The opening round of the 2022 Rizin FF Women’s Super Atomweight Grand Prix is set to take place on July 31st at Rizin Fighting Federation 37 in Saitama, Japan. All four quarterfinal matchups in the 49kg tournament were officially announced for the event during a press conference earlier today.
In the featured quarterfinal, Rizin FF Women’s Super Atomweight Champion Seika Izawa takes on PAW FC 115-pound titleholder Maria Laura Alves Fontoura in a battle between undefeated fighters. Izawa captured her Rizin FF title in April, while Fontoura earned her belt at PAW FC 1 in January.
Izawa (6-0-0) became Deep Jewels Strawweight Champion in just her third pro fight in June 2021, which caught the attention of Rizin matchmakers. She earned one more win for Deep before upsetting Ayaka Hamasaki in a non-title fight at Rizin FF 33 on New Year’s Eve. The pair faced off in a championship rematch at Rizin FF 35, with Izawa prevailing via Unanimous Decision to capture the title and the top spot in the women’s super atomweight rankings.
Fontoura (7-0-0) began her pro career with armbar submission victories in four of her first six fights, and she used her signature submission technique to capture the PAW FC title in her most recent fight. Facing off against former KOTC champ Andy Nguyen, Fontoura forced her foe to submit to an armbar in the fourth round of their championship fight. That win kept Fontoura’s unblemished record intact and has now earned her a spot in Rizin’s latest women’s tournament.
In other quarterfinal action, former Rizin champ Ayaka Hamasaki (23-5-0) looks to rebound from her two defeats against Izawa when she takes on former WSOF champ and five-time UFC competitor Jessica “Jag” Aguilar (20-9-0). The two were originally set to face each other more than 11 years ago at Jewels: “12th Ring” before the event was cancelled due to a massive earthquake. Aguilar will drop down to 108 pounds for the tournament and aims to halt a three-fight losing skid.
Kanna Asakura (19-6-0), who won the inaugural Rizin Women’s Super Atomweight Grand Prix in 2017, is set to face Si Woo Park (7-4-0) in the quarterfinals of this tournament. Asakura has twice challenged for the promotion’s women’s super atomweight title, but came up short both times against Hamasaki. She most recently defeated Shooto champion Satomi “Sarami” Takano at Rizin FF 35. Park scored a huge victory over Rena Kubota on New Year’s Eve and she followed that success up with another win under the Deep banner in April.
Rounding out the quarterfinals, one of Rizin’s most popular fighters, the aforementioned Rena Kubota (12-4-0), faces unbeaten Ukrainian Anastasiya Svetkivska (2-0-0). This will be Kubota’s first time competing below 50kg since she was hospitalised following a bad weight cut in late 2018. She had her four-fight winning streak snapped by Park in their Rizin FF 35 meeting. Svetkivska is still young in her pro career, but she developed a wealth of experience during her time competing as an amateur. Both of her pro bouts have ended in first-round TKO finishes.
Rizin Fighting Federation 37 takes place on July 31st at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.