KNOCK OUT 2023 Vol. 6 took place yesterday at the Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. The event was headlined by Ryusei (16-0) against Facu Suarez (20-9) and featured other notable fights such as BAZOOKA Koki against Marcos Rios, and Panchan Rina against Kaitlyn Vance.
The event series is known for featuring both the BLACK and RED rulesets, which roughly equate to kickboxing and Muay Thai respectively. This time, the promotion introduced the UNLIMITED ruleset, which allows grounded strikes, but no grappling or submissions.
The event streamed for free on the official KNOCK OUT YouTube channel and all fights have been uploaded already.
RYUSEI VS. FACU SUAREZ
Ryusei, regarded as one of the brighter upcoming prospects on the Japanese scene, returned with a brilliant performance against Facu Suarez. After having to resort to an extra round in his last two fights against Qumuxifu and Petchsansaeb, Ryusei didn't leave it to the judges this time and stopped the Argentinian fighter in the third round. A constant stream of calf kicks left Suarez badly hurt and defenseless for the knee up the middle.
After the fight, Ryusei was ready to prove his doubters wrong, calling for a fight against K-1 Featherweight champion Gunji Taito.
Right now, I believe they are doing K-1 in Osaka. KNOCK OUT and K-1 have a good relationship, so I hope they will hold a co-promoted event next year. Everyone wants to see it, right? In the current martial arts world, I think the era of isolated and antagonistic relationships between martial arts promotions ended with THE MATCH last year. To further energize Japan's kickboxing scene, there's no need for each promotion to hold match ups that fighters from its promotion fight the other in its event, which tarnish each other's image. By holding a co-promoted event, I want to settle a score with Gunji, the K-1 champion. Since Gunji hasn't knocked Suarez out but I have, I want to fight him.
PANCHAN RINA VS. KAITLYN VANCE
Panchan Rina returned with her second consecutive knockout against Kaitlyn Vance. The Australian fighter had not much in the way of defense for Panchan's pressure, as she was being hurled around the ring, culminating in the eventual stoppage.
