Tenshin Nasukawa vs. Rui Ebata announced for RIZIN 20

Kickboxing star Tenshin Nasukawa will once again be a part of RIZIN’s year-end festivities.

The promotion announced late Tuesday evening that Nasukawa will face Rui Ebata in a 56-kilogram (approx. 123 pounds) kickboxing bout at RIZIN 20 on Dec. 31 at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

A 62-kilogram (approx. 137 pounds) kickboxing bout between Taiju Shiratori and Taiga has also been added to the card.

Nasukawa, 21, is unbeaten in kickboxing (35-0) and MMA (4-0) and is one of Japan’s most popular combat sports stars. Last December, he faced boxing legend Floyd Mayweather in a three-round exhibition boxing match that ended in the first when the five-division champion overwhelmed Nasukawa en route to a corner stoppage.

Following that, Nasukawa has gone 5-0 in kickboxing bouts in 2019 so far.

See the updated lineup for RIZIN 20 below (bout order to be determined):

Kai Asakura vs. Manel Kape

Jiri Prochazka vs. C.B. Dollaway

Ayaka Hamasaki vs. Seo Hee Ham

Johnny Case vs. Tofiq Musaev [Lightweight GP semifinal]

Patricky Freire vs. Luiz Gustavo [Lightweight GP semifinal]

Yuki Motoya vs. Patrick Mix

Mikuru Asakura vs. John Macapa

Vitaly Shemetov vs. Simon Biyong

Jake Heun vs. Satoshi Ishii

Lindsey VanZandt vs. Rena Kubota

Shintaro Ishiwatari vs. Hiromasa Ogikubo

Case/Musaev vs. Freire/Gustavo [Lightweight GP final]

Tenshin Nasukawa vs. Rui Ebata — kickboxing

Taiju Shiratori vs. Taiga — kickboxing

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *