4/11/25: Mikuru Asakura vs. Chihiro Suzuki Joins RIZIN's Tokyo Dome Return
Also: Thoughts on GFL's cancelled events
Welcome to a Friday edition of the Knockdown Daily! Today’s issue features a recap of some recent news headlines—UFC releases, an update on RIZIN’s Tokyo Dome card and more—plus some final thoughts on GFL’s recent cancelled events. Let’s get started.
Mikuru Asakura vs. Chihiro Suzuki Joins RIZIN’s Tokyo Dome Return, Heavyweight GP Matchups Set
With a total of 16 fights, it looks like the lineup for RIZIN’s return to the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan is nearly finalized, if not completed.
Recent additions to the May 4th card have seen the lineup gain a pair of the promotion’s top stars, a four-pack of heavyweight grand prix matchups, and a full-circle moment for the Sakuraba family.
The biggest recent booking for the card is a matchup between former featherweight champs Mikuru Asakura and Chihiro Suzuki.
Asakura, one of the most popular names in Japanese MMA due to his massive online following, was originally set to headline RIZIN’s Tokyo Dome event in a rematch of his smash-hit 2024 fight against Ren Hiramoto. However, after Hiramoto withdrew from the card due to injury, Asakura was without a matchup or an intriguing enough storyline to keep him in the main event.
A pairing against Suzuki, while not a fight that will headline over the title clash between Kleber Koike and Razhabali Shaydullaev, is one of the bigger fights you can make in the featherweight division star-wise.
Despite coming off back-to-back losses—dropping his title in the main event of RIZIN’s New Year’s Eve card against the aforementioned Koike, then losing a split decision last month to Karshyga Dautbek—Suzuki is one of the division’s top names. He previously went on an impressive run of eight consecutive RIZIN wins, with most emerging via finish.
Asakura is similarly looking to bounce back after two defeats, including his massive matchup last summer against Hiramoto.
Among the many other matchups announced for the card this week was the return of Taisei Sakuraba, the son of MMA trailblazer Kazushi Sakuraba.
Coming off an impressive 26-second win in his pro debut against Yusuke Yachi last year, Sakuraba will face veteran Daisuke Nakamura at lightweight. The fight will see Sakuraba compete under the same roof where his father made history in the sport decades ago, most notably for his legendary 90-minute performance against Royce Gracie in the year 2000.
The final two entrants in the RIZIN Heavyweight Grand Prix were also revealed on Friday to be former PFL talent Daniel James and Octagon Heavyweight Champion Islambek Baktybek Uulu. The first-round matchups were determined through a random draw — specifics regarding those fights can be seen in the lineup below.
The Tokyo Dome is a legendary venue in Japanese combat sports, but it comes with a challenge due to its size. RIZIN has just a few more weeks to try and further fill up the 55,000-capacity venue, a spot that can provide a stunning sea-of-fans visual but also make it glaringly obvious whenever there isn’t a massive turnout.
Here’s an updated look at the card:
Bout 16: Kleber Koike (34-7-1) vs. Razhabali Shaydullaev (12-0) (RIZIN Featherweight Championship)
Bout 15: Mikuru Asakura (17-5) vs. Chihiro Suzuki (13-5) (Featherweight)
Bout 14: Kyohei Hagiwara (8-10) vs. Taisei Nishitani (6-8) (Featherweight)
Bout 13: Makoto Takahashi (18-4-1) vs. Yuki Ito (18-5) (Catchweight 130 lbs)
Bout 12: Ryo Takagi (8-2) vs. Kyoma Akimoto (7-1) (Featherweight)
Bout 11: Daisuke Nakamura (34-28-1) vs. Taisei Sakuraba (1-0) (Lightweight)
Bout 10: Hiroya (10-13-1) vs. Tatsuki Shinotsuka (0-0) (Flyweight)
Bout 9: Danny Sabatello (14-4-1) vs. Shinobu Ota (7-4) (Bantamweight)
Bout 8: John Dodson (24-14) vs. Takaki Soya (12-6-1) (Flyweight)
Bout 7: Erson Yamamoto (4-7) vs. Daichi Tomizawa (1-0) (Flyweight)
Bout 6: Joe Hiramoto (1-1) vs. Toki Tamaru (0-0) (Flyweight)
Bout 5: Takao Ueda (13-8-7) vs. Vinicius Tsuchihashi Silveira (1-1) (Featherweight)
Bout 4: Tsuyoshi Sudario (9-3) vs. Jose Augusto (9-3) (Heavyweight Quarter-Final)
Bout 3: Islambek Baktybek Uulu (8-2) vs. Alexander Soldatkin (14-5) (Heavyweight Quarter-Final)
Bout 2: Marek Samociuk (7-4) vs. Daniel James (15-7-1) (Heavyweight Quarter-Final)
Bout 1: Mikio Ueda (4-2) vs. Shoma Shibisai (10-3) (Heavyweight Quarter-Final)
Knockdown’s Take: If GFL Fails, MMA Needs To Reflect on Its Errors
It’s unclear if GFL will ever hold its first event and use its 120-fighter roster. How did we get here?
Is it too early to declare the death of the Global Fight League (GFL)?
Technically speaking, yes. While all signs point toward the upstart MMA promotion never actually starting up, top names within the company insist that everything’s going to be okay — like the band that continued to play as the Titanic slowly plunged into the North Atlantic Ocean.
On Wednesday, some big news broke: The GFL cancelled their 31-fight doubleheader set for next month in Los Angeles. Yes, the fight card that didn’t have any broadcast details and no official ticket sales fell through. This wasn’t a shocker to some.
The reason for the event’s cancellation, per founder Darren Owen, was that the promotion’s main investor didn’t follow through with their April commitments. This person, whom GFL has never publicly identified, can seemingly make-or-break this promotion, and they’re allegedly not ponying up the money? That’s just a little concerning.
GFL originally delayed their debut from April to May. Then, after claiming their ducks were finally in a row, an incredibly busy two-night lineup set for the Shrine Auditorium got cancelled. Now, who knows when the league will host its first-ever event, better yet the full season they once planned to present throughout the year. To put it kindly, it’s been a disaster thus far.
Many, like myself, have been waiting to have a post-mortem discussion on the GFL. As much as they insist things aren’t done, the mess that was the past 48-hour news cycle for the promotion gives little to no hope regarding what the future may be like. So I say let’s jump to conclusions a little and do some reflecting.
When things sounded too good to be true—a home for dozens of post-UFC talents, an optimistic fighter-pay setup and the goal of becoming a third North American super-power in the sport—how did so many people get roped into participating?
120 fighters signed on to a deal to fight with the GFL, and many others tried to get into the promotion but subsequently weren’t selected to compete via their draft. All these people put pen to paper despite their new company having no prior experience promoting fights. Some of them got out of their past deals in the sport. Many others likely picked a GFL deal over other options they had.
If the GFL folds without a single event, tons of careers will be negatively affected by this saga. Even in a situation where a fighter doesn’t miss out on other deals because of the GFL, they still would be coming out empty-handed after months of waiting for a paycheck.
But this situation could’ve been much worse, and that’s the one caveat. We’re not in a scenario where fighters have already competed and are now waiting to receive the money they’re owed — and trust me, that wouldn’t be a first for the shady and morally ambiguous world that is prizefighting.
If things somehow turn around and the GFL hosts an event and becomes a successful brand, then great. I’ll happily champion that, and even right now, I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt and say that it’s not over until the fat lady sings (or files a civil lawsuit for breach of contract).
But if this is the beginning of the end, then the sport needs to follow my lead and have a sobering moment of reflection. Tons of names who are at the top level agreed to join the GFL despite the countless red flags. Fighters and their managers all simply had faith that it would play out perfectly, against all odds.
False promises happen everywhere in the world. But, if the GFL fails, it’ll be an example of smoke and mirrors being sold to an industry’s top level. If that’s not concerning, then I don’t know what is.
UFC Releases Three Multi-Year Vets Following Recent ‘Fight Night’ Defeats
Three fighters who suffered losses on recent “Fight Night” cards are no longer on the UFC roster.
Choi Seung-woo, Diana Belbita, and Istela Nunes have parted ways with the promotion, as confirmed recently by Guilherme Cruz of MMA Fighting.
Korea’s Choi is the most experienced fighter of the trio, having competed a total of 11 times on the UFC roster since 2019. He found success in his early years with the promotion as a featherweight, piecing together a three-fight winning streak by late 2021.
However, the 32-year-old has consistently come up short in more recent appearances, having won just one of his past six fights. He last appeared on a mid-March UFC card, where Argentinian prospect Kevin Vallejos stopped him in a little over three minutes.
Belbita joined the UFC roster back in 2019 when she was still 23 years old. The Romanian-Canadian fighter struggled greatly during her eight-fight run with the promotion, winning in just two of her appearances. Belbita lost last weekend against Dione Barbosa, getting caught in an arm triangle choke in the first round.
Nunes signed onto the UFC roster in 2019 but had her debut delayed two years due to a U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) suspension. Her eventual UFC run wasn’t successful, losing all five of her bouts in the promotion. She made a short-notice appearance last weekend against Thai striker Loma Lookboonmee, dropping the bout via decision.
Notes On: Today’s Event, UFC, PFL, ONE Championship & Cage Warriors
Preview
A nightmare week for the PFL will finally come to an end this evening when they present another “World Tournament” event at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida, USA. The promotion’s men’s bantamweight tournament is unrecognizable in comparison to the lineup which was first announced back in February. Just three of the eight fighters initially booked for the bracket are still set to compete, as countless names have been pulled from the show in recent weeks. And even some of the replacements had to withdraw too, making things even more messed up. On Thursday, we learned that regional vet Josh Rettinghouse (20-5) couldn’t get cleared for his quarter-final fight against Leandro Higo (23-6), causing him to get replaced by Marcirley Alves (12-4) in the main event bout of the night. The card still has some interesting names at 135 pounds: Former UFC talent Jake Hadley (11-4), Russian stand-out Kasum Kasumov (16-1), and Italian prospect Francesco Nuzzi (10-1), but my word, it’s been a rough road to that eventual lineup.
The women’s flyweight tournament has certainly had a better lead-up, as just one fighter withdrew. However, that fighter was Taila Santos (22-4), last year’s runner-up and a favorite to win this time around, so it was still quite a significant loss. Others in the tournament include: Last Bellator Flyweight Champion Liz Carmouche (22-8), ex-RIZIN talent Kana Watanabe (13-3-1), regional Brazilian champ turned PFL newcomer Elora Dana (7-0), and former Bellator champ Juliana Velasquez (13-3).
It’s gonna be a late night: The prelims are set for a 9 p.m. start time on ESPN+, with the main card beginning at 11 p.m. on ESPN2 and ESPN+. You can see the full lineup here.
UFC
The spotlight at a press conference for Saturday’s UFC card was mostly taken over by a beef between headliner Diego Lopes and main card fighter Yair Rodriguez, who had to be pulled apart after trading verbal blows. Rodriguez alleged that Lopes and his team jumped one of his teammates. Lopes then alleged that Rodriguez once “threatened a girl.” Danny Segura of MMA Junkie provided a full translation of the heated exchange between two fighters who aren’t even slated to meet this weekend.
Headliner Alexander Volkanovski had an interesting comment about what returning back to the featherweight title picture would do for his legacy: “I really do think this is the biggest fight of my career,” he said. “I think winning the belt now, at the timing, would be the biggest part of my story.”
Undefeated middleweight prospect Mansur Abdul-Malik (8-0) will get his third UFC test when he meets Cody Brundage (11-6) on June 14th in Atlanta, per Marcel Dorff. Abdul-Malik has looked impressive in his first two UFC appearances, stopping Dusko Todorovic and short-notice opponent Nick Klein with strikes. Brundage, who has the experience of 11 UFC bouts, is coming off a first-round finish over Julian Marquez from just last month.
Strawweight prospects Melissa Martinez (8-1) and Fatima Kline (7-1) will face off at UFC’s July 12th card, per Farah Hannoun and Nolan King of MMA Junkie. Martinez earned her first UFC win when she ended a two-year absence from the cage last October, beating Alice Ardelean on scorecards. Kline similarly just bounced back from her first pro loss recently, stopping Victoria Dudakova with strikes for her first UFC win.
PFL
Rodrigo Nascimento’s (11-3) first post-UFC assignment will come as part of PFL’s heavyweight bracket. He’s currently booked for a quarter-final fight against Abraham Bably (5-1) for the promotion’s May 1st card. Nascimento exited the UFC roster last year after losing back-to-back fights, dropping bouts to Derrick Lewis and Alexandr Romanov. He’s now set to face Bably, who is coming back after having his undefeated record snapped in a split decision last November. Bably was originally booked to face Pouya Rahmani (4-0).
Cris Cyborg has been booked for a six-round boxing match against Precious Harris-McCray on May 17th as part of a show promoted by former Bellator head Scott Coker in San Jose, California. Cyborg has appeared in four boxing matches since 2022, winning on each occasion. Harris-McCray carries a record of four wins and one loss since her pro debut last May.
RIZIN
RIZIN will head to Sapporo on June 14th for a “LANDMARK” card — the tier of event just below their usual numbered events.
ONE Championship
Sweden’s Zebaztian Kadestam (15-7) will make his return against Isi Fitikefu (9-1) at ONE’s May 2nd card in Bangkok, Thailand. Kadestam has seen an unlikely career resurgence as of late, bouncing back from a trio of losses from 2019 to 2021 to suddenly piecing together three consecutive stoppages. His last win was easily his biggest yet, spoiling the ONE debut of former KSW champ Roberto Soldic with a second-round finish in May 2023. Two years later, he’s coming back against a prospect who snapped the win streak of Hiroyuki Tetsuka for his second ONE victory last September.
Cage Warriors
Cage Warriors has booked a rematch between bantamweight champ Liam Gittins (13-4) and Italian prospect Alessandro Giordano (9-3) for their June 28th card in Manchester, England. The two had a competitive fight when they met last month until an accidental eye poke caused the bout to end via no contest in the third round. Gittins was aiming to defend his title for the second time, and Giordano was hoping to capture gold in front of his home country supporters. They’ll now head to Gittins’ country for a second meeting, hopefully providing a clearer result.