Rizin 28 Tokyo: Bantamweight Grand Prix Preview (June 13, 2021)

Even though it’s called Rizin 28, the event will take place two weeks after Rizin 29. The reason is that COVID-19 caused the event to postpone – Tokyo went into a state of emergency on April 25, which forbade all massive gatherings in the prefecture.  

Considering that Rizin 28 was supposed to happen on May 23 in Tokyo Dome, the event had to be postponed. However, once it’s held, it’s going to become the first-ever Rizin event to take place in Japan’s capital.

The home of the Yomuiri Giants baseball team, the Tokyo Dome (a.k.a. The Big Egg) will be the host venue of Rizin 28 Tokyo. More than 25,000 MMA fans will get to watch Rizin 28 live.

Even though COVID protocols will keep the capacity limited, Rizin 28 is going to be one of the most attended events in the history of the promotion.

In fact, since Rizin Fighting Federation launched off in 2015, only three events saw more than 25,000 fans in the stands (Rizin 13 Saitama, Rizin 14 Saitama, and Rizin 20 Saitama).

The reason why we named this article Rizin 28 Tokyo: Bantamweight Grand Prix Preview is that fight card of the event consists of bantamweight bouts.

We’re currently at the 1/8-finals stage, which means that there are still 16 fighters in the competition for the main prize. The winner of the 2021 Rizin Grand Prix will receive 10,000,000 JPY (~$91,000).

Four fights of the 1/8 finals will take place at Rizin 28 Tokyo; the other four will happen at Rizin 29 Osaka.

Rizin 28 Tokyo Fight Card

• Kai Asakura vs Shooto Watanabe
• Shintaro Ishiwatari vs Naoki Inoue
• Yuki Motoya vs Ryo Okada
• Hiromasa Ougikubo vs Takeshi Kasugai

Rizin 28 Tokyo General Information

• When: June 13, 2021
• Where: Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan
• How to Watch: LIVEnow, Rizin PPV

Kai Asakura vs Shooto Watanabe Preview

Kai Asakura is one of the greatest Rizin MMA fighters of our time. This guy’s professional record is 16-3, which is something not many fighters can say for themselves.

The first of those three losses happened in 2017, at the time when Asakura was fighting under the banner of Road Fighting Championship.

The other two defeats happened when he was challenging the Rizin Bantamweight title. on the last day of 2019, Manel Kape beat him by TKO and got himself the championship belt.

However, in his next fight, Asakura got himself the title – he KO-ed Hiromasa Ougikubo with knee and soccer kicks to win Rizin Bantamweight Championship.

On the last day of 2020, he tried to defend his title against Kyoji Horiguchi but was unsuccessful. In fact, he got KO-ed in round one (as the FATCATBET correctly predicted!!!).

The Kai Asakura vs Kyoji Horiguchi was the last fight Asakura fought. It happened on December 31, 2020, and since then, Asakura has been working hard on his comeback.

He’s set his eye on the Rizin Bantamweight title, but to get there, he’ll have to beat (at least) four fighters, starting with Shooto Watanabe at Rizin 28 Tokyo.

The fact is that Watanabe does not belong to the elite group of Japanese MMA fighters. His record isn’t bad (22-6) but he hasn’t yet fought such a strong opponent as Asakura.

In fact, it was summer 2020 when he joined Rizin. Before that, Watanabe was fighting at some lower-level events.

Even on a bad day, Asakura would not lose to Watanabe. Knowing that he’s determined to get back on the winning track, and that Watanabe is an obstacle on his road to the title, Asakura will want to get a memorable win at Rizin 28.

Winning the Asakura vs Watanabe fight by knockout would certainly put the ex-champ in a good mood. Furthermore, knowing that he’s won 10 of his 16 wins this way, KO does seem like the most likely method of victory.

Asakura vs Watanabe Pick

• Kai Asakura by Knockout

Shintaro Ishiwatari vs Naoki Inoue Preview

Kai Asakura vs Shooto Watanabe fight was easy to predict. This one, not so much. Why? Because Shintaro Ishiwatari and Naoki Inoue are both fantastic fighters.

The 36 year’s old Shintaro Ishiwatari, for example, is the reigning champ of Pancrase in the bantamweight division. His opponent, Naoki Inoue, is a 23-year-old who’s already fought in the UFC.

Although he’s only fought two fights in the UFC, the fact that he had caught the eye of the world’s best promotion means a lot.

The reason why he had gotten onto the UFC’s radar is that Inoue is a real submission expert. This guy has won 10 of his 15 wins by this method. The other five happened by points, while he’s still without a KO win in his professional career.

When it comes to Inoue’s losses, both of those happened after judges scored in the favor of his opponents.

Speaking of decision victories, that’s Ishiwatari’s favorite method. This guy has a score of 26 wins and 8 losses. Fifteen of those wins came after the judges voted in his favor.

Is something similar going to happen in the Ishiwatari vs Inoue fight? Sure, Ishiwatari has experience on his side, but Inoue is a boa constrictor in human form.

It’s very likely that Inoue is going to beat him by submission. Still, if Ishiwatari manages to take the fight to distance, he should be the won to win. Still, we doubt such a scenario will play out.

Ishiwatari vs Inoue Pick

• Naoki Inoue by Submission

Yuki Motoya vs Ryo Okada Preview

Ryo Okada is making his Rizin debut at Rizin 28 Tokyo. Before signing for the promotion, he was a Shooto fighter, with a pretty impressive record.

Still, the fact is that Shooto is not a top-class promotion. It’s way below Rizin and Deep, the two promotions that Yuki Motoya has been fighting for.

Actually, Motoya is the current DEEP champion in the bantamweight category. He’d love to get ahold of the championship belt in RIzin as well, but that seems very unlikely.

Still, this guy should be able to get to the quarterfinal of the Bantamweight Grand Prix. For that to happen, he needs to beat Ryo Okada.

Most of Motoya’s career wins happened by submission (choke). We expect him to get another win in this manner.

Motoya vs Okada Pick

• Yuki Motoya by Submission (Choke)

Hiromasa Ougikubo vs Takeshi Kasugai Preview

The last fight of the Bantamweight Grand Prix taking place at Rizin 28 Tokyo is Ougikubo vs Kasugai.

Hiromasa Ougikubo is a 34-year-old fighter with an impressive pedigree. His portfolio consists of several title wins in promotions like Shooto and Vale Tudo Japan.

However, his greatest achievements happened when he was a flyweight fighter. He did get a title shot at the Rizin Bantamweight title last year, but Kai Asakura got the better of him. Will he get another title shot? Not if you ask Takeshi Kasugai.

Here’s a former Pancrase fighter with a decent professional record, but who’s somehow been failing to achieve much. His chance to succeed comes this June. If he manages to win the Ougikubo vs Kasugai fight, it’s going to be one of the brightest moments of his career.

You can be sure that he’s going to give his utmost to win the bout. The trouble is that the skills and fitness are on the side of his rival. Still, we do think Kasugai will not embarrass himself. In fact, it’s very likely that if he loses, he’s going to lose by split decision.

Ougikubo vs Kasugai Pick

• Hiromasa Ougikubo by Split Decision

Rizin 28 – Frequently Asked Questions

Are there only going to be Bantamweight fights at Rizin 28?

Rizin 28 Tokyo will be an event dedicated to the Rizin Grand Prix in the bantamweight division. However, Rizin FF might decide to include more MMA fights from other weight categories.

How to watch Rizin 28?

No matter where you might be, you can watch Rizin 28 live stream on live-now.com. The live pay-per-view stream will be available in English. Those who live in Japan can watch Rizin 28 Tokyo via Fuji Television, with commentary in the Japanese language.