RIZIN TRIGGER 3rd Poster
Tatsuya “Yanbo” Saika (7-2, 0-0 RIZIN FF) vs Kimihiro Eto (18-6-2, 0-0 RIZIN FF) 71kg MMA
Saika is coming off a title shot against current Pancrase Lightweight Champion and RIZIN contender Takasuke Kume. Although he lost via 2nd round armbar, he has enjoyed a 5-1 stretch in his last 6 bouts, despite being sidelined for 1 year due to the pandemic and an opponent withdrawing. With all 7 of his wins coming by 1st round KO, he brings an exciting style to RIZIN’s lightweight division. All but 1 of his finishes have been before the halfway mark of the 1st round, and 2 of them have come in under 30 seconds. Eto is a DEEP and ONE Championship veteran, and is 5-2 in his last 7 bouts. Despite only being 2 years older, Eto has had nearly twice as many professional bouts, and brings a more grappling heavy style, scoring 15 wins by submission/decision against just 3 KO/TKOs.
Tatsuya “Yanbo” Saika
“I'm glad to be here today. I'm excited to be facing such an experienced fighter. I think my fighting style will fit RIZIN and hope to become the new face of RIZIN. My last fight with Kume, my weak points showed so I’ve worked on that. I won’t change my style, and will go in there to finish the fight. Eto has great wrestling but I can only do one thing. Hit him until he breaks.”
Kimihiro Eto
“I’m grateful to be fighting a great fighter on a great platform. I want to put on a great fight. I will want to show my abilities in this fight to be able to show that I can hang with the best in the RIZIN lightweight division. My opponent has great striking intuition, but I will enforce my style on him and finish him late in the fight.”
Takaki Soya (11-4-1, 2-0 RIZIN FF) vs Nobuyoshi Nakatsukasa (7-3, 0-0 RIZIN FF) 57kg MMA
Soya returns to action after 2 and ½ years away due to illness. He scored 2 TKO wins in his first 2 bouts, and is 4-1 in his last 5 bouts. Nakatsukasa is the Wardog Cage Fight Strawweight Champion, having won the belt last October, and scoring a 65-second TKO victory in his last outing just 2 months ago at GLADIATOR 016 in Osaka. The two fighters combine for 15 finishes across 18 victories.
Takaki Soya
“It’s been about 3 years since my last fight. I’ve been away with sickness and injuries. I was able to get through hard times because of my motivation to come back to this ring. I will show you my dedication. I’ve been sick, hurt and been on the sidelines for so long. My body weight went down to 50kg at one point. But I was back in the gym in December of last year with the goal of returning to the ring. I’ve been working on my condition with medication so I feel great now. My opponent is a grappler and he probably has a great heart. I think his mindset and mentality is his biggest strength. I want to show that I’ve got a strong heart too and will continue to be aggressive for 15 minutes. I want to be the next star in the division.”
Nobuyoshi Nakatsukasa
“I was that kid who’s been picked on growing up. But martial arts helped me become mentally strong. I’ve been through hard times but I want to inspire people that hard work can make you realize your dreams.”
Shooto Watanabe (23-6-6, 2-1 RIZIN FF) vs Takuma Sudo (5-0, 0-0 RIZIN FF) 61kg MMA
Fighting Nexus Bantamweight Champion and son of the first Shooto 155 lbs Champion (Yuichi Watanabe), Shooto makes his 4th straight appearance in the RIZIN ring. He is 11-2-1 in last 14 with 6 submissions - all but 1 by rear-naked choke. All of his career finishes have been in the first round - 10 of those under 2 minutes, so Sudo will need to be prepared for a quick start. Sudo is a skilled grappler himself, having compiled a 5-0 record with all wins by submission. This will be a significant step-up in competition for ‘The Leg Hunter’, as the most experienced opponent he faced had just 12 bouts compared to Watanabe’s 35 bouts. A showdown between grapplers.
Shooto Watanabe
“I'm excited about the fact that Fighting NEXUS fighters will be facing each other in the biggest event in Japan. My girlfriend lost in her last fight so I will make up for that in this fight. My opponent is a great grappler and has finished all of his fights with leg locks. I’ve prepared to fight Imanari so I will be ready for what he brings. I want to push my mma on him.”
Takuma Sudo
“I don’t fight to knock people out. I fight to tap people out. It may be something unusual but I hope you enjoy my style. I think Watanabe has great back control so I won't give up my back and hope to bring my style to him and attack his leg.”
Hideki “Shrek” Sekine (11-5, 1-1 RIZIN FF) vs Takakenshin (0-0, 0-0 RIZIN FF) Openweight MMA
Sekine started his career 7-0 before suffering his first defeat against Brandon Vera for the ONE Championship Heavyweight title. Since then, he endured mixed results but was able to put together a 3-fight win streak beginning in 2021. His last bout was an upset victory over Shoma Shibisai at RIZIN.33. He will stand across the ring from Tsuyoshi Sudario’s twin brother and MMA debutant, Satoshi Kamiyama, aka ‘Takakenshin’. Takakenshin looks to make waves against a veteran in Japan’s heavyweight division.
Hideki “Shrek” Sekine
“I was able to win on my dream stage on NYE. It has been surreal. Now I will be facing the super rookie Takakenshin in the cage. I want to keep showing the appeal of pro wrestling, and the strength of a 40 year old old guy. I promise you a surreal experience. He said he’ll break my face. And I would not enjoy that lol he’s a big, strong guy so it’s scary, but he’s making his mma debut so I’m sure he’s scared too. I will need to face him with courage, tears and love.”
Takakenshin
“I am grateful for this opportunity and grateful for Sekine for taking this fight. I want to bring back the heavyweight division in Japan and put on a show. I’ve been in many fights during my sumo days but I’ve never hit somebody with full strength and bad intentions. So I’m excited to see what happens when I hit somebody with bad intentions. I'm working on my stamina and I’m enjoying this transition very much. I’ve always been on a path to become the strongest male on the planet. Sumo has rules where weight is a major factor and I’ve always thought that MMA was the best sport to determine the baddest male on the planet. I'm very excited to finally be here.”
RIZIN TRIGGER 3rd Confirmed Bouts
RIZIN TRIGGER 3rd - Musashino Mori Sports Plaza, April 16th
Hideki “Shrek” Sekine vs Takakenshin [Openweight - RIZIN MMA rules]
Yusuke Yachi vs Luiz Gustavo [71kg - RIZIN MMA rules]
Tatsuya “Yanbo” Saika vs Kimihiro Eto [71kg - RIZIN MMA rules]
Kazumasa Majima vs Masanori Kanehara [66kg - RIZIN MMA rules]
Shoji Otani vs Rikiya [63.5kg - RIZIN Kickboxing rules]
Kintaro vs Kazuma Kuramoto [61kg - RIZIN MMA rules]
Shooto Watanabe vs Takuma Sudo [61kg - RIZIN MMA rules]
Takaki Soya vs Nobuyoshi Nakatsukasa [57kg - RIZIN MMA rules]
RIZIN TRIGGER 3rd Doors are expected to open at 12:30PM with the Opening Ceremony at 2:00PM on April 16th (Sat) at the Maruzen Intec Arena. Broadcasting and streaming partners will be announced soon.
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