkxpzzD8j
— まくれが (@_Notorious_UFC) March 21, 2021
Tsuyoshi Sudario (3-0) turned heads with an eight-second knockout of Kazushi Miyamoto (0-1) at heavyweight. Sudario rocked his opponent during a furious initial exchange, and when Miyamoto returned to his feet, the sumo wrestler knocked him out with a right hand. Sudario then continued his assault with standing-to-ground strikes as the referee attempted to pull him off his adversary.
In earlier action: Yoshinori Horie defeated Tetsuya Seki via knockout at the 1:16 mark of Round 3 in a featherweight contest; Hiroki Yamashita put Kazuma Sone away with punches in just 27 seconds at bantamweight; Shuto Watanabe submitted Takumi Tamaru with a neck crank 4:13 into Round 2 of their bantamweight scrap; Yutaro Muramoto scored a KO of Seigo Yamamoto 2:37 into the opening round at flyweight and Yuki Ito knocked out Kohei Sugiyama in 33 seconds in the card’s opening MMA contest at 125 pounds.
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