Rizin FF and Deep Jewels champ Seika Izawa added a third championship to her collection with a close and hard-fought Split Decision victory tonight at Rizin Fighting Federation 40 in Saitama, Japan. Izawa narrowly edged out rival Si Woo “Korean Queen Bee” Park in a closely-contested rematch.
Izawa, who previously won both the Rizin FF Women’s Super Atomweight Championship and the Deep Jewels Strawweight Championship, captured Rizin’s women’s super atomweight grand prix title with tonight’s win. Post-fight, she expressed an interest in facing Invicta FC ace Jillian DeCoursey.
Seven fights are now official for Deep Jewels 40, which will take place on February 18, 2023 at Shinjuku FACE in Tokyo, Japan. The first Deep Jewels event of the new year features a strawweight matchup between rising star Namiko “Hime” Kawabata and highly-touted prospect Machi Fukuda.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship returned to UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada tonight for UFC Fight Night 216: “Cannonier vs Strickland.” The final UFC event of the year was headlined by a middleweight contender’s bout between Jared “The Killa Gorilla” Cannonier and Sean “Tarzan” Strickland.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship came to T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada tonight for UFC 282: “Blachowicz vs Ankalaev.” The promotion’s final PPV card of 2022 was headlined by a vacant UFC Light Heavyweight Championship bout between Jan Blachowicz and Magomed Ankalaev.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship headed to Amway Center in Orlando, Florida tonight for UFC on ESPN 42: “Thompson vs Holland.” The event was headlined by a welterweight matchup between former UFC title challenger Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson and Kevin “Trailblazer” Holland.
UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion Weili “Magnum” Zhang regained her title with a second-round submission victory on November 12th at UFC 281 in New York City. Zhang finished former champion Carla “Cookie Monster” Esparza to reclaim the top spot in the 115-pound women’s rankings.