Rizin FF 19 results: Prochazka wins, Case and Pitbull progress on a night of knockouts in Osaka

Rizin FF light heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka showed that he can carry his punch power up to heavyweight with a powerful first-round stoppage of Brazilian puncher Fabio Maldonado in the main event of Rizin FF 19.

The big Czech showcased his knockout prowess on a night packed with first-round finishes as he dismantled the experienced Maldonado (25-14 MMA, 0-1 Rizin) inside the opening frame of their 220-pound catchweight contest in Osaka, Japan.

Prochazka (25-3-1 MMA, 10-1 Rizin) spent the opening minute of the contest rangefinding with his jab and assessing Maldonado’s willingness to step into the pocket. Then he stepped in and picked his shots as he worked his left jab and followed up with powerful straight rights.

But it was a short left hook that started the chain of events that led to the finish as Maldonado was punished for closing the distance on the Czech. The punch stung the Brazilian, who backed into the corner. And, with Maldonado offering little in response, Prochazka stepped in and unloaded a powerful left hook, right hook combination that sent the Brazilian to the canvas as the referee dived in to finish the contest.

It capped off a remarkable night of action on Osaka with 10 of the 11 MMA fights on the card producing first-round finishes at an event where the judges weren’t called upon once during the night’s MMA action.

Asakura blitzes Sasaki in less than a minute to set up Horiguchi rematch

In the night’s co-main event all eyes were on Kai Asakura when he stepped into the ring to face former UFC athlete Ulka Sasaki. And the man who stunned bantamweight champion Kyoji Horiguchi in his last outing delivered another devastating display of power striking to finish his man inside a minute and in the process book himself into a world title rematch with the two-promotion champ.

Asakura hit paydirt in the very first exchange of the fight when he countered a Sasaki right hand with a thumping left-right combination that dropped his man to the canvas. Despite Sasaki’s grappling skills, Asakura didn’t hesitate to follow him to the mat, where he unloaded some heavy ground shots, connected with a pair of powerful knees and narrowly missed the target with a soccer kick.

Asakura then went back to his punches and connected with a couple more strikes before backing up to let his man back to his feet. But, before Sasaki stood back up, the referee halted the action and called on the advice of the ringside doctor who said the blooded-up Sasaki was in no state to continue.

It left Asakura celebrating another rapid-fire finish and set up a rematch with Horiguchi, who stepped into the ring and humbly stated that he didn’t feel like the champion after his non-title fight loss to Asakura earlier this year. Now the pair will face off on New Year’s Eve with the Rizin bantamweight belt on the line after the promotion’s president Noboyuki Sakakibara stepped into the ring and made the fight official.

Seo stakes claim for title shot after Yamamoto finish

South Korean contender Seo Hee Ham showed her takedown defense as she halted the challenge of former wrestling world champion Miyuu Yamamoto, before finishing her with hammerfists in the final seconds of the second round.

In a cagey opening round, Yamamoto looked to shoot in and take the action to the mat, but Seo did a solid job of nullifying the Japanese fan-favorite’s offense on the mat.

Seo started to counter with more strikes in Round 2 and left Yamamoto with a cut above her right ear as she began to take advantage of her opponent’s drop in pace. And with Yamamoto’s shots becoming less explosive as the round progressed, Seo sprawled away from another takedown attempt before pinning Yamamoto to the mat and unloading a succession of hammerfists that eventually forced the late second-round stoppage.

After the fight, Seo posed alongside Rizin super atomweight champion and former foe Ayaka Hamasaki, with the pair now seemingly set to face off for a third time, with Rizin championship gold on the line.

Rena claims instant victory

When Rena Kubota’s original opponent Shawna Ram was ruled out injured and replaced by winless fighter Alexandra Alvare, the fight looked like a mismatch on paper, and that’s exactly how it panned out on fight night.

After Alvare opened up with a flurry of punches, Kubota answered with a solid right hand that immediately halted the Spanish newcomer’s offense. Kubota then moved forward and connected with a push kick, followed by a solid left cross and a straight right that left Alvare into a crumpled heap in the corner as the referee wisely stepped in.

It put Kubota, known to her legion of fans in Japan simply as “Rena”, back in the win column after her submission loss inside the Bellator cage in her previous outing at Bellator 222. But while her career record may have been improved with the addition of another win, it came in a bout that, unfortunately, wasn’t remotely competitive.

Lightweight grand prix semis decided after flurry of first-round finishes

The semifinals of the Rizin lightweight grand prix are all set after the four opening-round winners each produced impressive first-round finishes to book their respective places in the final four.

Former UFC lightweight Johnny Case and current Bellator lightweight contender Patricky Freire both secured spots in the semis, and avoided each other in the subsequent draw, with Case set to face fellow victor Tofiq Musaev and ‘Pitbull’ taking on fellow Brazilian Luiz Gustavo in the semifinal matchups in Saitama on New Year’s Eve.

Johnny makes his Case with first-round KO

Case produced a nerveless display to finish Roberto de Souza a first-round stoppage loss and book his place in the semifinals of the lightweight grand prix.

Case (27-6 MMA, 3-0 Rizin) looked relaxed and slick as he connected with strikes early on against the BJJ ace, who eventually tried to pull guard in an attempt to take the American out of his comfort zone. But Case defended well and escaped Souza’s attempt to lock up an armbar before allowing his opponent to return to his feet. And with the bout back in the stand-up realm, Case made his advantage pay as he hurt Souza (9-1 MMA, 2-1 Rizin) with a solid right, then connected with a short right uppercut that caught the Brazilian flush as he stooped in for a takedown attempt.

It left Souza in clear pain – and potentially with a facial injury – as he fell to the canvas and tapped out before Case could administer any more ground shots. It gave Case a swift first-round victory as the Las Vegas native breezed through to the New Year’s Eve semis.

‘Pitbull’ makes short work of Kawajiri

Bellator lightweight Freire made a spectacular start to his lightweight grand prix campaign with a quickfire finish of Japanese veteran Tatsuya Kawajiri in their quarterfinal matchup.

‘Pitbull’ (22-8 MMA, 1-0 Rizin) loosened up with some thumping body kicks and close-range boxing before stepping back and unleashing a jumping knee that connected flush on the 41-year-old’s chin. Kawajiri (37-14 MMA, 2-4 Rizin) grabbed hold of the Brazilian’s leg in a vain bid to prevent any further damage, but ‘Pitbull’ then switched to punches as he unloaded a barrage of strikes to the grounded Japanese legend’s head until the referee stepped in to end the contest.

It secured a quick, clean finish for the Bellator athlete as the Brazilian eased his way into the tournament semis.

Gustavo’s early blitz secures swift finish

Hiroto Uesako’s lightweight grand prix was over almost before it began after the ringside doctor called off his match with Brazilian Luiz Gustavo early in the first round of their quarterfinal contest.

Gustavo (10-1 MMA, 2-1 Rizin) clipped Uesako (16-8 MMA, 1-1 Rizin) early with a right hand and followed up with a succession of powerful knees that had the Japanese fighter in a bad predicament in the corner. To his credit, Uesako managed to extricate himself and continue the action as he looked to fight his way back into the contest, but the legacy of Gustavo’s early salvo was written all over the Japanese fighter’s face.

It was sufficient to concern referee Jason Herzog, who paused the action to allow the ringside physician to inspect Uesako’s left eye, which was cut, bleeding and starting to close. The doctor’s assessment wasn’t a good one for the 32-year-old, as he indicated to Herzog that the fight should be waved off. It handed a delighted Gustavo a quickfire first-round finish and a spot in the next round of the grand prix as a crestfallen Uesako headed immediately for the locker room before the result was even made official inside the ring.

Musaev kicks off lightweight GP with first-round finish

In the night’s first lightweight grand prix matchup, Azerbaijan’s Musaev unleashed a barrage of powerful kicks to outgun gritty Australian Damien Brown and deliver a statement to the rest of the tournament field.

Musaev (16-3 MMA, 3-0 Rizin) left his mark in illegal fashion early on as a powerful, but misplaced, inside leg kick landed squarely in Brown’s cup. But “Beatdown” quickly returned to his feet and restarted the matchup. Unfortunately for the Aussie, that errant kick didn’t dissuade Musaev from continuing to throw powerful shots as he continually hammered Brown’s body with left roundhouse kicks that reverberated around the arena.

Musaev then turned his dominance into a finish as he switched his target from body to head and connected with a left high kick that put Brown (19-13 MMA, 2-1 Rizin) on wobbly legs. Spying the finish, the 29-year-old then stepped into boxing range and unleashed a flurry of fists that overwhelmed Brown and forced the referee to step in to halt the contest late in the first round.

Nakamura outclasses Souza

When Marcos Yoshio de Souza stepped into the Rizin ring he had high hopes of a dream debut. But that dream quickly turned into a nightmare as Keita Nakamura proved to be too good for the Brazilian.

Souza’s first offensive move of the night saw an attempted spinning back kick go awry as he slipped and fell to his back. Nakamura (35-10 MMA, 1-0 Rizin) pounced, jumped on top and connected with powerful strikes. And although Souza (8-2 MMA, 0-1 Rizin) briefly scrambled his way back to his feet, he was met by more powerful strikes as Nakamura sent the Brazilian to the mat once again and peppered him with ground shots until Souza’s corner waved off the fight mid-way through the round to spare their man any further punishment.

Shibisai claims routine win

The opening MMA fight of the night saw Shoma Shibisai defeat Chang Hee Kim with the minimum of fuss via first-round submission. Chang (1-5 MMA, 0-1 Rizin) looked to push Shibisai (5-2 MMA, 1-1 Rizin) up against the ropes in search of an early takedown, but Shibisai stayed upright, grabbed Chang’s right arm and dragged his man to the mat with a Kimura, forcing the submission a little over a minute into the openweight contest.

MAIN CARD (Fite TV)

Jiri Prochazka def. Fabio Maldonado via TKO (punches) – Round 1
Kai Asakura def. Ulka Sasaki via TKO (knees and punches) – Round 1
Seo Hee Ham def. Miyuu Yamamoto via TKO (hammerfists) – Round 2
Rena Kubota def. Alexandra Alvare via TKO (punches) – Round 1

PRELIMINARY CARD

Johnny Case def. Roberto de Souza via TKO (punch) – Round 1
Patricky Freire def. Tatsuya Kawajiri via TKO (flying knee and punches) – Round 1
Luiz Gustavo def. Hiroto Uesako via TKO (doctor stoppage due to cut) – Round 1
Tofiq Musaev def. Damien Brown via TKO (head kick and punches) – Round 1
Keita Nakamura def. Marcos Yoshio de Souza via TKO (corner stoppage) – Round 1
Shoma Shibisai def. Chang Hee Kim via submission (Kimura) – Round 1