Rizin FF Women’s Super Atomweight Champion Seika Izawa retained her title and sent a stern message to her likely next challenger tonight at Rizin Fighting Federation: “Landmark Vol. 12” in Kobe, Hyogo, Japan. Izawa defeated Saori “Little Giant” Oshima in tonight’s 49kg co-main event.
Right from the opening bell, Izawa was a step ahead of Deep and Deep Jewels microweight champ Oshima, who suffered her first Rizin defeat in disappointing fashion. Also on tonight’s main card, Keito “Kate Lotus” Oyama outpointed the previously unbeaten Bo Mi Lee in a 50kg bout.
Izawa (17-0-0) got off to a strong start by landing a front kick to the body and a lead left hook, and she dropped Oshima (15-7-0) with a second left hand. Oshima stood and Izawa landed a flurry of punches and another body kick. She finished the round by landing four more punches and a knee. Izawa held Oshima in a ninja choke and kneed her in the face in the second round. She took Oshima down into back control, then stood over her and soccer kicked Oshima in the face. On the feet, Izawa repeatedly kneed Oshima’s face and then pulled her to the mat with a guillotine. Oshima tried to counter with a heel hook, but time expired.
In the final round, Izawa jabbed until Oshima shot for a takedown with two minutes to go. Izawa easily stuffed it and she landed a four-punch combo. Oshima finally got Izawa down with seconds to go, but it was too little, too late. All three judges scored the fight in favour of Izawa for a Unanimous Decision victory and another successful title defence.
Post-fight, Izawa began speaking to the audience in the cage until Rizin CEO Nobuyuki Sakakibara entered to say that he plans to rebook a fight between Izawa and Rena Kubota for New Year’s Eve. The bout had already been targeted for multiple previous Rizin events, but it fell apart each time and Izawa spoke out earlier this year about her disdain for Kubota, whom she accused of running from her.
“[Oshima] was a good opponent,” Izawa stated backstage following tonight’s title retention. “I thought she would give up, but she had guts. I wanted to show off my striking improvements, so I did not take her down when there were opportunities in the first two rounds so that I could showcase my strikes.”
When asked about her planned New Year’s Eve foe, Izawa simply replied: “I will smash Rena.”
Seika Izawa (left) and Saori Oshima (right) following “Landmark Vol. 12.”
Oyama (9-7-0) hurt Lee (3-1-0) with two early knees to the liver, then followed up with punches and a head kick before attempting a takedown. Lee stayed on her feet, but Oyama landed numerous kicks and two overhand rights before the end of the opening round. Lee did get a very brief takedown midway through the second round, but she was not able to land anything significant as Oyama circled and stayed outside of her striking range. Oyama landed straight left hands and kicks to Lee’s leg and body.
Lee finally landed a strong combination early in round three, and Oyama responded with an elbow and a lead right hook. Lee opened a cut beside Oyama’s left eye with a punch. Oyama was undeterred and she attacked Lee’s midsection with more hard knees during the final 90 seconds. The judges returned a Unanimous Decision verdict for the highly popular Oyama, who has now won four straight fights.
“I did not perform a good fight,” Oyama said backstage as she was critical of her win. “I planned to create distance and outbox her, but I felt that I was too nervous. I want to be a fighter who can consistently get finishes, but I still have distance to cover in order to become a title challenger.”
Keito “Kate Lotus” Oyama (left) and Bo Mi Lee (right) following “Landmark Vol. 12.”
On the early preliminary card, 17-year-old Noeru “Noel” Narita (3-2-0) earned her first Rizin victory by submitting Misaki “Iruka Umisaki” Suda (2-1-0) with a second-round armbar in 49kg action.
Narita got one takedown in the first round, but the clinch battles were won by Suda, who landed several knees while Narita did very little damage. The round ended with Suda on top and striking from Narita’s guard. Narita continued to pursue a takedown in round two until she got Suda down into mount, then spun into an armbar for the tap at the 2:46 mark of the second stanza. The win got Narita back on track after she sustained a one-sided submission loss herself in her July Rizin debut.