Vugar Karamov Finishes Kazumasa Majima in Seconds at Rizin FF: ‘Landmark Vol. 10’

VUGAR KARAMOV ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!

⏱️ 28 SECOND KO WIN FOR THE FORMER CHAMPION!

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Former Rizin Fighting Federation featherweight champion Vugar Karamov made a triumphant return to the cage and needed just 28 seconds to dispatch of opponent Kazumasa Majima in the main event of Rizin FF: Landmark Vol. 10 on Saturday in Nagoya, Japan. Karamov dropped Majima with a right hook seconds into the fight and finished him with punches and elbows on the ground for a crucial victory that put him back in the title hunt.

Karamov (20-5, 6-2 Rizin), who lost his featherweight title one year ago at Landmark Vol. 7, was forced out of competition for most of 2024 after being jailed for “hooliganism” in his native Azerbaijan earlier this year. Saturday's comeback fight was an important one for the 32-year-old, and he made a statement with his quick destruction of Majima (17-6, 3-5 Rizin), who had won three of his past four fights. Following his quick win, Karamov issued challenges to current Rizin champion Chihiro Suzuki, who defeated Karamov in November 2023, and Kleber Koike Erbst. Suzuki and Koike vie for the championship next month at Rizin FF 49: Decade, and Karamov will be hoping that he is next in line to challenge the victor.

Ayaka Hamasaki gets the tap!

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In the co-main event, former two-time Rizin women’s super atomweight champion Ayaka Hamasaki employed a nasty kimura to submit onetime Road FC titleholder Yu Ri Shim in their 108-pound contest. Hamasaki (25-6, 11-4 Rizin), who had been sidelined with an injury earlier this year, showed no ill effects from her lengthy layoff tonight and she quickly took Shim (6-5, 0-2 Rizin) down with a leg-sweep takedown early in their fight. Shim battled back to her feet she fared well with straight right hands and two quick combinations of punches.

Shim’s success on the feet was short-lived and Hamasaki immediately worked for a takedown in the second stanza. Shim reversed it, and she took Hamasaki’s back, but Hamasaki latched on to Shim’s arm in the process and rolled through with a kimura. She wrenched Shim’s arm behind her back and forced the South Korean fighter to tap out at the 1:15 mark of Round 2.

Hamasaki entered tonight’s bout in need of an impressive win after dropping three of her past four fights, including two to current undefeated Rizin champion Seika Izawa, and she got just that by submitting the tough and game Shim. At 42, Hamasaki hopes to make another run at the Rizin title that was previously hers, but it remains to be seen whether she will be granted another shot while the belt is still held by Izawa.

RYUSEI ASHIZAWA!

🕺Not a bad celebration dance either

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In bantamweight action, Ryusei Ashizawa picked up his second straight win by stopping veteran Shoji Maruyama with a knee to the body early in the second round. Ashizawa (2-1, 2-1 Rizin) established his jab in the first round and he used it to prevent the shorter Maruyama (17-18-1, 1-5 Rizin) from getting into punching range. Maruyama did land some solid leg kicks, but Ashizawa was the better striker and Maruyama wasn’t able to shift momentum in the round until he scored a takedown in the final minute.

The second round devolved into a brawl almost immediately, with both men throwing and landing looping punches, and Ashizawa backed Maruyama up to the cage with a flurry. He then dashed forward with a knee to Maruyama’s midsection that crumpled the 41-year-old and ended the fight at the 1:05 mark of Round 2.

Tsuyoshi Kamiyama – better known as “Sudario” – sliced open the forehead of opponent Hisaki Kato with an elbow to earn a third-round doctor stoppage in their heavyweight contest tonight. Kamiyama (9-3, 9-3 Rizin) weathered early body kicks from his opponent and took over as the first round progressed and Kato (8-4, 1-1 Rizin) began to fatigue. He stunned Kato with two hard punches early in the second round and later took him down, where Kamiyama landed a slashing elbow to the top of Kato’s forehead just before the round came to a close. The cageside doctor checked on Kato between rounds and allowed him to continue fighting, but the cut became even worse after Kamiyama targeted it with punches and Kato’s face was a bloody mess. The doctor waved off the fight at the 1:11 mark of the third and final round, giving Kamiyama the TKO victory.

Opening up the main card, highly touted 18-year-old prospect Kyoma Akimoto remained undefeated by taking a well-deserved unanimous decision win over Rizin mainstay Hiroaki Suzuki at featherweight. Akimoto (7-0, 2-0 Rizin) scored a body-lock takedown early in the fight and he spent a large portion of round one pummeling Suzuki (4-5, 4-5 Rizin) with punches and elbows on the ground. During the second round, the commentators noted that Akimoto has been training boxing since the age of four, and he showcased his skills by repeatedly snapping Suzuki’s head back with jabs and straight lefts. Suzuki responded with leg kicks but his offense was limited. During the final round, Akimoto took Suzuki down three times and he stood over him while landing punches. The bout went to the scorecards and all three judges sided with Akimoto for the teen’s seventh pro win.

During the middle portion of tonight’s event, former Road to UFC semifinalist Kyung Pyo Kim (14-5, 3-1 Rizin) halted the five-fight winning streak held by Daigo Kuramoto (6-2, 0-1 Rizin) when he stopped Kuramoto with elbows and punches at the 3:59 mark of Round 1 at lightweight; Yuki Ito (17-5, 7-1 Rizin) extended his run of consecutive wins to four by pinning down Jung Hyun Lee (4-3, 0-2 Rizin) and finishing him with elbows at the 2:59 mark of Round 3 in their flyweight matchup; also at flyweight, Hiroya Kondo (9-13-1, 2-3 Rizin) took a well-deserved unanimous decision win over Yuya Shibata (19-8, 1-1 Rizin); Tony Laramie (10-2, 1-0 Rizin) kicked off his Rizin flyweight career with an impressive unanimous decision victory against Yutaro Muramoto (12-9-2, 2-4 Rizin); Magerram Gasanzade (10-0, 1-0 Rizin) remained undefeated and won a unanimous decision over Rikuto Shirakawa (12-10-1, 3-4 Rizin) at bantamweight; Alan Yamaniha (22-11-4, 5-2 Rizin) rallied back after a strong first round from underdog opponent Seigo Yamamoto (7-13-1, 0-2 Rizin) and submitted Yamamoto with a rear-naked choke at the 3:07 mark of Round 2 in their bantamweight bout; and Alibek Gadzhammatov (5-0, 1-0 Rizin) used knees and punches to halt Daichi Kitakata (20-13-1, 2 NC; 1-3 Rizin) at the 3:20 mark of Round 1 at flyweight.

On the preliminary card, Taito Kubota (14-6, 1-0 Rizin) survived submission scares in the first round of his bantamweight bout against Junya Hibino (7-5, 1-2 Rizin) and scored a TKO stoppage 26 seconds into Round 2; Masashi Inada (4-2, 1-0 Rizin) forced Katsuyoshi Sasaki (6-9-1, 1 NC; 0-1 Rizin) to submit to a straight armbar just 98 seconds into their heavyweight contest; Sho Hiramatsu (7-5, 1-0 Rizin) cut featherweight foe Daisuke Tatsumi (19-12, 0-1 Rizin) with an elbow that led to a doctor stoppage at the 2:53 mark of Round 2; and Jin scored a unanimous decision victory over Toshizou in a 121-pound kickboxing match.