As expected, Rizin FF Women’s Super Atomweight Champion Seika Izawa remained undefeated and scored another quick submission win tonight at Rizin Fighting Federation 49: “Decade” in Saitama, Japan. Izawa tapped out short-notice foe Lucia Apdelgarim with a first-round triangle armbar.
Izawa had originally been slated to face Rena Kubota on tonight’s card, but that bout was scrapped when Kubota sustained an injury. Izawa’s Rizin title was not on the line against the massive underdog, Apdelgarim, but she nevertheless put forth another strong effort while securing the victory.
Izawa (15-0-0) clinched early in tonight’s bout in order to nullify the striking of Apdelgarim (2-4-0), who was signed by Rizin after scoring a major upset over popular Japanese kickboxer Rina “Panchan” Okamoto earlier this year. There would be no upset victory for Apdelgarim tonight, however, as she was promptly taken down and trapped in a triangle choke by Izawa. Apdelgarim fought on and refused to submit as Izawa switched to an armbar and then back to the triangle choke. When she finally combined the two holds into a tight triangle armbar, the strain on Apdelgarim’s left arm was too much and she tapped out at the 2:21 mark of the first round.
Prior to the fight, things had gotten heated between Izawa and Apdelgarim at the pre-match faceoffs when Apdelgarim had placed her fist against Izawa’s head. Izawa used that as fuel and motivation to win quickly, which she did, but things appeared to have smoothed over between the two following their fight and Apdelgarim paid respect to the undefeated champion.
“I’m relieved,” Izawa expressed backstage after her win. “She fought as I had imagined and she has strong striking and heart. When she put her fist against my head during our faceoff, it struck a nerve. I want to show a champion’s attitude, so I’ve stopped crying [in the ring] after fights. I want to continue to show my skills at atomweight. I can’t imagine losing at that weight even against a strong foreigner.”
“I am sorry that I lost, but I want to celebrate [Izawa’s] win,” Apdelgarim said. “I want to rest and then I will be back. I think my appearance at Rizin will open the door for other female fighters from Argentina to compete in Japan. If [Rina] ‘Panchan’ [Okamoto] wants a rematch, I will take that fight. I cut my hair off yesterday because making weight is a fighter’s duty.”
Seika Izawa (left) and Lucia Apdelgarim (right) backstage following Rizin FF 49.