Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Ayaka Hamasaki vs Kanna Asakura

Here's the match video of Ayaka Hamasaki vs Kanna Asakura from yesterday's RIZIN show in Tokyo. This is for the RIZIN Atomweight Championship. Though Kanna has improved in the last couple of years, she has never faced anyone as experienced or as skillful as Ayaka. Ayaka looked great in her last fight. The match started with an accidental eye poke. Ayaka was OK but there was some swelling around her right eye. In Japan they give five minutes for the fighter to recover even if it is not needed. You can hear Frank Trigg complain about that. The first round was mostly standing. There were a couple of takedown attempts but none were notable. Ayaka's striking was more effective so I scored round one 10-9 for Ayaka. This continued in round two. It became clear that Kanna was going to have to take this to the ground to get anywhere. Ayaka tripped her and took top position and then she went looking for an armbar. After Kanna attempted to block it several times, Ayaka's tenacity paid off and Kanna was forced to tap. Ayaka Hamasaki is your new RIZIN Atomweight Champion. She hasn't lost any of her quickness. I don't know who RIZIN could get to challenge Ayaka. They may have to bring in an Invicta fighter. Someone suggested Ham Seo Hee but I don't see ROAD FC allowing her to fight outside Korea. Enjoy the video!