RIZIN 19: Lightweight Grand Prix 1st Round preview

As if the weekend weren’t crowded enough, RIZIN is all set to lay the groundwork for their year-end combative festivities—with the opening round of their lightweight tournament. RIZIN 19 looks to include some fun women’s matches, kickboxing, and a bit of freakshow shenanigans.

Atop the card is Kai Asakura (13-1), fresh off his stunning upset victory over the then-seemingly-unstoppable Kyoji Horiguchi. He’s up against flypaper grappler extraordinaire, and former UFC flyweight, Ulka Sasaki (22-7, 2 draws). It rarely gets this much closer to the grappler vs striker archetype these days, with Asakura’s blitzing offense and flashy movement against Sasaki’s dogged wrestling and submission…