Kai Asakura vs. Manel Kape booked for vacant Rizin belt, additional Bellator 237 bouts announced

Japanese promotion Rizin FF has confirmed a clutch of new matchups for their end-of-year event, as well as their contributions to Bellator 237.

Rizin FF 20 takes place Dec. 31 at Saitama Super Arena in Japan. In the night’s headliner, Manel Kape (14-4) has been added to face the previously announced Kai Asakura (14-1) for the Rizin bantamweight title recently vacated by the injured Kyoji Horiguchi.

That brings the total number of Rizin title fights on the card to three.

A host of other fight bookings has also been made for the event, with Russia’s Vitaly Shemetov (23-10) vs. EFC light heavyweight champion Simon Biyong (6-1), Jake Heun (14-9) vs. Olympic gold medalist Satoshi Ishii (22-10-1) and former Pancrase bantamweight champion Shintaro Ishiwatari (26-7-4) will take on “The Ultimate Fighter 24” runner-up Hiromasa Ogikubo (19-4-2) in a bantamweight title eliminator, with the winner set to face the winner of the Asakura-Kape matchup early in 2020.

Rizin also announced a pair of new matchups for their co-promoted Dec. 29 event, Bellator 237, with 2017 Rizin grand prix champion Kanna Asakura (15-4) set to face Jayme Hinshaw (4-3), while heavyweights are set to collide as Japan’s Shoma Shibisai (5-2) takes on Russia’s Sergey Shemetov (9-6).

Rizin FF 20 confirmed fights include:

• Kai Asakura vs. Manel Kape – for vacant bantamweight title
• Champ Jiri Prochazka vs. C.B. Dollaway – for light heavyweight title
• Champ Ayaka Hamasaki vs. Seo Hee Ham – for super atomweight title
• Johnny Case vs. Tofiq Musaev – lightweight grand prix semifinal
• Patricky “Pitbull” Freire vs. Luiz Gustavo – lightweight grand prix semifinal
• Patrick Mix vs. Yuki Motoya
• Mikuru Asakura vs. John Teixeira
• Simon Biyong vs. Vitaly Shemetov
• Jake Heun vs. Satoshi Ishii
• Rena Kubota vs. Lindsey Vanzandt
• Shintaro Ishiwatari vs. Hiromasa Ogikubo

* * * *

Bellator 237 confirmed fights include:

MAIN CARD

• Fedor Emelianenko vs. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson
• Michael Chandler vs. Benson Henderson
• Lorenz Larkin vs. Keita Nakamura
• Ilara Joanne vs. Kana Watanabe
• Daron Cruickshank vs. Goiti Yamauchi

POSTLIMS

• Andy Nguyen vs. Ai Shimizu
• Ryuichiro Sumimura vs. Jon Tuck
• Jarred Brooks vs. Haruo Ochi
• Hiroto Uesako vs. Yusuke Yachi
• Kanna Asakura vs. Jayme Hinshaw
• Sergey Shemetov vs. Shoma Shibisai