Ham vs Yamamoto, Kubota vs Ram Announced For Rizin FF 19 In OsakaFresh off of a dominant victory in July, Road FC champion Seo Hee Ham returns to action on October 12th at Rizin Fighting Federation 19 in Namba, Osaka, Japan. Ham is set to face off against Miyuu Yamamoto in a bout that will likely serve as a 49kg super atomweight title eliminator.

Rizin FF officials announced the bout today along with many additional participants and matchups for the upcoming Osaka event. In 51kg action, promotional star Rena Kubota looks to get back on the winning track when she takes on Canada’s Shawna Ram, who won her pro debut in October.

Ham (21-8-0) has racked up four straight wins since departing the UFC in late 2016. The streak includes a stoppage victory over former Deep Jewels champ Mina Kurobe at Road FC 39 that earned Ham the inaugural Road FC Women’s Atomweight Championship, and she has since retained her title with a knockout win over reigning Invicta FC champ Jinh Yu Frey and South Korean prospect Jeong Eun Park. In her most recent fight, Ham debuted for Rizin FF and finished current Deep Jewels Atomweight Champion Tomo Maesawa with knees in the first round. A top technical striker since her pro debut in 2007, Ham has recently showcased power in her strikes that was not as prevalent earlier in her career.

Yamamoto (5-3-0) has competed exclusively for Rizin FF since bringing her wrestling pedigree into the sport of MMA. She struggled in early outings, suffering submission setbacks in three of her first four fights, but has since put together a solid four-fight winning streak against formidable opposition. After defeating former Jewels contender Saori “Shooting Star” Ishioka at Rizin FF 11 in July 2018, Yamamoto avenged a past loss to Andy “The CrAsian” Nguyen at Rizin FF 13 and then out-grappled Mika “Future Princess” Nagano at Rizin FF 14 on New Year’s Eve. Most recently, Yamamoto secured her biggest victory to date by defeating Rizin FF Super Atomweight Grand Prix winner Kanna Asakura in June.

 

Kubota (8-3-0), a superstar in the sport of shootboxing, finished her first six MMA opponents under the Rizin FF banner before suffering her first loss to Asakura in the finals of the promotion’s 49kg Super Atomweight Grand Prix in late 2017. The skilled striker has encountered mixed success since then, and also moved up in weight to 51kg after the cuts down to lower weights became too difficult and resulted in a cancelled bout and a stay in the hospital. Most recently, Kubota made her Bellator debut in June, but she was choked out by prospect Lindsey “Damsel” VanZandt in the first round. She looks to rebound when she returns to Rizin FF in October.

Ram (1-0-0) enters next month’s matchup with Kubota as a decided underdog, but the British Columbia native has momentum on her side after making a successful pro debut in October. Prior to that, Ram competed five times as an amateur and she earned her spot in the inaugural Battlefield Fight League women’s 120-pound title fight after finishing her first three opponents. Ram captured the BFL title with a Unanimous Decision victory in February 2017, but she dropped the belt to striker Jamey-Lyn Horth five months later. Ram now looks to follow up on the success of her pro debut by upsetting Kubota in their featured 51kg matchup in Osaka.

Rizin Fighting Federation 19 takes place on October 12th at Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium in Namba, Osaka, Japan. The event also features the opening round of the Rizin FF Lightweight Grand Prix.