Former Rizin FF Ladies’s Tremendous Atomweight Champion Ayaka Hamasaki will step again into motion on February twenty fourth at Rizin Combating Federation: “Landmark Vol. 8” in Saga, Japan. Hamasaki faces latest Rizin FF title challenger Claire Lopez in a 49kg bout that was introduced earlier at present.
Hamasaki has struggled because the finish of 2021, shedding twice to present Rizin FF champion Seika Izawa and going 1-1 throughout the the rest of 2022, however she now returns after taking an prolonged break from competitors. Lopez additionally seems to get again on observe after shedding to Izawa in a July title bout.
Hamasaki (24-6-0) is a two-time holder of the Rizin FF ladies’s tremendous atomweight title, and she or he additionally beforehand gained championships for each Jewels and Invicta FC. The standout grappler gained 4 straight fights for Rizin FF in 2020 and 2021 earlier than being upset by Izawa of their first assembly in a non-title bout at Rizin FF 33. Hamasaki was subsequently crushed by Izawa once more at Rizin FF 35 and relinquished her tremendous atomweight title within the course of. In July 2022, Hamasaki lastly confronted off in opposition to Jessica Aguilar, whom she was first set to struggle greater than 11 years earlier, and earned a Unanimous Choice win. Nevertheless, her most up-to-date struggle at Rizin FF 38 resulted in a choice loss to Si Woo Park.
Lopez (8-5-0) burst on to the scene in August 2021 with a robust exhibiting throughout the one-night Combate International: “Final Latina Standing” ladies’s strawweight event, the place she superior to the finals earlier than being stopped by present UFC competitor Yazmin Jauregui. After taking a yr off, Lopez returned with a 44-second submission win for Combate International that earned her a spot on the Rizin FF: “Landmark Vol. 5” card this previous April. There, Lopez submitted high Japanese star Rena Kubota with a third-round kneebar. The win earned Lopez a Rizin FF ladies’s tremendous atomweight title shot, however she was rapidly submitted by champion Izawa throughout the “Tremendous Rizin 2” occasion this previous July.
Rizin Combating Federation: “Landmark Vol. 8” is ready for February twenty fourth at SAGA Enviornment in Saga, Japan.
(Picture Credit score: Rizin Combating Federation)
