RIZIN 26 videos, results: Kyoji Horiguchi stops Kai Asakura, Ayaka Hamasaki wins title with scissor choke

RIZIN closed the year with a highly-anticipated rematch between bantamweight greats #Kai #Asakura and #Kyoji #Horiguchi at the #Saitama #Super #Arena in #Japan, with the former RIZIN and #Bellator champion aiming to reclaim one of his belts and avenge a non-title 2019 loss to #Asakura.

#He did it in impressive fashion.

#Horiguchi aimed for #Asakura’s left leg since the start, hurting his leg midway through round one. #Asakura attempted a jumping knee and ate a right hand. #Horiguchi immediately followed with a couple more short right hands that dropped #Asakura, attacking with a ferocious ground and pound until the referee decided he had seen enough.

#Mikuru #Asakura wins one for the family

#Asakura’s brother #Mikuru #Asakura fought in the second-to-last MMA bout of the card, but came out victorious against #Satoshi #Yamasu.

#Both #Japanese talents traded on the feet for the first minutes before an accidental eye poke caused a halt in the action. The fight resumed seconds later, and #Asakura wasted no time landing a heavy left hand followed by a head kick and a short right that dropped the former DEEP champion, forcing the referee to stop the fight.

#Asakura returned to the winning column five weeks after dropping an unanimous decision to #Yutaka #Saito for the featherweight throne at RIZIN 25, and vowed to win the 145-pound title in 2021.

#Tenshin #Nasukawa moves to 38-0

The co-main event featured undefeated kickboxing superstar #Tenshin #Nasukawa opposite 158-fight veteran #Kumandoi #Phetjaroenvit in a 125-pound clash, and cruised for three rounds.

#Both fighters started trading leg kicks, but it was a left hand that dropped #Phetjaroenvit in the second stanza, albeit the referee didn’t consider it a knockdown. #Nasukawa began to work on the body in the second half of the fight, rocking #Phetjaroenvit with a left hook in the third, but his 38th victory in kickboxing came via unanimous decision.

#Gomi guts it out in boxing match with #Tanaka

#An initially tentative boxing match between JMMA legend #Takanori #Gomi and kickboxer #Koji #Tanaka turned into slugfest broken only by #Gomi’s flagging cardio. #Despite several “accidental” headlocks and one takedown, #Gomi gutted it out with a pesky jab and went toe-to-toe with #Tanaka, who got tougher as the fight went into deep waters. #In the end, #Gomi took home the majority decision to pick up his second win after a six-fight skid.

#Hamasaki shocks #Yamamoto with rarely-used choke

#Ayaka #Hamasaki captured the vacant atomweight title with a crafty first-round submission of #Miyuu #Yamamoto.

#As #Yamamoto seized a leg for an early takedown, #Hamasaki countered with a kimura. #She then used the hold to set up a little-used scissor choke, giving #Hamasaki the unenviable choice of choosing whether to go unconscious or suffer damage to her arm.

The early portion of the card featured a number of slick finishes, including veteran #Hideo #Tokoro spoiling the MMA debut of #Olympic silver medalist wrestler #Shinobu #Ota with a second-round armbar and #Kazuma #Kuramoto getting the job done with soccer kicks against #Taiyo #Nakahara.

#Check the complete RIZIN 26 results below.

#Kai #Asakura def. #Kyoji #Horiguchi via TKO (strikes) –Round 1
#Tenshin #Nasukawa def. #Kumandoi #Phetjaroenvit via unanimous decision [kickboxing]
#Mikuru #Asakura def. #Satoshi #Yamasu via TKO (strikes) –Round 1
#Takanori #Gomi def. #Koji #Tanaka via majority decision
#Ayaka #Hamasaki def. #Miyuu #Yamamoto via submission (scissor choke) – #Round 1
#Naoki #Inoue def. #Yuki #Motoyo via submission (rear-naked choke) –Round 1
#Kleber #Koike def. #Kyle #Aguon via submission (D’#Arce choke) – #Round 1
#Kyohei #Hagiwara def. #Ren #Hiramoto via TKO (corner stoppage) –Round 2
#Hideo #Tokoro def. #Shinobu #Ota via submission (armbar) –Round 2
#Yoshinari #Nadaka def. #Petmalai #Phetjaroenvit via TKO (strikes) – #Round 1U
lka #Sasaki def. #Kenta #Takizawa via unanimous decision
#Kanna #Asakura def. #Ai #Shimizu via unanimous decision
#Shibatar def. #Hiroya via submission (armbar) – #Round 2
#Kazuma #Kuramoto def. #Taiyo #Nakahara via KO (strikes) –Round 1
#Tsuyoshi #Sudario def. #Ikuhisa #Minowa via TKO (strikes) –Round 1
#Sakura #Mori def. #Eru #Takebayashi via submission (armbar) –Round 1