RISE 167 went down yesterday at the Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. The event featured two world title fights. In the headlining bout, Kan Nakamura dethroned RISE Lightweight champion Naoki Tanaka over five rounds. In the co-main event, pound-for-pound talent Kazuki Osaki put on an impressive performance against Nicolas Rivas to take home the ISKA Oriental Rules Flyweight belt.
HIGHLIGHTS
Kan Nakamura def. Naoki Tanaka – In the main event, heavy-hitting Kan Nakamura took on reigning RISE Lightweight champion Naoki Tanaka. The first two rounds were rather uneventful, with both fighters trying to gauge the distance and look for openings. In the past, Nakamura had trouble managing his stamina and with this being his first five-round fight, it was obvious that he tried to be conservative with his output. Naoki upped the volume in the championship rounds, but it was Kan that landed the more effective shots, making him edge out a majority decision that could have gone either way.
Kazuki Osaki def. Nicolas Rivas – In the co-headlining bout, Kazuki Osaki challenged Nicolas Rivas for the ISKA Oriental Rules Flyweight belt. The bigger Rivas was a formidable opponent for the favorite Osaki. He came out firing, throwing high-volume combinations against the more reserved Japanese fighter. His intensity was palpable, but Osaki kept his composure, firing sharp left hooks and low kicks to stop Rivas in his tracks. While Rivas was on the front foot for most of the fight, it was Osaki landing the cleaner shots. Throughout the whole fight, Osaki kept throwing spinning back kicks to the body. A tactic, that later paid off. In the fourth round, Osaki parried the jab, started spinning again, but this time went over the top, landing flush and launching Rivas back - ultimately ending the fight.
After the fight, Osaki stated, "I was actually planning to beat him in the earlier rounds, but this fight made me realize that it's not that easy to win a world championship. I was impressed when I looked him in the eyes. The technique I practiced to finish him was different, so this belt will be an important one in my martial arts journey".
Kanon Miyahara def. Kumiko Kaneko – RISE ring girl, actress, and radio host Kanon Miyahara scored a first-round stoppage over Kumiko Kaneko.
RISE 167 RESULTS
MAIN CARD
Kan Nakamura def. Naoki Tanaka – Majority Decision
Kazuki Osaki def. Nicolas Rivas – KO at 0:28 of R4
Kenta def. Yuma Yamahata – Unanimous Decision
Koto Hiraoka def. Minori Kikuchi – Unanimous Decision
Taiki Sawatani def. Masaaki Ono – Extra Round Decision
Daiki Toida draw Yuki Hamada – Extra Round Decision
Ryuya Koide def. Hikaru Fujihashi – Unanimous Decision
Joichi Yana def. Towa – KO at 2:26 of R1
Kota Arai def. Atsumu – KO at 2:43 of R1
PRELIMS
Kanon Miyahara def. Kumiko Kaneko – KO at 0:39 of R1
