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Hiromasa Ougikubo Upsets Kai Asakura, Wins Bantamweight GP at Rizin 33

The last Rizin Fighting Federation event in 2021 featured many upsets that went down at the legendary Saitama Super Arena in Japan on Dec. 31.

The main attraction at Rizin 33 was the 135-pound grand prix finale between Hiromasa Ougikubo and Kai Asakura. Both contenders had already competed on the bill once as Asakura defeated Kenta Takizawa (13-8, 3-3 Rizin) while Ougikubo upset Naoki Inoue (15-3, 5-1 Rizin) on the scorecards. “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 24 competitor Ougikubo (25-5-2, 7-2 Rizin) put his wrestling background to work against Asakura’s striking, dodging most of his opponent’s strikes and using his punches to set up takedowns.