On February 2, K-1 and RISE jointly announced a series of ten fights, pitting K-1 against RISE fighters. RISE ELDORADO 2024 will hold five of these match-ups on March 17.
The highlight of the event will be the face-off between Yuki Yoza and Kan Nakamura. Following his spectacular knockout victory in December last year, Nakamura called out Yoza, who has now fulfilled his promise to fight Nakamura on his turf.
The K-1 champion seized the crown from his bitter rival, Taio Asahisa, in March 2023, and has maintained his winning streak with a decision win over Aaron Clarke and a knockout victory over Aikmongkol. However, he then went on a six-month hiatus from fighting and openly expressed dissatisfaction with the new K-1 management, a situation that has since been resolved.
On the other side, Nakamura claimed the title from Naoki Tanaka in April last year. Despite a no-contest setback a from a low blow, he delivered a stunning knockout against Ahmed Akoudad, making it a contender for the knockout of the year.
Also featured in the event, Akihiro Kaneko will look to avenge his defeat at the Match 2022 against former RISE champion, Masahiko Suzuki.
After defending his title against Kompetch, the K-1 champ scored a knockout win over Emre Karaca. he then outfought Masashi Kumura in a trilogy bout that earned him Beyond Kickboxing's 2023 Fight of the Year award. While Kaneko's career trajectory appears to be on the rise, Suzuki's seems to be taking a downturn. He has suffered losses in 3 of his last 4 fights, notably losing his RISE title to Koki Osaki in his last outing.
K-1 VS. RISE - RISE ELDORADO 2024
Yuki Yoza vs. Kan Nakamura – 63 KG
Akihiro Kaneko vs. Masahiko Suzuki – 55 KG
Koji Ikeda vs. Ryu Hanaoka – 51 KG
Ryuka vs. Hyuu – 63 KG
Koya Saito vs. Yuki Tanaka – 65 KG
