After several months of uncertainty, Rizin FF Women’s Super Atomweight Champion Seika Izawa at last has her next title challenger. Izawa will face undefeated Road FC fighter Yu Jin Shin, who is coming off of a massive weight miss, at Rizin FF: “Super Rizin 4” on July 27th in Saitama, Japan.
Rizin officials announced the championship fight today following several failed attempts to book a fight between Izawa and Rena Kubota. Also confirmed for “Super Rizin 4” is a second women’s super atomweight matchup between Moeri “Black Diamond” Suda and Noeru “Noel” Narita.
Izawa (15-0-0) has struggled to find opponents but has nevertheless managed to secure six victories in the past two years. She presently holds the Rizin FF super atomweight title as well as atomweight and strawweight championships for Deep Jewels. Two of her three most recent Rizin FF bouts have been against retiring fighters, however, and her New Year’s Eve fight against Lucia Apdelgarim also served as a filler matchup while Rizin tried to book Izawa against Kubota. With that planned fight seemingly off the table now, Rizin instead turned its attention to a new challenger for Izawa, though the decision is a somewhat controversial one.
Shin (3-0-0, 1 NC), who also has two wins in Road FC’s modified-rules ARC series, prevailed in a 121-pound catchweight bout against Eun Jung Lee at Road FC 68 in April 2024. She did not compete again until December, when she had been scheduled to face Jeong Eun Park for the vacant Road FC Women’s Atomweight Championship. However, when Park was forced to withdraw, Shin was matched up against Seo Young Park, who had just won Shooto’s Infinity League Tournament two weeks prior. Despite the new bout being moved up to 113 pounds, Shin weighed in at 125, which is a full 20 pounds above the original limit for the planned atomweight title fight. Shin stopped Park in the second round, but the fight was declared a No Contest due to her weight miss, and she will need to get all the way down to 108 pounds against Izawa.
Suda (13-6-0) returns to Rizin with a ton of momentum on her side after scoring a huge victory over former Rizin and Invicta FC champion Ayaka Hamasaki at Deep Jewels 48 in March. The 20-year-old has won five of her past six fights, with the lone defeat coming via a contentious decision against Si Yoon Park at Black Combat 10. Suda’s victory over Hamasaki immediately vaulted her from prospect to top contender, and she could earn herself a Rizin title shot with a win next month.
Narita (2-1-0) won her pro MMA debut in August at age 16 and she has established herself as one of the top young grapplers in Japan. Her second pro bout ended in a decision loss to the aforementioned Seo Young Park in the second round of the Infinity League Tournament, but Narita closed out 2024 with an impressive win by choking out fellow teen prospect Ayane Hirata at Shooto: “Colors 4.” Now 17, Narita will take a big step up in competition to challenge Suda in her Rizin debut.
Rizin Fighting Federation: “Super Rizin 4” is set to take place on July 27th at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.