Recently Rizin held a press conference to discuss their End of Year event. MMA Japan has covered all of these events since the promotion started. These will never let you down. The fight cards are always stacked with JMMA beasts as well as MMA beasts from around the world. This time is no exception. In addition to all the great fights that have already been announced, Rizin tells us that JMMA Legend, Satoru Kitaoka 40-15-9 (Win-Loss-Draw) will be taking on former UFC fighter Kiichi Kunimoto 18-7-2, 1 NC (Win-Loss-Draw).
During the press conference, Kitaoka says that he will use all his strength to defeat Kunimoto in the ring. Kunimoto saw it a different way saying that he intends to KO Kitaoka. Kunimoto just finished a stint in the UFC where he won all three of his contractual fights. His run in the UFC was very impressive, but that does not mean you can overlook the legendary Kitaoka. In case you are not aware of who Kitaoka is, do yourself a huge favor and look up his fights on Youtube. He has fought in nearly every promotion and has fought against some of the greatest fighters in MMA history. The only notable promotion that he has not fought for is the UFC. This small fact makes this fight very interesting. We have pointed out before that Japanese fighter that go on to compete in the UFC come back to Japan changed. Their fighting style and preparation for a fight are completely different when they return to Japan. That being said however Kunimoto is going into this fight with a 2 fight losing streak, It’s going to mean that he is coming in hungry and wanting to show the legendary Kitaoka what he is made of.
Of course, MMA Japan will be there live, all 3 days of this tournament. Follow @mmajpn1 on Twitter for the latest updates and photos!
