Rizin FF 15 results and video: Prochazka TKO’s King Mo to win title, Horiguchi bombs on Nguyen

By Eddie Mercado@TheEddieMercado

BLoodyelbow.com

RIZIN FF 15 just wrapped up from the Yokohama Arena in Yokohama, Japan with Jiri Prochazka stopping Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal with strikes in the third round to capture the vacant light heavyweight title. Prochazka is now on an eight-fight winning streak as he evens up his series with King Mo at 1-1. The co-main event of the card was a 130-pound kickboxing match between Tenshin Nasukawa and Fritz Biagtan. The power punching of Nasukawa, as well as his piercing body knees, proved to be too much for Biagtan, bring the match to a halt in the third round. Boxing great Manny Pacquiao was ringside for this bout, and after seeing Floyd Mayweather on a RIZIN FF card, who knows what the promotion has up its sleeve.

RIZIN FF’s bantamweight king Kyoji Horiguchi put on an incredible performance tonight, dropping Ben Nguyen several times before securing the first-round TKO. The quick win over Nguyen is a great reminder of just how excellent Horiguchi really is. Horiguchi has won 12-MMA matches in a row now and just might be rematching Darrion Caldwell next, but in the Bellator MMA cage. The first time they fought, Horiguchi pulled out a third-round submission over Caldwell when Bellator’s 135-pound champ was lent to the promotion at RIZIN FF 14 this past New Years Eve.

Also on the card, BJJ ace Roberto “Satoshi“ de Souza made good on his RIZIN FF debut by knocking out the now 70-mma-fight veteran Satoru Kitaoka with a 1998 Vitor Belfort-esque punching combination that totaled somewhere around 12-blows thrown. Satoshi remains undefeated at 8-0 and was rather emotional in his post-fight interview, stating how much of a PRIDE FC fan he was.

RIZIN FF 15 results:

Jiri Prochazka def. Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal by TKO in round 3- Light heavyweight title

Prochazka got off to a slow start, allowing King Mo to get off with his strikes and dictate the pace. As the round matured, Prochazka began to loosen up a bit, but was unable to land anything of substance. King Mo landed a stinging leg kick that briefly buckled Prochazka, which seemed to be the most significant strike of the round.

Prochazka stuffed King Mo’s initial takedown in the second round and started to push the pace. He kept walking down King Mo, making him uncomfortable. Just when it seemed as if King Mo was slowing down, he landed a jarring right hand that cut Prochazka. The fight was paused so that the doctor could take a look. Prochazka started to throw more volume upon the restart, backing up King Mo yet again.

Prochazka picked up in the third round where he left off in the second. After failing to get the takedown, a labored King Mo pressed forward as Prochazka landed volume. Prochazka continued to land as King Mo started to cover up. The volume added up and King Mo wilted down to the canvas. The referee was right on top of the action to prevent King Mo from taking any unnecessary punishment.

Kyle Johnson@VonPreux

Jiří Procházka (24-3-1) is RIZIN’s first light heavyweight champ, as he overwhelms a gassed King Mo in round three. “Denisa” avenges his last loss and boosts his win streak to eight. The Czech owns 23 finishes, 21 by knockout. #RIZIN15 #RIZINFF #RIZIN20191798:55 PM – Apr 21, 201964 people are talking about thisTwitter Ads info and privacy

Tenshin Nasukawa def. Fritz Biagtan by TKO in round 3- 130lb kickboxing match

A little bit of feeling out took place to start the fight. Nasukawa sat back seeing what Biagtan had. Nasukawa landed a heavy body punch that got the attention of his opponent. He followed up with a flying side kick, but ran his own cup into his opponent, resulting in a brief break in the action. Nasukawa landed some clean punches right away to open the second act. Biagtan threw back but his strikes lacked the same sort of oomph as Nasukawa. To Biagtan’s credit, he showed off a solid beard, absorbing the powerful flurries of Nasukawa.

The fighters came out exchanging leg kicks in the third round. Nasukawa cracked to the body, hurting his opponent and setting a sequence that dropped Biagtan. After answering the count, Biagtan was faced with Nasukawa in kill-mode. Knees to the body followed by brutal punches quickly dropped Biagtan again, bringing a stop to the fight.

Jonnyboy@JBNeverDies

Tenshin Wins KO R3#RIZIN #RIZINFF #RIZIN15728:14 PM – Apr 21, 201936 people are talking about thisTwitter Ads info and privacy

Kyoji Horiguchi def. Ben Nguyen by TKO in round 1- 132lbs

Horiguchi closed the distance right away, but ended up with Nguyen on his back. Horiguchi escaped into open space, and dropped his foe with a right hand as Nguyen pressed forward. escaped into open space, and dropped Nguyen with a right hand as he immediately recovered. Horiguchi started connecting with heavy hooks, knocking Nguyen all over the ring. Nguyen was never given a chance to recover. Horiguchi poured on the heat, landing a series of clean punches, dropping Nguyen a couple more times before the referee stepped in.

Jonnyboy@JBNeverDies

Kyoji Horiguchi Wins TKO R1#RIZIN #RIZINFF #RIZIN15647:04 PM – Apr 21, 201928 people are talking about thisTwitter Ads info and privacy

Roberto “Satoshi“ de Souza def. Satoru Kitaoka by TKO in round 2- 157lbs

Kitaoka pressed forward behind his hooks until he closed the distance. From a standing arm-in guillotine, Kitaoka landed a couple of knees which opened up a cut on he forehead of Satoshi. The doctor checked the cut over and gave the okay before the bout resumed. Satoshi started throwing his jab to back off his opponent’s pressure, but when Kitaoka did explode with punches they had tremendous power behind them.

Kitaoka shot in and scored a double leg takedown to start the second round. A cut had opened up around the eye of Kitaoka from a right hand that landed just before the takedown, so the fight was paused for the doctor to check it out. Upon the restart, Kitaoka went back to the takedown. Just when he dropped down for a leg lock, Satoshi scrambled to the back and started hunting for an arm. Satoshi lost the arm and ended up on the bottom until the referee brought the bout back to its feet. In open space, Satoshi threw a 10+ punch combo that stunned and dropped Kitaoka. Satoshi went in for the kill with ground strikes, prompting the referee to stop the match.

• Karl Albrektsson def. Christiano Frolich by unanimous decision- Light heavyweight
• Rena Kubota def. Samantha Jean-Francois by unanimous decision- 112lbs
• Mikuru Asakura def. Luiz Gustavo by unanimous decision- 150lbs
• Kana Watanabe def. Justyna Haba by unanimous decision- 126lbs
• Damien Brown def. Koji Takeda by unanimous decision- 157lbs
• Manel Kape def. Seiichiro Ito by TKO in round 2- 128lbs
• Kanako Murata def. Saray Orozco by submission (Von Flue)- 126lbs
• Thailsson Gomez Ferreira def. Taiga Kawabe by TKO in round 2- 134lb kickboxing bout

About Author